Technology keeps developing so perhaps it’s time to take another look at implementing server clustering for your business. For those of you that are foggy on what exactly clustering is, a cluster is a series of servers that work together so that in many respects they can be viewed as a single, integrated system.
One of the biggest attractions of a server cluster is that if one node (or part) fails, the other nodes automatically and seamlessly take over the computing tasks of the failed component. This can happen both at a single site or can happen between remote sites. And it’s all automatic with no human intervention needed.
For this reason clustering has always been viewed as a very desirable method to ensure high availability and to minimize the effect of a disaster at one site of a multisite business.
So why haven’t more organizations taken advantage of clustering? Quite simply, the cost has been prohibitive. But that’s changing with new technology advancements.
We just completed a new server cluster design for a customer which will not only consolidate 4 physical servers into 2 (running the 4 servers virtually), but also provide the piece-of-mind that comes with such a configuration. The net cost? It depends on quite a few factors but in this case it was less than cost to replace the 4 old servers.
So if you haven’t looked recently (or ever) at the idea of a server cluster at your business, maybe it’s time to take another look.
