Cluster Computing

In this document we will try to understand what is cluster computing

Cluster computing is a method of using multiple computers to work together as a single system to perform tasks.

Imagine you have a big data processing job that needs to be done, and you only have one computer to do it on. It would take a long time to complete the job because the computer has a limited amount of processing power and memory.

With cluster computing, you can use multiple computers (also known as nodes) to work together to perform the job. Each node in the cluster can be thought of as a separate computer with its own processing power and memory. By distributing the job across multiple nodes, you can process the data much faster.

There are two main types of cluster computing: High-Performance Computing (HPC) and High-Throughput Computing (HTC). HPC clusters are designed for tasks that require a lot of computational power, such as scientific simulations and weather forecasting. HTC clusters, on the other hand, are designed for tasks that require processing a large amount of data, such as big data analytics and machine learning.

In a cluster computing system, there is a master node which is responsible for coordinating the work among the other nodes, and there are worker nodes which perform the actual computation. The master node splits the task into smaller subtasks and assigns them to the worker nodes. The worker nodes then perform the subtasks and send the results back to the master node, which combines them to produce the final result.

Cluster computing allows you to process large amounts of data faster, and also enables you to run complex tasks that would be difficult or impossible to perform on a single computer. It is widely used in various fields such as research, finance, and manufacturing, where large-scale data processing is needed.