http://kphilosophie.blogspot.ca/2013/09/hashes-per-second-versus-cryptocoin.htmltransfinite para-magnetic states can be simulated on the hardware layer with the right library cores. in this fashion, one can simulate a massively parallel cluster with just enough operating system with one client making calls over the stratum proxy. next time you log into your mining pool, check the hashes/second versus bitcoin output for a couple of users and you'll start to notice that there's no true correlation.
satoshi's original paper called for a minimal structure. the minimal unix build contains most of the compiler toolsets required to be able to solve for headers. even the fact that a user makes client calls over RPC is merely a rewrite of the BitTorrent protocols.