High Performance Cluster Computing: Architectures and Systems, Vol. 1 (High Performance Cluster Computing)

Computer science experts address many aspects of high performance computing, beginning with the state-of-the-art concepts and basic terminology related to cluster computing. Their investigations provide immediate solutions to engineering problems like optimized node arrangements for low-cost workstations yoked together to solve problems in parallel. One article describes such a cluster created for the Department of Energy that uses 9,000 Pentium CPUs to model nuclear detonations.

Various contributors also consider the requirements necessary for improving parallel programs in terms of speed and logic, including reductions in network latencies and enhanced file and I/O access. One contributor even suggests that Network RAM--unused RAM in systems on the same network--may someday challenge the hard disk for fast--and permanent--data storage.

In all, High Performance Cluster Computing works as an up-to-date, central repository of current thinking on interconnecting computers and processors to improve speed and performance. It provides a valuable roadmap of the state of the art in computer science research as well as some potential benefits for forward-looking corporate computing professionals. --Richard Dragan

O High-performance computing is essential to all branches of Engineering, and high-performance clustered computing on clusters of workstations/PCs makes a lot of economical sense.

O A course such as this is interesting because it is easy for the students to practice what is taught in such a class without too many infrastructures. This makes the course very exciting to students. When I taught parallel algorithms in my class, I could not ask my students to develop these algorithms for lack of good infrastructure. But a cluster of workstations and PCs is available in almost every University today.

O Distributed computing is highly popular with students. Students are eager to learn Java and network programming.

Rajkumar Buyya's edited volumes have arrived at the right time to provide the right kind of teaching material for the type of course which I have mentioned above. The first volume covers architectural and system-level issues of clustered computing systems. It has 36 chapters organized into 4 sections, spanning 811 pages. Section I develops the motivation for high-performance clustered computing. Section II introduces various networking protocols and I/O mechanisms that are useful in clustered computing. Section III covers OS issues such as process scheduling and load balancing. Section IV includes a number of case studies of existing systems. The editor has made a considerable effort in gathering learning material for the volume. I think that this volume could be an excellent text for an advanced course on Computer Architecture. In the course that I taught, I used parts of Section I and IV. To me, the second volume proved more useful.

The second volume concerns with applications of clustered computing and applications programming. It is divided into 3 sections. There are 29 chapters that span 604 pages. Both volumes have carefully prepared Glossaries and Indexes. The first section of the second volume is on various programming environments and development tools. Although I limited myself to the discussion of the Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) and Message Passing Interface (MPI), the editor has also included entire chapters on linking of these two environments, active objects, component-based approach, LiPS, and WebOS. There is a chapter of debugging parallelized code that can be highly valuable for students and developers of applications. The second section is on Java for high-performance computing. These topics raised a lot of interest among students when I taught the course. The third section is on specific algorithms and applications such as parallel genetic algorithms, parallel simulation, distributed database systems, graphics and image processing. The authors who have contributed to the two volumes are all known experts in the areas of Computer Architecture, Computer Networks, Distributed Computing, and Operating Systems. The authors and the editor must be congratulated on this extraordinary effort to compile so much useful material under one place. The books can not only serve as reference material to professional programmers in the modern IT industry, it can also serve as excellent teaching material for courses related to Computer Architecture, Distributed Computing, and Operating Systems. The web page that the editor has created for the book is also a wonderful repository of learning material available on the web. I recommend these volumes wholeheartedly to all serious researchers and students interested in the areas of high-performance computing in general and clustered computing in particular.

C.P. Ravikumar Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi


good effort atlast   June 8, 1999
 3 out of 80 found this review helpful

There is a good effort by the author to bring this book. I am sure this is helpful for research and development in the field of High performance Cluster computing.

I am very happy and proud to say that this author is my classmate and very good friend of mine.

Sreekanth