*Result*: An integrated parallel/distributed environment for high performance computing

*Parallel and distributed systems have in the past evolved following different paths of development. Recent advances in networking and microprocessor technologies have brought them closer together and currently both areas can be regarded and programmed in a similar fashion as a multiprocessor system with a common programming environment (albeit with different levels of granularity and performance). This thesis is an investigation into the provision of UNIX services, particularly related to networking and to the accessing of remote file servers, for a stand-alone Single Program Multiple Data programming environment. For this purpose a demonstration environment has been built using T800 transputers as a hardware platform. A Transporter Socket System has been developed which supports a standard application interface on each node of the parallel machine providing access to a full UDP/IP protocol implementation residing on a specially-designed Ethernet I/O node. This I/O node is modular and can be added on demand to any transputer-based parallel system. An experimental NFS client system has been developed supporting an NFS mount mechanism, the standard UNIX file system interface and a particular caching scheme on each mode. The capabilities of the resulting environment and its usability have been demonstrated by conducting an evaluation procedure which included the porting of a practical application onto the system. The combination system provides a flexible framework for integrating parallel and distributed systems which can be used as a tool for future research into heterogeneous systems. The design philosophy of the system is described in detail along with discussions of the key issues and results achieved.*