4.5.1 Cluster computing

• Cluster computing


  Individual nodes are connected using a very-high-speed computer network and overseen through a centralised managing computer responsible for allocating tasks to nodes
• Cluster setup


  1. Master computer

  2. Network switch

  3. Nodes

  4. Disk storage

  5. Internet connection
• Cluster computer


  • Small cluster computer at the Open University
• Cluster nodes


  • 32 core Intel Xeon processor
  • 512 GB of RAM
  • 40 Gbps network connection
• Clusters


  Relatively cheap and reliable way of processing large amounts of data
• Cluster nodes


  • Relatively cheap
  • Can be built from consumer PCs or video game consoles
• Clusters


  • More nodes can be added or old nodes replaced as demand increases
  • Highly resilient to failure of one or more nodes
• Grid computers


  Closely related to clusters, but made up of many different types of computer all working on the same task, and not necessarily belonging to the same computer network
• Distributed computing


  Data processing is distributed amongst the nodes, with every node simultaneously working on a tiny part of the entire problem
• Parallel processing


  A form of distributed computing where the task is distributed amongst many nodes that share memory, unlike cluster computing where each node has its own memory and communicates via a network