CC UNIT-1

Q: High performance computing

• In high-performance computing systems, a pool of processors
(processor machines or central processing units [CPUs]) connected
(networked) with other resources like memory, storage, and input and
output devices, and the deployed software is enabled to run in the entire
system of connected components.
• The processor machines can be of homogeneous or heterogeneous type.
• The legacy meaning of high-performance computing (HPC) is the
supercomputers.
• High-performance computing (HPC) is the ability to process data and
perform complex calculations at high speeds.
• One of the best-known types of HPC solutions is the supercomputer.
• A supercomputer contains thousands of compute nodes that work
together to complete one or more tasks. This is called parallel
processing.
• It is like having thousands of PCs networked together, combining
compute power to complete tasks faster.
Examples:
➢ a small cluster of desktop computers
➢ personal computers (PCs) to the fastest supercomputers.

• There are three key components of high-performance computing solutions:

compute, network, and storage.
• To develop a high-performance computing architecture, multiple computer
servers are networked together to form a cluster.
 • Algorithms and software programs are executed concurrently on the
servers in the cluster.
• To get the results, the cluster is networked to data storage. These modules
function together to complete different tasks
High-Performance Computing Use Cases
➢ Financial services: HPC is being used to monitor real-time stock trends
and automate trading.
➢ Research labs: HPC is used by scientists to find sources of renewable
energy, create new materials, make predictions about storms, and study the
evolution of the universe. HPC is also being used by researchers in
geology, social media, brain imaging, semantics, economics, genomics,
and even music.
➢ Healthcare: HPC is being used by healthcare specialists to cure diseases
such as diabetes and cancer for more accurate and faster diagnosis of the
patient.
➢ Entertainment industry: Professionals in the media and entertainment
industry use HPC to edit feature films, stream live events, and render
special effects.
➢ Oil and gas: With the help of high-performance computing systems, one
can identify where to drill for new wells.
➢ Industry: HPC can be used to improve products, reduce the time taken to
develop new products, and reduce production costs.
➢ Big Data: As our ability to gather information increases, high-performance
computing systems can be highly useful to analyze this data.
Benefits of High-Performance Computing
a) Saves Money: With fast processing ability of high-performance computing
systems, companies can deliver faster results in saving money.
b) Streamline Business Processes: HPC systems can customize many business
processes allowing users to get more done in less time. The ability to analyze data
faster allows the financial team to identify the gaps and deliver results.
Q: Parallel computing
• Parallel computing is also one of the characteristics of HPC.
• Here, a set of processors work cooperatively to solve a computational
problem.
• These processor machines or CPUs are mostly of homogeneous type.
• Therefore, this definition is the same as that of HPC and is broad enough
to include supercomputers that have hundreds or thousands of processors
interconnected with other resources.
• One can distinguish between conventional (also known as serial or
sequential or Von Neumann) computers and parallel computers in the way
the applications are executed.
Serial Computing:
In serial or sequential computers,
➢ It runs on a single computer/processor machine having a single CPU
➢ A problem is broken down into a discrete series of instructions.
➢ Instructions are executed one after another.
Parallel computing:
In parallel computing, since there is simultaneous use of multiple processor
machines,
➢ It is run using multiple processors (multiple CPUs).
➢ A problem is broken down into discrete parts that can be solved
concurrently, each part is further broken down into a series of instructions.
➢ Instructions from each part are executed simultaneously on different
processors.
➢ An overall control/coordination mechanism is employed.
Q: Distributed computing
• Distributed computing is also a computing system that consists of multiple
computers or processor machines connected through a network, which can
be homogeneous or heterogeneous, but run as a single system.
• The connectivity can be such that the CPUs in a distributed system can be
physically close together and connected by a local network, or they can be
geographically distant and connected by a wide area network.
• The heterogeneity in a distributed system supports any number of possible
configurations in the processor machines, such as mainframes, PCs,
workstations, and minicomputers.
• The goal of distributed computing is to make such a network work as a
single computer.
Advantages:
Advantages of the Distributed Computing System are:
• Scalability: Distributed systems are generally more scalable than
centralized systems, as they can easily add new devices or systems to the
network to increase processing and storage capacity.
• Reliability: Distributed systems are often more reliable than centralized
systems, as they can continue to operate even if one device or system fails.
• Flexibility: Distributed systems are generally more flexible than
centralized systems, as they can be configured and reconfigured more
easily to meet changing computing needs.
Disadvantages:
• Complexity: Distributed systems can be more complex than centralized
systems, as they involve multiple devices or systems that need to be
coordinated and managed.
• Security: It can be more challenging to secure a distributed system, as
security measures must be implemented on each device or system to
ensure the security of the entire system.
• Performance: Distributed systems may not offer the same level of
performance as centralized systems, as processing and data storage is
distributed across multiple devices or systems.

Q: Cluster computing
• A cluster computing system consists of a set of the same or similar type of
processor machines connected using a dedicated network infrastructure.
• All processor machines share resources such as a common home directory
and have a software such as a message passing interface (MPI)
implementation installed to allow programs to be run across all nodes
simultaneously.
• This is also a kind of HPC category. The individual computers in a cluster
can be referred to as nodes.
• The reason to realize a cluster as HPC is since the individual nodes can
work together to solve a problem larger than any computer can easily solve.
• And, the nodes need to communicate with one another to work
cooperatively and meaningfully together to solve the problem in hand.
• If we have processor machines of heterogeneous types in a cluster, this kind
of clusters become a subtype and still mostly are in the experimental or
research stage.
Types of Cluster computing:
1. High performance (HP) clusters:
HP clusters use computer clusters and supercomputers to solve advance
computational problems. They are used to performing functions that need
nodes to communicate as they perform their jobs.
2. Load-balancing clusters:
Incoming requests are distributed for resources among several nodes running
similar programs or having similar content. This prevents any single node from
receiving a disproportionate amount of task. This type of distribution is
generally used in a web-hosting environment.
3. High Availability (HA) Clusters:
HA clusters are designed to maintain redundant nodes that can act as backup
systems in case any failure occurs and to give uninterrupted data availability to
the customers.
Advantages of Cluster Computing:
1. High Performance: The systems offer better and enhanced performance than
that of mainframe computer networks.
2. Easy to manage: Cluster Computing is manageable and easy to implement.
3. Scalable: Resources can be added to the clusters accordingly.
4. Availability: The other nodes will be active when one node gets failed and
will function as a proxy for the failed node. This makes sure for enhanced
availability.
5. Flexibility: It can be upgraded to the superior specification or additional
nodes can be added.
Disadvantages of Cluster Computing:
1. High cost: It is not so much cost-effective due to its high hardware and its
design.
2. Problem in finding fault: It is difficult to find which component has a fault.
3. More space is needed: Infrastructure may increase as more servers are needed
to manage and monitor.
Q: Grid computing
• The computing resources in most of the organizations are underutilized but
are necessary for certain operations.
• The idea of grid computing is to make use of such nonutilized computing
power by the needy organizations, and thereby the return on investment
(ROI) on computing investments can be increased.
• Thus, grid computing is a network of computing or processor machines
managed with a kind of software such as middleware, to access and use the
resources remotely.
• The managing activity of grid resources through the middleware is called
grid services.
• Grid services provide access control, security, access to data including
digital libraries and databases, and access to large-scale interactive and
long-term storage facilities.

Advantages of Grid Computing:

1. It is not centralized, as there are no servers required, except the control node
which is just used for controlling and not for processing.
2. Multiple heterogeneous machines i.e., machines with different Operating
Systems can use a single grid computing network.
3. Tasks can be performed parallelly across various physical locations and the
users do not have to pay for them (with money).
Disadvantages of Grid Computing:
1. The software of the grid is still in the involution stage.
2. Many groups are reluctant with sharing resources.
3. Trouble in the control node can come to halt in the whole network.
Q: Cloud computing

• Cloud Computing, which is one of the demanding technologies of the

current time and which is giving a new shape to every organization by
providing on demand virtualized services/resources.
• The computing trend moved toward cloud from the concept of grid
computing, particularly when large computing resources are required to
solve a single problem.
• However, the potential difference between grid and cloud is that grid
computing supports leveraging several computers in parallel to solve a
particular application, while cloud computing supports leveraging multiple
resources, including computing resources, to deliver a unified service to
the end user.
• In cloud computing, the IT and business resources, such as servers, storage,
network, applications, and processes, can be dynamically provisioned to
the user needs and workload.
• In addition, while a cloud can provision and support a grid, a cloud can
also support nongrid environments, such as a three-tier web architecture
running on traditional or Web 2.0 applications.

Advantages:
1. Back-up and restore data: Once the data is stored in the cloud, it is easier to
get back-up and restore that data using the cloud.
2. Improved collaboration: Cloud applications improve collaboration by
allowing groups of people to share information quickly and easily in the cloud
via shared storage.
3. Low maintenance cost: Cloud computing reduces both hardware and
software maintenance costs for organizations.
4. Mobility: Cloud computing allows us to easily access all cloud data via
mobile.
5. Unlimited storage capacity: Cloud offers us a huge amount of storing
capacity for storing our important data such as documents, images, audio, video,
etc. in one place.
6. Data security: Data security is one of the biggest advantages of cloud
computing. Cloud offers many advanced features related to security and ensures
that data is securely stored and handled.

Disadvantages:

1. Internet Connectivity: In cloud computing, every data (image, audio, video,

etc.) is stored on the cloud, and we access these data through the cloud by using
the internet connection. If we do not have good internet connectivity, we cannot
access these data. However, we have no any other way to access data from the
cloud.
2. Vendor lock-in: Vendor lock-in is the biggest disadvantage of cloud
computing. Organizations may face problems when transferring their services
from one vendor to another. As different vendors provide different platforms, that
can cause difficulty moving from one cloud to another.
3. Limited Control: As we know, cloud infrastructure is completely owned,
managed, and monitored by the service provider, so the cloud users have less
control over the function and execution of services within a cloud infrastructure.
4. Security: Although cloud service providers implement the best security
standards to store important information. But, before adopting cloud technology,
we should be aware that we will be sending all our organization's sensitive
information to a third party, i.e., a cloud computing service provider. While
sending the data on the cloud, there may be a chance that your organization's
information is hacked by Hackers.
Q: Bio computing

• Biocomputing systems use the concepts of biologically derived or

simulated molecules (or models) that perform computational processes to
solve a problem.
• The biologically derived models aid in structuring the computer programs
that become part of the application.
• Biocomputing provides the theoretical background and practical tools for
scientists to explore proteins and DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid).
• DNA and proteins are nature’s building blocks, but these building blocks
are not exactly used as bricks; the function of the final molecule rather
strongly depends on the order of these blocks.
• Thus, the biocomputing scientist works on inventing the order suitable for
various applications mimicking biology.

Q: Mobile computing
• Mobile Computing is a technology that provides an environment that
enables users to transmit data from one device to another device without
the use of any physical link or cables.
• In mobile computing, the processing (or computing) elements are small
(i.e., handheld devices) and the communication between various resources
is taking place using wireless media.
• Mobile communication for voice applications (e.g., cellular phone) is
widely established throughout the world and witnesses a very rapid growth
in all its dimensions including the increase in the number of subscribers of
various cellular networks.
 • An extension of this technology is the ability to send and receive data
across various cellular networks using small devices such as smartphones.
• There can be numerous applications based on this technology; for example,
video call or conferencing is one of the important applications that people
prefer to use in place of existing voice (only) communications on mobile
phones.
• Mobile computing–based applications are becoming very important and
rapidly evolving with various technological advancements as it allows
users to transmit data from remote locations to other remote or fixed
locations.

Q: Quantum computing
• Quantum Computing is the process of using quantum-mechanics for
solving complex and massive operations quickly and efficiently.
• Manufacturers of computing systems say that there is a limit for
cramming(overfill) more and more transistors into smaller and smaller
spaces of integrated circuits (ICs) and thereby doubling the processing
power about every 18 months.
• This problem will have to be overcome by a new quantum computing–
based solution,
• Quantum computers are millions of times faster than even our most
powerful supercomputers today.
• Since quantum computing works differently on the most fundamental level
than the current technology, and although there are working prototypes,
these systems have not so far proved to be alternatives to today’s silicon-
based machines.
Applications of quantum computing:

1. Cybersecurity: Personal information is stored in computers in the current era

of digitization. So, we need a very strong system of cybersecurity to protect data
from stealing. Classical computers are good enough for cybersecurity, but the
vulnerable threats and attacks weaken it. Scientists are working with quantum
computers in this field. It is also found that it is possible to develop several
techniques to deal with such cybersecurity threats via machine learning.

2. Cryptography is also a field of security where quantum computers are helping

to develop encryption methods to deliver the packets onto the network safely.
Such creation of encryption methods is known as Quantum Cryptography.

3. Weather Forecasting: Sometimes, the process of analysing becomes too long

to forecast the weather using classical computers. On the other hand, Quantum
Computers have enhanced power to analyse, recognize the patterns, and forecast
the weather in a short period and with better accuracy.

4. AI and Machine Learning: AI has become an emerging area of digitization.

Many tools, apps, and features have been developed via AI and ML. As the days
passing by, numerous applications are being developed. As a result, it has
challenged the classical systems to match up accuracy and speed. But Quantum
computers can help to process such complex problems in less time for which a
classical computer will take hundreds of years to solve those problems.

5. Finance Marketing: A finance industry can survive in the market only if it

provides fruitful results to its customers. Such industries need unique and
effective strategies to get growth. Although in conventional computers, the
technique of Monte Carlo simulations is being used, in turn, it consumes a lot of
time on the computer. However, if such complex calculations are performed by a
quantum system, it will improve the quality of solutions and decrease
development time.
Q: Optical computing
• Optical computing (also known as optoelectronic
computing and photonic computing) is a computation paradigm that uses
photons (small packets of light energy) produced by laser/ diodes for
digital computation. The optical computers, would give us a higher
performance and hence be faster than the electronic ones.
• The speed of computation depends on two factors:
1. how fast the information can be transferred
2. how fast that information can be processed that is data computation.
• Photons basically use wave propagation and the interference pattern of
waves to determine outputs.

Advantages:
• Low heating
• Can tackle complex computations very quickly
• Can be scaled to larger networks efficiently.
• Increased computation speed
• Higher bandwidth with very low data loss transmission.
• Free from electrical short circuits.
Disadvantages:
• Components of optical computers would be very costly.
• Size is very bulky.
• Integrating optical gates is complex.
Q: Nano computing
• Nanocomputing refers to computing systems that are constructed from
nanoscale components.
• The silicon transistors in traditional computers may be replaced by
transistors based on carbon nanotubes.
• The successful realization of nano computers relates to the scale and
integration of these nanotubes or components.
• The issues of scale relate to the dimensions of the components; they are, at
most, a few nanometers in at least two dimensions.
• The issues of integration of the components are twofold: first, the
manufacture of complex arbitrary patterns may be economically infeasible,
and second, nano computers may include massive quantities of devices.

Q: Differentiate bio computing and nano computing.

BIO COMPUTING NANO COMPUTING

It is a branch of computational biology that nanocomputing refers to computing
uses biological concepts for solving complex processes and devices that are really small
problems. (the prefix nano- means very small).
Bio computing primarily involves the Nano computing operates at the nanoscale
manipulation and processing of biomolecular
data, such as DNA, RNA, and proteins002E
It combines computerscience and molecular Nano computing has implications for
biology to understand biological systems quantum computing and molecular-level
computation
Bio computing is used in various It has applications in nanoelectronics,
applications, including genomics, drug quantum computing
discovery,
Bio computing faces challenges related to the Nano computing faces challenges related to
complexity of biological systems, manufacturing and stability at such small
experimental limitations, and scalability scales
issues when dealing with large-scale
biological data.
 Q: Differences between quantum cloud computing and optical
computing
Quantum computing Optical computing
Quantum computing is based on the idea Optical computing or photonic
that quantum mechanics can be applied to computing uses light waves produced
computing. by lasers for data processing, data storage or
data communication for computing
Quantum cloud computing relies on optical computing focuses on using light for
quantum processors, which use qubits computation.
(quantum bits) instead of classical bits for
computation.
Quantum cloud computing is primarily It has the potential for applications in areas
focused on solving complex problems that like high-performance computing, optical
are well-suited for quantum algorithms. data processing, and the development of
These include tasks like cryptography optical sensors.
(breaking encryption), optimization, and
quantum simulations for scientific
research.
Quantum cloud computing is still in its Practical and commercially available optical
nascent stage, with a limited number of computing systems are limited, and most
quantum computers available via the cloud. research in this field is focused on advancing
the technology's capabilities and potential
applications.
Quantum cloud computing faces Developing practical optical computing
challenges related to the stability and error systems involves challenges such as light
correction of quantum hardware, as well as source integration, signal manipulation, and
the development of practical quantum light-based logic gates.
algorithms.
Q: Distinguish between Cluster computing and grid computing

Cluster Computing Grid Computing

Nodes must be homogeneous i.e. Nodes may have different Operating systems
they should have same type of and hardwares. Machines can be homogeneous
hardware and operating system. or heterogeneous.

Computers in a cluster are dedicated Computers in a grid contribute their unused

to the same work and perform no processing resources to the grid computing
other task. network.

Computers are located close to each Computers may be located at a huge distance
other. from one another.

Computers are connected by a high Computers are connected using a low

speed local area network bus. speed bus or the internet.

Computers are connected in Computers are connected in a distributed or de-

a centralized network topology. centralized network topology.

Scheduling is controlled by a central It may have servers, but mostly each node
server. behaves independently.

Whole system has a centralized Every node manages it’s resources

resource manager. independently.

Whole system functions as a single Every node is autonomous, and anyone can opt
system. out anytime.

Cluster computing is used in areas Grid computing is used in areas such

such as WebLogic Application as predictive
Servers, Databases, etc. modeling, Automation, simulations, etc.

It has Centralized Resource

It has Distributed Resource Management.
management.