Beowulf Based Curriculum Enrichment Integrated Laboratory (B-CEIL)

A Beowulf cluster is a low-cost supercomputer based on inexpensive computer nodes networked together. It provides a low-cost parallel processing environment that can be used to enrich curricula in computer science and related fields at the associate's and bachelor's levels. This project is developing a Beowulf-Based Curriculum Enrichment Integrated Laboratory (B-CEIL) for enhancing important concepts and principles in key courses of several degree programs: B.S. in computer science, Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) in computer information systems, and Bachelor of Applied Technology (B.A.T.).

The central component of the lab is a 24-node Beowulf cluster, built from an existing inventory of 24 Pentium computers and three Alpha workstations, with the addition of complementary equipment to simulate a Public Switched Network (PSN).

Two levels of student lab projects are being developed in the B-CEIL environment. The first level covers topics such as computer interfacing, networking, clustering, task scheduling and optimization, and benchmarking. The second level focuses on enhancing students' understanding of real-world PSN-based networking and computationally intensive fields such as artificial neural networks, image compression, image analysis, numerical analysis, and distributed databases. The student lab projects are applicable to a number of courses in the university's B.S., A.A.S., and B.A.T. programs, including Networking, Systems Programming and Concurrent Processes, Computer Organization, Operating Systems, Database Management Systems, Principles of Programming Languages, Numerical Methods, Image Processing, and PC Hardware.