02-04-2011, 10:27 AM
ABSTRACT
A computer cluster is a group of linked computers, working together closely so that in many respects they form a single computer. The components of a cluster are commonly, but not always, connected to each other through fast local area networks. Clusters are usually deployed to improve performance and/or availability over that provided by a single computer, while typically being much more cost-effective than single computers of comparable speed or availability.
Cluster computing has emerged as a result of convergence of several trends including the availability of inexpensive high performance microprocessors and high speed networks, the development of standard software tools for high performance distributed computing.
Clusters, built using commodity-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware components and free, or commonly used, software, are playing a major role in solving large-scale science, engineering, and commercial applications. The major objective in the cluster is utilizing a group of processing nodes so as to complete the assigned job in a minimum amount of time by working cooperatively. The main and important strategy to achieve such objective is by transferring the extra loads from busy nodes to idle nodes.
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