0.2 PVM---Parallel Virtual Machine
PVM is a software system that permits a
heterogeneous collection of serial, parallel, and vector
computers on a network to appear as one large computing resource
-
It is a poor man's supercomputer allowing one to exploit
the aggregate power of unused workstations during off-hours
- It is a metacomputer allowing multiple supercomputers
distributed around the world to be linked together to achieve
Grand Challenge performance
- It is an educational tool allowing people without access to
parallel computers to teach/learn parallel programming courses
- It is a software tool allowing to efficiently use some of
the distributed memory multi-processors (Cray T3D, IBM SP-n,
Alpha farm...)