More computing power can be brought to bear on a problem in three ways. The first way is to build a computer that has a very fast processor. This was the goal of many of the early supercomputer efforts. The second way is to build a computer that has multiple processors working on different parts of some problem using shared memory, storage, and input/output (I/O). These "parallel computing" systems were the goal of many of the later supercomputer efforts.

The third way to increase computing power dedicated to solving a problem is to use networks to link many separate computers working on different parts of the same problem. Each of the computers has its own processor, memory, storage, and I/O channels. They use a particular I/O channel—a network connection—to communicate and coordinate with each other.

Collectively, these systems...