Introduction to massively-parallel computing in high-energy physics

Ever since computers were first used for scientific and numerical work, there has existed an "arms race" between the technical development of faster computing hardware, and the desires of scientists to solve larger problems in shorter time-scales. However, the vast leaps in processor performance achieved through advances in semi-conductor science have reached a hiatus as the technology comes up against the physical limits of the speed of light and quantum effects. This has lead all high performance computer manufacturers to turn towards a parallel architecture for their new machines. In these lectures we will introduce the history and concepts behind parallel computing, and review the various parallel architectures and software environments currently available. We will then introduce programming methodologies that allow efficient exploitation of parallel machines, and present case studies of the parallelization of typical High Energy Physics codes for the two main classes of parallel computing architecture (SIMD and MIMD). We will also review the expected future trends in the technology, computing initiatives in Europe and the United States, and the drive towards standardization of parallel computing software environments.