Introduction

Purpose: Introduce participants to network and computing architectures to enable effective scientific computing.

Background: Scientific synthesis fundamentally depends on the use of computers and the Internet. To complement the practical understanding of how networks of computers are structured, this lesson reviews basics of computer networks and server-based computing in the service of scientific synthesis. In particular, the lesson reviews how computers are connected in networks, the relationship between networks, computer addresses, and web site domain names, and the utility of remote computing and computing in the ‘Cloud’ for speeding up scientific analysis.

Learning outcomes

  1. To understand the basic architecture of computing networks
  2. To conceptualize how computer hosts relate to web sites
  3. To learn to connect to a remote computer via a shell
  4. To appreciate the value of remote and cloud computing

Background

The Internet