We present an overview of the SCIRun2 parallel component framework. SCIRun2 is based on the Common Component Architecture (CCA)[2, 5] and the SCI Institutes’ SCIRun[10]. SCIRun2 supports distributed computing through distributed objects. Parallel components are managed transparently over an MxN method invocation and data redistribution subsystem. A meta component model based on CCA is used to accommodate multiple component models such as CCA, CORBA and Dataflow. A group of monitoring components built on top of the TAU toolkit[12] evaluate the performance of the other components. 1.

Components can be a useful tool in software development, including the development of scientific computing applications. Many scientific applications require parallel execution, but commodity component models based on remote method invocation do not directly support the notion of parallel components. Parallel components raise questions about the semantics of method invocations and the mechanics of parallel data redistribution involving these components. Allowing parallel components to exist within a component framework comes at very little extra cost to the framework designer. However, the interaction semantics (i.e. method invocations) between two parallel components or between a parallel and non-parallel component can be complex and should require support from the