Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!bloom-beacon!nmsu.CSNET!mangerma
From: mangerma@nmsu.CSNET
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: X11 and multiple processes
Message-ID: <8806100901.AA14416@ATHENA.MIT.EDU>
Date: 9 Jun 88 15:23:06 GMT
References: <25516@bbn.COM>
Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 52


Walter,

      I am currently working on the same problem at the Computing
Research Laboratory at New Mexico State University.  We have a 64
node Intel Hypercube and want to use X Windows to monitor the
processes running on each node.

	Our front end processor is a Sun which controls all the
info with the outside world (of the Hypercube), so the
implemetation should not be that difficult.

        We are also thinking of using X as a debugger of the
processes running on each node.

        An aside, since we have a large network of Sun's (for New
Mexico) around 40...   We are also thinking about using the Sun
Network as  a parallel processor.  Granted we have bandwidth
problems, limtited to 10 Mbits per second (ethernet).  But X is
perfect for this since it is designed to have the server running
on one host and the processes running on all the rest, no need to
tie up those machines with the server. We are also anticipating
faster channels currently under development at Los Alamos, that
should give 80Mbits per second.

	Both of these projects are in their infancy stage, as we
are coming up to speed with X11.  However, we would be interested
in starting a newsgroup (mail group) of people interested in this
type of stuff.  Anyone who has a network of computers on an
ethernet could potentially use that network (in the deep dark
hours of the night, when all those machines are sleeping) as a
parallel processor.  X is great, because it can be used as the
basis for this powerful model of computation that is waiting to
be utilized in harmony.  It is just implementation details !!

      One of the applications we are using the hypercube for now
is to generate fractals.  We are able to generate fractals on the
hypercube currently in about 5 minutes using the 64 nodes to full
capacity and a "hungry puppy" algorithm.  Each node generates one
line of the fractal and when it is done, goes on to the next
available line that is waiting to be generated.  The key is that
all nodes are always busy.  The same computation on a Sun-3 takes
around 3 hours.  Looking forward to hearing what other people are
doing.

	Have a good one !

Michael Angerman
Computing Research Lab
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88001
505-646-5711
mangerma@nmsu.edu