Determine Hardware Requirements
There are many types of clusters, and based on the cluster technology and model you choose for your application, you will have to carefully plan which hardware to purchase so that your cluster project is not hindered. Be sure to also plan for the hardware necessary to implement the network services that your application is dependent upon. Although it is not possible to make a list of hardware required for every application or cluster type, Table 1 will give you a good understanding of the hardware necessary to implement your project.
Table 1Hardware Requirements Table
Cluster Type |
Cluster Model |
Hardware Needed |
Network Load Balanced |
N/A |
Two or more servers equipped with two network interface cards per server One network hub One network switch (layer 2) |
Failover |
Single Node |
One server equipped with two network interface cards per server One server to serve as Domain Controller, DNS, and/or WINS server External SCSI disk array One network hub One network switch (layer 2) |
Failover |
Dedicated Secondary Node |
Two servers equipped with two network interface cards per server External SCSI disk array One server to serve as Domain Controller, DNS, and/or WINS server One network hub One network switch (layer 2) |
Failover |
Distributed Systems |
Two servers equipped with two network interface cards per server External SCSI disk array One server to serve as Domain Controller, DNS, and/or WINS server One network hub One network switch (layer 2) |
The table does not provide strict rules, but a general guideline. Your network may need more or less hardware, depending on the services present and the requirements of your application.