Application Clustering

What Does Application Clustering Mean?

Application clustering typically refers to a strategy of using software to control multiple servers. Clustered servers can help to provide fault-tolerant systems and provide quicker responses and more capable data management for large networks.

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Techopedia Explains Application Clustering

In application or software clustering, some of the protocols and administrative duties that would have been handled on each individual machine are handled by the joint software program. In other words, the software application is the control unit for the cluster. This is contrasted with a system called hardware clustering, where one individual machine runs the cluster through its operating system.

One of the advantages of application clustering is the scalability of these kinds of systems. With available specialized software, companies can easily set up multiple pieces of hardware that obey the same instructions, and refer to the same sets of information. IT pros refer to a cluster-aware application as an application that can assess systems to assign failover duties or handle delegation for transaction processing. These are kinds of principles supported by application clustering.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…