Paul Kirchoff, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, at United Devices

Paul Kirchoff is Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, at United Devices, a leading company in the grid computing space.

Grid computing involves the linking, via the Internet, of large numbers of individual computers into "grids" that allow each device on the network to access the computing power created by the aggregation of all the microprocessors in all the linked machines, synergized through the use of grid-enabling software. By "harvesting" the "down time" or unused processing cycles on those machines, the collective grid network reaps the benefit of having a vast collection of circuits that can be put to use in complex, compute-intensive operations.

Thus, meteorological institutes, DNA crackers, and star-gazing astronomers can use what is functionally a supercomputer for their work at a price vastly lower than what an equivalent supercomputer would cost. The Chinese, the Indians, and researchers in the U.S. are hurrying to build and use these grid systems to do their computing work faster, better, and more cheaply. The growth of these grids means that soon the most pressing issue involving them will be finding new and innovative ways to put their computing power to good use.

In an exclusive Tech News on Celcast.Biz interview, Paul Kirchoff discusses with technology reporter Marc Strassman the origins, structure, dynamics, and future of grid computing.

To hear that interview, click here.

To visit the web site of United Devices, click here.