Overall architecture of a local computer network, Star, is described. The objective is to accomplish a cost-effective system which provides multiple users a real-time service of manipulating very large volume imagery information and data. Star consists of a reconfigurable communication subnet (Starnet), heterogeneous resource units, and distributed-control software entities. Architectural aspects of a fault-tolerant communication subnet, distributed database management, and a distributed scheduling strategy for configuring desirable computation topology are exploited. A model for comparing cost-effectiveness among Starnet, crossbar, and multiple buses is included. It is concluded that Starnet outperforms the other two when the number of units to be connected is larger than 64. This project serves as a research tool for using current and projected technology to innovate better schemes for parallel image processing.