computer science

Microsoft Cluster Server

Microsoft Cluster Server is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Microsoft Cluster Server rather than just read about it. In short: Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS) is a computer program that allows server computers to work together as a computer cluster, to provide failover and increased availability of applications, or parallel calculating power in case of high-performance computing (HPC) clusters (as in supercomputing). Microsoft has three technologies for clustering: Microsoft Cluster Service (MSCS, a HA clustering service), Component Load Ba…

Key takeaways

Microsoft Cluster Server belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Microsoft Cluster Server to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Microsoft Cluster Server from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS) is a computer program that allows server computers to work together as a computer cluster, to provide failover and increased availability of applications, or parallel calculating power in case of high-performance computing (HPC) clusters (as in supercomputing). Microsoft has three technologies for clustering: Microsoft Cluster Service (MSCS, a HA clustering service), Component Load Balancing (CLB) (part of Application Center 2000), and Network Load Balancing Services (NLB). With the release of Windows Server 2008 the MSCS service was renamed to Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC), and the Component Load Balancing (CLB) feature became deprecated. Prior to Windows Server 2008, clustering required (per Microsoft KBs) that all nodes in the clusters to be as identical as possible from hardware, drivers, firmware, all the way to software. After Windows Server 2008 however, Microsoft modified the requirements to state that only the operating system needs to be of the same level (such as patch level).

Background Cluster Server was codenamed "Wolfpack" during its development. Windows NT Server 4.0, Enterprise Edition was the first version of Windows to include the MSCS software. The software has since been updated with each new server release. The cluster software evaluates the resources of servers in the cluster and chooses which are used based on criteria set in the administration module. In June 2006, Microsoft released Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003, the first high-performance computing (HPC) cluster technology offering from Microsoft.

History During Microsoft's first attempt at development of a cluster server Microsoft, originally priced at $10,000, ran into problems causing the software to fail because of buggy software causing fail-over forcing the workload from two servers to a single server. This results in poor allocation of resources, poor performance of the servers, and very poor reviews from analysts. The announcement of a new update to the Microsoft Cluster Server software came in 1998 promising new features in 1999 and the newest addition in the line of Windows NT software in the form of Windows NT 5.0 Enterprise Edition. Also promising support for 4 nodes post release of NT 5.0. Microsoft's first attempt at pushing the cluster server software was at the 2005 Super-Computing conference in Seattle the new software being developed, Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 (Windows CCS 2003). On May 8, 2006 Microsoft reports the release of the full-featured Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 (for industrial use) and the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 R2 (for small businesses) software to the public for purchase in summer 2006.

References

External links Microsoft Clustering Services

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Microsoft Cluster Server

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Microsoft Cluster Server claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Microsoft Cluster Server before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Microsoft Cluster Server ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Microsoft Cluster Server

In research: Microsoft Cluster Server appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Microsoft Cluster Server in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Microsoft Cluster Server is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cluster computing, Computer hardware stubs, High-availability cluster computing, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Microsoft Cluster Server outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Microsoft Cluster Server in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Microsoft Cluster Server means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Microsoft Cluster Server out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Microsoft Cluster Server in simple terms?

Why does Microsoft Cluster Server matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Microsoft Cluster Server?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Microsoft Cluster Server.