The networking component of the annual SUPERCOMPUTING conference increases in importance and complexity each year. SCInet, the on-site network designed and built especially for these conferences, vividly demonstrates the role that high-performance computing and communications technology have played and will continue to play in the development of what we commonly refer to as the information superhighway.
In 1994, SCInet, the world's first all-fiber multi-gigabit computer network, served as a prototype for a metropolitan-area high-performance network. This was the world's largest HiPPI network, almost twice as much installed serial HiPPI as existed at any facility.
At SC'95 SCInet provided exhibitors and research- ers the opportunity to showcase their work and products. The network demonstrated the technical feasibility and benefits of a high-performance computing environment using serial HiPPI, FDDI, switched and shared Ethernet, ATM and other technologies. This activity was augmented by an experimental, high-performance network called IWAY, based on ATM technology, linking dozens of the country's fastest computers and advanced visualization environments. It provided a testbed where large-scale simulations and interactive visualization projects could be developed and demonstrated.
SC'96 will build on the networking activities of previous conferences, providing many venues and opportunities for attendees to participate and view communi- cations technology "at work" on many platforms and applications. We are organizing a team of suppliers, exhibitors, carriers, service providers and technical support volunteers from many government, industry and educational organizations to develop the SCInet '96 infrastructure for this year's conference in the Pittsburgh convention center.
Specific details describing participation opportunities will be made available at the SC'96 WWW site (http://www.supercomp.org/sc96/scinet). Potential collaborators should review this material frequently to stay abreast of new opportunities for participation as 1996 progresses.