Don't know a thing about clusters. Not to worry. Prodigious cluster scrivener Robert Brown is here to present the basics in a clear and concise set of introductory columns. Welcome to High-tech hardball.

Taming 100 nodes of number hungry processors is BIG job. Join Dan Stanzione as he guides you through the issues and challenges of a cluster administrator. And, yes, sleeping through he night as a cluster admin is possible.

Want to write programs for a cluster? Here is your chance. MPI implementer and cluster workhorse Jeff Squyres guides you through the nuances of writing MPI programs with a set of outstanding tutorials. Unlike other MPI tutorials, Jeff addresses cluster issues and optimizations. Just dive in, you don't even need a cluster to get started.

We are going to be honest here. Writing parallel codes is not simple. You can learn the mechanics of writing MPI codes from Jeff Squyres MPI Monkey column,but what about the computer science? Or more specifically, how are you going to make sure your code runs faster on multiple processors? Join Pavel Telegin and Douglas Eadline as they explain the issues and the answers.

Cluster file systems are hot. What good is 1000 processors if you can't write to a file without clogging your network or server. Learn about the issues and experiences of parallel file systems with Distinguished Cluster Monkey Jeff Layton as your guide.

Clusters, Grids, what's the difference. In a word, plenty. In this series of columns by the Globus Team learn exactly what a Grid does and why it different than a cluster. And, learn why clusters are one of the building blocks of the Grid.