Computer cluster: Difference between revisions

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The computer clustering approach usually (but not always) connects a number of readily available computing nodes (e.g. personal computers used as servers) via a fast [[local area network]].<ref name=nbis>{{cite conference|title=Network-Based Information Systems: First International Conference, NBIS 2007|isbn=978-3-540-74572-3|page=375|last1=Enokido|first1=Tomoya|last2=Barolli|first2=Leonhard|last3=Takizawa|first3=Makoto|date=23 August 2007}}</ref> The activities of the computing nodes are orchestrated by "clustering middleware", a software layer that sits atop the nodes and allows the users to treat the cluster as by and large one cohesive computing unit, e.g. via a [[single system image]] concept.<ref name=nbis />

Computer clustering relies on a centralized management approach which makes the nodes available as orchestrated shared servers. It is distinct from other approaches such as [[peer -to -peer]] or [[grid computing]] which also use many nodes, but with a far more [[distributed computing|distributed nature]].<ref name=nbis />

A computer cluster may be a simple two-node system which just connects two personal computers, or may be a very fast [[supercomputer]]. A basic approach to building a cluster is that of a [[Beowulf (computing)|Beowulf]] cluster which may be built with a few personal computers to produce a cost-effective alternative to traditional [[high performance computing]]. An early project that showed the viability of the concept was the 133-node [[Stone Soupercomputer]].<ref name="sciam">{{Cite news |title= The Do-It-Yourself Supercomputer |work= [[Scientific American]] |author= William W. Hargrove, Forrest M. Hoffman and [[Thomas Sterling (computing)|Thomas Sterling]] |volume= 265 |number= 2 |pages= 72–79 |date= August 16, 2001 |url= http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-do-it-yourself-superc |access-date= October 18, 2011 }}</ref> The developers used [[Linux]], the [[Parallel Virtual Machine]] toolkit and the [[Message Passing Interface]] library to achieve high performance at a relatively low cost.<ref name="extreme">{{Cite news |title= Cluster Computing: Linux Taken to the Extreme |first1= William W. |last1= Hargrove |first2= Forrest M. |last2= Hoffman |work= Linux Magazine |year= 1999 |url= http://climate.ornl.gov/~forrest/linux-magazine-1999/ |access-date= October 18, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111018122713/http://climate.ornl.gov/~forrest/linux-magazine-1999/ |archive-date= October 18, 2011 |url-status= dead }}</ref>