Cluster computing in the classroom and integration with computing curricula 2001

With the progress of research on cluster computing, many universities have begun to offer various courses covering cluster computing. A wide variety of content can be taught in these courses. Because of this variation, a difficulty that arises is the selection of appropriate course material. The selection is complicated because some content in cluster computing may also be covered by other courses in the undergraduate curriculum, and the background of students enrolled in cluster computing courses varies. These aspects of cluster computing make the development of good course material difficult. Combining experiences in teaching cluster computing at universities in the United States and Australia, this paper presents prospective topics in cluster computing and a wide variety of information sources from which instructors can choose. The course material is described in relation to the knowledge units of the Joint IEEE Computer Society and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Computing Curricula 2001 and includes system architecture, parallel programming, algorithms, and applications. Instructors can select units in each of the topical areas and develop their own syllabi to meet course objectives. The authors share their experiences in teaching cluster computing and the topics chosen, depending on course objectives.