High Performance Computing as an Educational Experience well Suited to Developing Nations

Universities are challenged to provide students with a strong practical understanding of technologies, while providing enough hands-on experience to solve real problems. Universities in developing nations have the same challenges as other universities; but are also forced to deal with a lack of technological resources and substandard conditions. One solution is to offer a 'cluster computing' course. Building a cluster requires the integration and application of many technical concepts. Theoretical and technical challenges make it an absorbing and rewarding course. High performance computing was once limited to major institutions with huge funds. Low-cost commodity hardware, free operating systems and faster, lower cost networking and cluster computing concepts have made it possible for institutions at all levels to provide high performance computing to their students and researchers. This paper describes possible methods of teaching cluster computing in a developing nation, given the conditions in most areas and the lack of resources