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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
2005-0336-F
2005-0336-F
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Science and Technology Policy, Office of (OSTP)
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Bromley, D. Allan, Files
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General Science Files
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62036
Folder ID Number:
62036-006
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Industry - High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) [1992]
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HPICFUL
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
August 21, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR WALTER E. MASSEY
FROM:
D. ALLAN BROMLEY
Auan
SUBJECT:
PCAST REPORT ON HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING
AND COMMUNICATIONS
I am pleased to present a PCAST report on the High Performance Computing and
Communications Program. The report was prepared by a PCAST panel chaired by Dr.
Solomon Buchsbaum. The panel consulted with industrial and academic professionals,
and has the concurrence of all PCAST members.
In my opinion, it is an excellent assessment of the state of the program. The report
presents a program analysis based on strategy, balance, management and vision. It
provides constructive recommendations for program improvement and positive
reinforcement of successful program elements. It is my hope that the PCAST
recommendations will be given serious consideration by the HPCC participants, and that
the recommendations will lead to improvements in the HPCC program.
To further this end, may I suggest that this report be distributed at the next meeting of
both the FCCSET Chairmen and Vice Chairmen on Tuesday, September 1, as well as
the full FCCSET meeting on Thursday, September 3, 1992.
Thank you for your assistance, and I look forward to seeing you in September.
Attachment
PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL OF ADVISORS
ON
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING AND
COMMUNICATIONS PANEL REPORT
President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
High Performance Computing and Communications Panel Report
Introduction
In FY92, a Presidential initiative was launched, aimed at securing U.S. preeminence in
high performance computing and related communication technologies. The initiative,
entitled High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC), is one of five
initiatives coordinated by the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering,
and Technology (FCCSET) process. Nine federal agencies are currently involved, with
the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), the Department of Energy
(DOE), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National
Science Foundation (NSF) providing the principal program funding and direction.
Lesser but important roles are being played by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Department of Education, and the National Institutes of Health.
The stated goal of the initiative is threefold: extend U.S. technological leadership in high
performance computing and computer communications; provide wide dissemination and
application of the technologies; and spur gains in U.S. productivity and industrial
competitiveness, all within the context of the mission needs of federal agencies. The
strategy for accomplishing the goals and the program components are highlighted in the
report "Grand Challenges: High Performance Computing and Communications,"
published as a supplement to the fiscal year 1992 and 1993 budgets.
Because of the importance of the HPCC program to the national well-being, especially
its potential implication for industrial competitiveness, the Assistant to the President for
Science and Technology has asked that the President's Council of Advisors in Science
and Technology (PCAST) establish a panel to advise PCAST on the strengths and
weaknesses of the HPCC program. The Panel, which includes two PCAST members
and experts drawn from industry and academia, has conducted several fact finding
meetings, interviewed HPCC program managers from the key participating agencies,
and was briefed by the Computer Systems Policy Project, a private sector organization
representing all the major American computer and information systems corporations.
On this basis, the Panel offers the following observations and recommendations.
Panel Observations and Recommendations
The Panel believes that, in general, the program has important objectives and is
structured to achieve the objectives. The Panel also finds that the HPCC program is
making excellent progress towards achieving the program objectives.
The Panel's observations and recommendations relate to the following issues: the
program strategy; the program balance among technology, applications, and
infrastructure; the program management; and the program vision.
Strategy
The HPCC program has certain explicit technology goals. The two best known goals
are to implement by 1995 a tera-ops (10¹² operations per second) computer and a
skeletal gigabit (109 bits per second) National Research and Education Network.
The Panel finds the strategy of using scalable, massively parallel architectures to achieve
the tera-ops goal convincing. Evidence to-date lends credence to the viability of the
approach. The potential of the scalable, massively parallel computer architectures
exceeds that of any competing choice.
The National Research and Education Network (NREN) approach of coupling diverse
existing networks, for example, the DARPA, NSF, and DOE networks, is also proving
to be effective. The Panel supports the strategy of making NREN both an infrastructure
goal and a testbed for technology development.
The integration of computing and communication as manifested in the program is
viewed by the Panel as a critical part of its strategy. It will do much to accelerate the
Nation to a "digital society." However, the integration of computing and
communication also creates enormous challenges for data handling and analysis.
Therefore, the Panel recommends that special attention be given to database
standardization for ease of utilization.
An effort should be made to encourage additional federal agency participation in the
program. The participation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Institute for
Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the
Department of Education (DoEd) is important, and their role should be continually
expanded.
2
The purpose of NREN is threefold: to satisfy the Government's critical needs for
networked computing, to provide a high speed data communication service for the
research and education community, and in doing so, serve as a testbed for the
development of network technologies and services. The NREN is not intended to "grow"
into a commercial network, nor is NREN designed to serve as an all-inclusive
educational network. Here, the meaning of "network" is functional, not physical. The
optical-fiber physical medium and broadband switches will be owned by common
carriers, and the "network" will be implemented by purchasing services from common
carriers and other commercial vendors of communications services.
Because of this close relationship with the private sector, there is a special opportunity
to stimulate commercial exploitation of products and services developed in conjunction
with the NREN program. The panel recommends that a comprehensive study be made
on the technical, financial, legal and regulatory problems associated with the
commercialization of a nationwide high-speed network to maximize the catalytic effect of
NREN. Furthermore, it is critically important to be paying attention to ways in which
the common carrier industry can be involved now, along with the other players, in
planning how to help a nationwide high performance information infrastructure become
effective and commercially viable as soon as possible.
In order to position the United States to take advantage of the evolving computing and
communications infrastructure, we must develop a broad approach to the use of and
familiarity with high performance computing and communications. In addition to the
program of increased support for research and graduate education contained in the
original HPCC program plan, the panel recommends increased emphasis on programs
to foster the growth of computational science research and education. These programs
will need not only to foster capability in traditional computer science, but also to
stimulate the use of HPCC in the computational solutions to problems in science,
engineering, and other fields.
A dialogue between the HPCC program and industry is essential to the success of the
initiative. Without program acceptance by the various industrial constituencies, the
results of the program will have little impact. Acceptance by industry depends on
strong industrial participation. The HPCC program has successfully included input
from industry to date, and the panel recommends that the dialogue between the HPCC
program and industry be continued and strengthened as the program evolves.
3
Balance
Comments on the distribution of funds among the four program components are limited
by the Panel's inability to discriminate between hardware purchases and other program
tasks. Furthermore, since the program is in the early stages of implementation, it is
expected that significant funds earmarked for Advanced Software Technology and
Algorithms (ASTA) and Basic Research and Human Resources (BRHR) are being used
for one time purchase of hardware. Therefore, the Panel's comments do not address
the balance of spending between the various program components.
The panel believes that the High Performance Computing Systems (HPCS) component
overemphasizes processing speed relative to other computing needs, for example,
memory storage, visualization, and user interface. These technologies enable the user to
manipulate the vast amount of information generated by the enhanced computational
capabilities of scalable, massively parallel computers. Steps should be taken to ensure
that all computing components receive adequate emphasis to allow for the full
exploitation of the tera-ops processing capability.
Some agencies may be overemphasizing support for existing constituencies over program
objectives. Optimal achievement of program objectives should be the primary
determinant of implementation tactics.
In particular, the Grand Challenges should drive the technologies. Agencies should be
encouraged to choose Grand Challenges and support them to ensure success. Because
the implementation of the Grand Challenges will uncover program deficiencies, these
data should be used to assist in the redirection of the program objectives, in particular,
with the HPCS and NREN components. Indeed, several of the panelists believe that the
successful realization of the Grand Challenges constitutes a more important goal than
the development of the supporting technologies.
NOAA, EPA, NIST, NIH, and DoEd engage in research and development which would
be substantially advanced by the application of HPCC technology. These agencies
should continue to identify and undertake Grand Challenges appropriate to their
missions.
4
Management
The Panel believes that the level of coordination during the planning phase of the
initiative was commendable. For example, the HPCS technology development effort,
jointly implemented by DARPA, DOE, NASA, and NSF has very little overlap and is
effectively addressing the major problems in a coherent manner.
It is the Panel's view that there are no formal structures to expedite program review
and to discuss program changes during the implementation phase. Program execution is
not reviewed collectively to permit timely program modifications. An effort should be
made to implement the level of program coordination during implementation that was
achieved during program planning.
The Panel suggests, as a test case to foster more tightly coordinated execution, that each
agency could contribute a small portion of their budget, perhaps five percent, toward
the funding of a single, coherently-managed project. The project should be
well-defined, and in support of a highly visible Presidential initiative, e.g., a model of
ozone degradation for the Global Change initiative.
Vision
The panel believes that, successfully implemented, the HPCC initiative will significantly
accelerate the advance toward a "digital information society" in which computing and
communications are combined in a seamless manner to change our lives in profound
ways. The panel believes that this vision has a good chance of being realized. This
vision is widely shared even among those who do not understand the technical details,
and accounts for the strong interest and support that HPCC enjoys.
A unification of computing with communications is inherent in the HPCC strategy. In
NREN, networking makes the power of a single computing resource available to many
users. In massively parallel computing systems, speed is achieved by making it possible
for many processors to work on a single problem in an efficient way through
sophisticated inter-processor communication. Thus, computing is made available in
both "one for many" and "many for one" modes of operation, thanks to effective
communication technology.
The long awaited synthesis between communications and computing technologies will
have an impact that transcends the development of the technologies themselves. It will
be another significant step in the transformation of our society through information
technologies.
5
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
October 7, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR CONSTANCE HORNER
FROM:
D. ALLAN BROMLEY Allan
SUBJECT:
NOMINEES FOR THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE
COMPUTING ADVISORY COMMITTEE
I am pleased to forward for the President's consideration the attached list of nominees
for appointment to the High-Performance Computing Advisory Committee which is to
be established in accordance with P.L. 102-194.
These nominees were selected from candidates proposed by the major associations
representing the research, education, and library communities, as well as network
providers and industry. The list of proposed candidates was initially screened by an
interagency group which was consulted by Dr. Eugene Wong, Associate Director for
Industrial Technology, OSTP. It is our opinion that this advisory committee should not
be larger than fifteen in number.
My office will forward to the Office of Presidential Personnel the nominees' biographies,
the letters of nomination, and other background information.
Counie smarcandu cauciduable
Congussional frame to at
least get nominations for this
mandated Cammiltee to The Hell
Many thanks Anar
Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet
(George Bush Library)
Document No.
Subject/Title of Document
Date
Restriction
Class.
and Type
01. List
Nominees for the High Performance Computing Advisory
10/7/92
(b)(6)
Committee [personal information redacted] (2 pp.)
Collection:
Record Group:
Bush Presidential Records
Office:
Science and Technology Policy, Office of (OSTP)
Series:
Bromley, D. Allan, Files
Subseries:
General Science Files
WHORM Cat.:
File Location:
Industry - High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) [1992]
Date Closed:
5/21/2010
OA/ID Number:
62036-006
FOIA/SYS Case #:
2005-0336-F
Appeal Case #:
Re-review Case #:
Appeal Disposition:
P-2/P-5 Review Case #:
Disposition Date:
AR Case #:
MR Case #:
AR Disposition:
MR Disposition:
AR Disposition Date:
MR Disposition Date:
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act - [44 U.S.C. 2204(a)]
Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C. 552(b)]
P-1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA]
(b)(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA]
P-2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA]
(b)(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of an
P-3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA]
agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA]
P-4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
(b)(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA]
financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA]
(b)(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P-5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
information [(b)(4) of the FOIA]
and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA]
(b)(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P-6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA]
personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA]
(b)(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of
(b)(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
gift.
financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA]
(b)(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
PRM. Removed as a personal record misfile.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
October 22, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
Allan
FROM:
D. ALLAN BROMLEY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SUBJECT:
PRESS RELEASE FOR ANNOUNCING THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE
COMPUTING ADVISORY COMMITTEE
In accordance with Public Law 102-194, the President is required to establish the High-
Performance Computing Advisory Committee. In conjunction with this mandate, I am
forwarding a Press Release that announces the establishment of such a committee. This
Advisory Committee would provide the Administration with advice and information on
all areas of high-performance computing.
As the Press Release indicates, I recommend that I be authorized to form and select the
members of the Advisory Committee. My office has extensively solicited nominations
from the community, and we have prepared a list of qualified individuals. We have also
kept Constance Horner's office informed of our intentions on the establishment of this
committee.
We are under considerable Congressional pressure to have the Advisory Committee
formed and appointments made.
Attachment
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 22, 1992
In accordance with the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-194,
Dec. 9, 1991), the President today announced the establishment of the High-
Performance Computing Advisory Committee. The purpose of the Advisory Committee
will be to provide the Administration with advice on all areas of high-performance
computing, including advanced computing, communications, and information
technologies; scientific workstations; supercomputer systems; high-capacity and high-
speed networks; special purpose and experimental systems, and applications and systems
software.
The President has asked Dr. D. Allan Bromley, the Assistant to the President for
Science and Technology and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
to form and select the members of the Advisory Committee. The recommendations of
the Advisory Committee will be considered in reviewing and revising the National High-
Performance Computing Program (Sec.101, High-Performance Computing Act of 1991).
In performance of their duties, the Advisory Committee will provide the Administration
with an independent assessment of progress made in implementing the National High-
Performance Computing Program; the need to revise the Program; the balance between
the components of the Program; whether the research and development undertaken
pursuant to the Program is helping to maintain United States leadership in computing
technology; and any other high-performance computing issues identified to have national
importance.
###
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20506
file
August
Ralph: SUTTON 26, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR VICKIE
FROM:
KARL A. ERB, ACTING DIRECTOR
SUBJ:
PCAST Report on HPCC
faferthir repent
The PCAST report on the HPCC initiative was distributed yesterday at a
meeting of the PMES FCCSET Committee. Have OSTP's Congressional
Committees been briefed on this report? If not, I suggest copies be sent
out immediately, so that our Committees receive them directly from us.
8-31
cc:
D.A. Bromley
E. Wong
R. Brescia
Karl-
PCAST is an advisory famel
to the President - not 6 Congress.
We have worked to preserve the
legal relationship. Official would
integrity of this executive and
dilute
and briefings to Congress the mission of PCAST.
Thanks confuse for the suggestion, The though!
PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL OF ADVISORS
ON
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING AND
COMMUNICATIONS PANEL REPORT
President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
High Performance Computing and Communications Panel Report
Introduction
In FY92, a Presidential initiative was launched, aimed at securing U.S. preeminence in
high performance computing and related communication technologies. The initiative,
entitled High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC), is one of five
initiatives coordinated by the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering,
and Technology (FCCSET) process. Nine federal agencies are currently involved, with
the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), the Department of Energy
(DOE), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National
Science Foundation (NSF) providing the principal program funding and direction.
Lesser but important roles are being played by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Department of Education, and the National Institutes of Health.
The stated goal of the initiative is threefold: extend U.S. technological leadership in high
performance computing and computer communications; provide wide dissemination and
application of the technologies; and spur gains in U.S. productivity and industrial
competitiveness, all within the context of the mission needs of federal agencies. The
strategy for accomplishing the goals and the program components are highlighted in the
report "Grand Challenges: High Performance Computing and Communications,"
published as a supplement to the fiscal year 1992 and 1993 budgets.
Because of the importance of the HPCC program to the national well-being, especially
its potential implication for industrial competitiveness, the Assistant to the President for
Science and Technology has asked that the President's Council of Advisors in Science
and Technology (PCAST) establish a panel to advise PCAST on the strengths and
weaknesses of the HPCC program. The Panel, which includes two PCAST members
and experts drawn from industry and academia, has conducted several fact finding
meetings, interviewed HPCC program managers from the key participating agencies,
and was briefed by the Computer Systems Policy Project, a private sector organization
representing all the major American computer and information systems corporations.
On this basis, the Panel offers the following observations and recommendations.
Panel Observations and Recommendations
The Panel believes that, in general, the program has important objectives and is
structured to achieve the objectives. The Panel also finds that the HPCC program is
making excellent progress towards achieving the program objectives.
The Panel's observations and recommendations relate to the following issues: the
program strategy; the program balance among technology, applications, and
infrastructure; the program management; and the program vision.
Strategy
The HPCC program has certain explicit technology goals. The two best known goals
are to implement by 1995 a tera-ops (10¹² operations per second) computer and a
skeletal gigabit (10⁹ bits per second) National Research and Education Network.
The Panel finds the strategy of using scalable, massively parallel architectures to achieve
the tera-ops goal convincing. Evidence to-date lends credence to the viability of the
approach. The potential of the scalable, massively parallel computer architectures
exceeds that of any competing choice.
The National Research and Education Network (NREN) approach of coupling diverse
existing networks, for example, the DARPA, NSF, and DOE networks, is also proving
to be effective. The Panel supports the strategy of making NREN both an infrastructure
goal and a testbed for technology development.
The integration of computing and communication as manifested in the program is
viewed by the Panel as a critical part of its strategy. It will do much to accelerate the
Nation to a "digital society." However, the integration of computing and
communication also creates enormous challenges for data handling and analysis.
Therefore, the Panel recommends that special attention be given to database
standardization for ease of utilization.
An effort should be made to encourage additional federal agency participation in the
program. The participation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Institute for
Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the
Department of Education (DoEd) is important, and their role should be continually
expanded.
2
The purpose of NREN is threefold: to satisfy the Government's critical needs for
networked computing, to provide a high speed data communication service for the
research and education community, and in doing so, serve as a testbed for the
development of network technologies and services. The NREN is not intended to "grow"
into a commercial network, nor is NREN designed to serve as an all-inclusive
educational network. Here, the meaning of "network" is functional, not physical. The
optical-fiber physical medium and broadband switches will be owned by common
carriers, and the "network" will be implemented by purchasing services from common
carriers and other commercial vendors of communications services.
Because of this close relationship with the private sector, there is a special opportunity
to stimulate commercial exploitation of products and services developed in conjunction
with the NREN program. The panel recommends that a comprehensive study be made
on the technical, financial, legal and regulatory problems associated with the
commercialization of a nationwide high-speed network to maximize the catalytic effect of
NREN. Furthermore, it is critically important to be paying attention to ways in which
the common carrier industry can be involved now, along with the other players, in
planning how to help a nationwide high performance information infrastructure become
effective and commercially viable as soon as possible.
In order to position the United States to take advantage of the evolving computing and
communications infrastructure, we must develop a broad approach to the use of and
familiarity with high performance computing and communications. In addition to the
program of increased support for research and graduate education contained in the
original HPCC program plan, the panel recommends increased emphasis on programs
to foster the growth of computational science research and education. These programs
will need not only to foster capability in traditional computer science, but also to
stimulate the use of HPCC in the computational solutions to problems in science,
engineering, and other fields.
A dialogue between the HPCC program and industry is essential to the success of the
initiative. Without program acceptance by the various industrial constituencies, the
results of the program will have little impact. Acceptance by industry depends on
strong industrial participation. The HPCC program has successfully included input
from industry to date, and the panel recommends that the dialogue between the HPCC
program and industry be continued and strengthened as the program evolves.
3
Balance
Comments on the distribution of funds among the four program components are limited
by the Panel's inability to discriminate between hardware purchases and other program
tasks. Furthermore, since the program is in the early stages of implementation, it is
expected that significant funds earmarked for Advanced Software Technology and
Algorithms (ASTA) and Basic Research and Human Resources (BRHR) are being used
for one time purchase of hardware. Therefore, the Panel's comments do not address
the balance of spending between the various program components.
The panel believes that the High Performance Computing Systems (HPCS) component
overemphasizes processing speed relative to other computing needs, for example,
memory storage, visualization, and user interface. These technologies enable the user to
manipulate the vast amount of information generated by the enhanced computational
capabilities of scalable, massively parallel computers. Steps should be taken to ensure
that all computing components receive adequate emphasis to allow for the full
exploitation of the tera-ops processing capability.
Some agencies may be overemphasizing support for existing constituencies over program
objectives. Optimal achievement of program objectives should be the primary
determinant of implementation tactics.
In particular, the Grand Challenges should drive the technologies. Agencies should be
encouraged to choose Grand Challenges and support them to ensure success. Because
the implementation of the Grand Challenges will uncover program deficiencies, these
data should be used to assist in the redirection of the program objectives, in particular,
with the HPCS and NREN components. Indeed, several of the panelists believe that the
successful realization of the Grand Challenges constitutes a more important goal than
the development of the supporting technologies.
NOAA, EPA, NIST, NIH, and DoEd engage in research and development which would
be substantially advanced by the application of HPCC technology. These agencies
should continue to identify and undertake Grand Challenges appropriate to their
missions.
4
Management
The Panel believes that the level of coordination during the planning phase of the
initiative was commendable. For example, the HPCS technology development effort,
jointly implemented by DARPA, DOE, NASA, and NSF has very little overlap and is
effectively addressing the major problems in a coherent manner.
It is the Panel's view that there are no formal structures to expedite program review
and to discuss program changes during the implementation phase. Program execution is
not reviewed collectively to permit timely program modifications. An effort should be
made to implement the level of program coordination during implementation that was
achieved during program planning.
The Panel suggests, as a test case to foster more tightly coordinated execution, that each
agency could contribute a small portion of their budget, perhaps five percent, toward
the funding of a single, coherently-managed project. The project should be
well-defined, and in support of a highly visible Presidential initiative, e.g., a model of
ozone degradation for the Global Change initiative.
Vision
The panel believes that, successfully implemented, the HPCC initiative will significantly
accelerate the advance toward a "digital information society" in which computing and
communications are combined in a seamless manner to change our lives in profound
ways. The panel believes that this vision has a good chance of being realized. This
vision is widely shared even among those who do not understand the technical details,
and accounts for the strong interest and support that HPCC enjoys.
A unification of computing with communications is inherent in the HPCC strategy. In
NREN, networking makes the power of a single computing resource available to many
users. In massively parallel computing systems, speed is achieved by making it possible
for many processors to work on a single problem in an efficient way through
sophisticated inter-processor communication. Thus, computing is made available in
both "one for many" and "many for one" modes of operation, thanks to effective
communication technology.
The long awaited synthesis between communications and computing technologies will
have an impact that transcends the development of the technologies themselves. It will
be another significant step in the transformation of our society through information
technologies.
5