Data-Sharing Architectures in the Linux Data Center
Matthew O'Keefe
Very few would dispute that Linux plays a crucial role at the center of the
Internet computing universe. But in the past few years, Linux has been moving
up the value chain, steadily gaining the respect of corporations worldwide.
Now, Linux is in the data center with high-performance clusters that offer mainframe-like
performance and reliability. This article will examine the trends influencing
the adoption of Linux clusters in the data center and explore why clustering
has been "gaining ground." Such trends include:
- Increased demand for higher performance and more processing power
- Undeniable need for high-availability in the data center
- Emergence of less expensive alternatives to supercomputers (i.e., use of
blade servers)
Many systems administrators are faced with the responsibility of choosing,
and ultimately implementing, a data-sharing architecture on Linux, so this article
will also serve as a guideline for those considering deploying Linux in the
data center. Many users often choose a data-sharing architecture for their environments
without full awareness of other alternatives that may make their application
environments faster, less costly, and easier to manage. This article will review
the advantages of data-sharing Linux clusters, including:
- Ease and cost of administration
- Interoperability with other systems/applications
- Performance and scale
- Ease and speed of data sharing
- Suitability for incremental computing
In Unix, clusters have traditionally referred to groups of machines that (1)
share various resources including network hardware, (2) are managed as a single
system, and (3) provide mechanisms to transfer applications from a failed machine
to a machine that is still up and running.
|
