Computer cluster: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Set of computers configured in a distributed computing system}}

{{Distinguish|data cluster|grid computing}}

{{Redirect|Cluster computing|the journal|Cluster Computing (journal)}}

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[[File:Taiwania series.jpg|thumb|[[Taiwania_(supercomputer)|Taiwania]] series uses cluster architecture.]]

A '''computer cluster''' is a set of [[computerscomputer]]s that work together so that they can be viewed as a single system. Unlike [[Grid computing|grid computer]]s, computer clusters have each [[Node (networking)|node]] set to perform the same task, controlled and scheduled by software. The newest manifestation of cluster computing is [[cloud computing]].

The components of a cluster are usually connected to each other through fast [[local area network]]s, with each [[Node (networking)|node]] (computer used as a server) running its own instance of an [[operating system]]. In most circumstances, all of the nodes use the same hardware<ref>{{cite web |url=https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9723040/what-is-the-difference-between-cloud-grid-and-cluster |title=Cluster vs grid computing |website=[[Stack Overflow]]}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=June 2017}} and the same operating system, although in some setups (e.g. using [[Open Source Cluster Application Resources]] (OSCAR)), different operating systems can be used on each computer, or different hardware.<ref name=pcauthority>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Feature/306972,weekend-project-build-your-own-supercomputer.aspx|title=Weekend Project: Build your own supercomputer|date=29 June 2012|first=Darien|last=Graham-Smith|website=PC & Tech Authority|access-date=2 June 2017}}</ref>

Clusters are usually deployed to improve performance and availability over that of a single computer, while typically being much more cost-effective than single computers of comparable speed or availability.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~bader/papers/ijhpca.html|title=Cluster Computing: Applications|last1=Bader|first1=David|author-link=David Bader (computer scientist)|date=May 2001|publisher=[[Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing|Georgia Tech College of Computing]]|first2=Robert|last2=Pennington|access-date=2017-02-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221011621/http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~bader/papers/ijhpca.html|archive-date=2007-12-21|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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==Benefits==

<!-- This used to be a list. Work has been done since, but it's still incomplete. -->

Clusters are primarily designed with performance in mind, but installations are based on many other factors. Fault tolerance (''the ability forof a system to continue workingoperating withdespite a malfunctioning node'') allows forenables [[horizontal scaling|scalability]], and in high-performance situations, allows for a low frequency of maintenance routines, resource consolidation (e.g., [[RAID]]), and centralized management. Advantages include enabling data recovery in the event of a disaster and providing parallel data processing and high processing capacity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/clusters/benefits.html|title=IBM Cluster System : Benefits|publisher=[[IBM]]|access-date=8 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429022854/http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/clusters/benefits.html|archive-date=29 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc778629(v=ws.10).aspx|title=Evaluating the Benefits of Clustering|date=28 March 2003|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=8 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422092651/https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc778629%28v%3Dws.10%29.aspx|archive-date=22 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In terms of scalability, clusters provide this in their ability to add nodes horizontally. This means that more computers may be added to the cluster, to improve its performance, redundancy and fault tolerance. This can be an inexpensive solution for a higher performing cluster compared to scaling up a single node in the cluster. This property of computer clusters can allow for larger computational loads to be executed by a larger number of lower performing computers.

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===Data sharing===

[[File:Nec-cluster.jpg|thumb|A [[NEC]] [[Nehalem (microarchitecture)|Nehalem cluster]]]]

As the computer clusters were appearing during the 1980s, so were [[supercomputer]]s. One of the elements that distinguished the three classes at that time was that the early supercomputers relied on [[Shared memory architecture|shared memory]]. To date, clustersClusters do not typically use physically shared memory, while many supercomputer architectures have also abandoned it.

However, the use of a [[clustered file system]] is essential in modern computer clusters.{{Citation needed|date=August 2013}} Examples include the [[IBM General Parallel File System]], Microsoft's [[Cluster Shared Volumes]] or the [[Oracle Cluster File System]].

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:* [[Solaris Cluster]]

:* [[Veritas Cluster Server]]

:* [[Beowulf cluster]]

''Computer farms''

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{{Commons category|Clusters (computing)}}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190219183441/https://www.ieeetcsc.org/ IEEE Technical Committee on Scalable Computing (TCSC)]

* [https://archive.today/20130103192843/http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/clresctr/vxrx/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom/com.ibm.cluster.rsct.doc%2Frsctbooks/rsctbooks.html Reliable Scalable Cluster Technology, IBM]{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

* [https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/wikis/display/tivoli/Tivoli+System+Automation Tivoli System Automation Wiki]

* [https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/research.google.com/en/us/pubs/archive/43438.pdf Large-scale cluster management at Google with Borg], April 2015, by Abhishek Verma, Luis Pedrosa, Madhukar Korupolu, David Oppenheimer, Eric Tune and John Wilkes