Parallel computing 101

This tutorial provides a comprehensive overview of parallel computing, emphasizing those aspects most relevant to the user. It is suitable for new users, managers, students and anyone seeking an overview of parallel computing. It discusses software and hardware, with an emphasis on standards, portability, and systems that are widely available.The tutorial surveys basic parallel computing concepts, using examples selected from large-scale engineering and scientific problems. These examples illustrate using MPI on distributed memory systems, Globus on the grid, OpenMP on shared memory systems, and MPI+OpenMP on hybrid systems. It discusses numerous parallelization approaches, and software engineering and performance improvement aspects, including the use of state-of-the-art tools.The tutorial helps attendees make intelligent decisions by covering the primary options that are available, explaining how they are used and what they are most suitable for. Extensive pointers to the literature and web-based resources are provided to facilitate follow-up studies.