Chapter 2. Cluster Planning

This chapter is an overview of cluster planning. It begins by introducing four key steps in developing a design for a cluster. Next, it presents several questions you can ask to help you determine what you want and need in a cluster. Finally, it briefly describes some of the software decisions you'll make and how these decisions impact the overall architecture of the cluster. In addition to helping people new to clustering plan the critical foundations of their cluster, the chapter serves as an overview of the software described in the book and its uses.