Data and applications must be available from anywhere at any time, as demanding end users generate complex transactions. IT systems need the power to handle increasing demands, the flexibility to rapidly develop and deploy new services,and yet be easy to manage. Clustering the interconnecting of two or more computers into a single, unified computing resource offers a set of systemwide, shared resources that cooperate to provide flexibility and adaptability for essential services. System resources within a cluster may be dynamically assigned, based on business rules,to recognize and respond to application volumes and workload priority. Clustering improves availability, scalability,manageability and performance and has the synergistic effect of being significantly more flexible than individual standalone servers.
Clustering helps preserve existing investments by using existing systems in new ways.
The benefits of clustering map to the critical needs of today s e-business infrastructures, as well as those of the scientific community. Expanded cluster hardware options IBM has enhanced its AIX cluster technologies and extended their benefits by including more hardware building blocks. These same building blocks can also be used in non-SP clusters. Any multiple system solution or cluster must look and act like a single system for end users and system administrators. AIX cluster software enables organizations to build, manage and expand clusters efficiently.