NCSICS@RITVAX.BITNET (11/22/89)
We are planning to purchase some transputer-based, parallel processing equipment. We intend to use this system to support an undergraduate lab for parallel computing. The hardware will be hung from a SUN fileserver and will be accessible, via an Ethernet, from diskless SUN workstations in our undergraduate labs. Our goal is to provide a variety of environments for students to do program development in: UNIX(Helios?)/C, TDS/Occam, at the very least. We are hoping to have at least 64 transputers in the system, and to allow individual students to request, configure, and release arbitrary subsets of this collection according to their needs. This implies a reasonable sophistication in the system software in order to allow for a range of connection topologies and to guarantee the security of an individual's allocation So far, our investigations have led us to equipment/software marketed by Paracom (Parsytec) and Meiko. Both of these companies seem to provide environments of sufficient sophistication. The systems currently available from CSA and INMOS, themselves, do not appear to provide the services we require. We would like to hear from others who have experience with these and other systems. We are particularly interested in hearing from someone who has had hands-on experience with Paracom's MultiCluster-2 or SuperCluster systems or with Meiko's In-Sun Computing Surface. Nan C. Schaller and Andrew T. Kitchen ncsics@ritvax.bitnet and atkics@ritvax.bitnet Rochester Institute of Technology Computer Science Department Rochester, NY 14623-0887