A simple approach for the distribution of computationally intense tasks in an heterogeneous environment: distribution of the MDPP image-processing package.

A method has been developed to link the display ability of a high-resolution graphics workstation with the computational power of a local mainframe or a remote supercomputer via an electronic data network. The method allows this link to be established in a manner largely transparent to the user. The application of the method is illustrated by our successful distribution of the computationally intensive portions of an imaging program (MDPP) from a small VAX workstation to a VAX mainframe and Cray Y-MP8/832 using a simple message-passing technique. This technique can be applied to almost any configuration of networked machines.