Mix-and-match high performance computing

Scientific researchers who perform large numerical simulations often put great demands on the processing power of even the fastest computers. High performance computers (HPCs), such as massively parallel processors, supercomputers, and graphical workstations, each have unique characteristics that make them well suited for a particular aspect of a large computer simulation. Often, however, no one individual HPC has the ideal combination of raw computing power, memory capacity, and graphics capability to best address all aspects of a large simulation. We show an example of how mix-and-match computing was used to perform a large-scale 3D numerical simulation, one that models the convection of magma in the earth´s interior, using a set of specialized high performance computers.<>