High Performance Distributed Computing

Geoffrey C. Fox
gcf@npac.syr.edu
http://www.npac.syr.edu

Northeast Parallel Architectures Center
111 College Place
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York 13244-4100

Abstract:

High Performance Distributed Computing (HPDC) is driven by the rapid advance of two related technologies---those underlying computing and communications, respectively. These technology pushes are linked to application pulls, which vary from the use of a cluster of some 20 workstations simulating fluid flow around an aircraft, to the complex linkage of several hundred million advanced PCs around the globe to deliver and receive multimedia information. The review of base technologies and exemplar applications is followed by a brief discussion of software models for HPDC, which are illustrated by two extremes---PVM and the conjectured future World Wide Web based WebWork concept. The narrative is supplemented by a glossary describing the diverse concepts used in HPDC.

Geoffrey Fox, Northeast Parallel Architectures Center at Syracuse University, gcf@npac.syr.edu