The basic concept behind the ParaStation approach is to build a scalable and efficient parallel processor from off-the-shelf workstations. In ParaStation this is done with a second interconnection network dedicated to parallel computations together with well-known programming interfaces such as UNIX sockets, PVM and MPI. By taking advantage of mass production, the resulting systems are considerably less expensive than traditional parallel machines.

ParaStation, originally established as part of the DFG Project "RESH", is now further developed by ParTec AG.