A cluster is an embodied set of stand-alone systems inter-connected via local area network or a group of linked computers, working together as a single integrated system for scaling workloads.
The main motivation for cluster computing is performance improvement, fault tolerance, scalability, huge cost-savings, throughout, redundancy, high memory, enormous speed, load balancing and high availability.
It is a local network that is often characterized by high speed interconnections and centralized job management and scheduling system commonly used to execute modern high-performance computing tasks.
The following diagram depicts a cluster computing network. Cluster networks eliminate a single point of failure by ensuring that if a node fails in a network; a standby node takes over.
Here is a list of advantages and disadvantages of cluster computing:
Advantages of Cluster Computing
- It is cost-effective
- High manageability
- It provides a single system image.
Disadvantages of Cluster Computing
- There are a lot of issues associated with programming the network
- It is very difficult to trace and locate faults.
- It requires deep technical know-how