Build scalable, available and affordable server clusters!

• Supports 25+ cluster nodes
• Dynamic load balancing
• Service monitoring, automatic IP failover
• Supports Linux, Windows NT and Solaris cluster nodes
• Web, console, or GUI management

TurboCluster Server is an Enterprise-class clustering solution that allows for the construction of highly available and scalable networks based on low-cost commodity components. Using TurboCluster Server, network administrators can significantly improve quality of service levels for practically every TCP/IP based network service, such as Web, Mail, News, and FTP.

Unlike distributed processing clusters, such as Beowulf, TurboCluster Server works by seamlessly and transparently integrating your existing stand-alone, non-cluster aware, applications together into a single virtual network. With TurboCluster Server, you will have the architectural frame-work necessary to allow your network to continuously and effortlessly grow to meet performance and reliability demands.

TurboCluster Server is one of the first software-based clustering solutions to support truly heterogeneous network environments. It works strictly with the open, standards-based, TCP/IP protocol suite and is capable of clustering to-gether almost any group of systems, including those built with operating systems such as Linux, Solaris, and Windows NT.

TurboCluster Server has a scalable distributed architecture that has been designed both for robustness and performance. TurboCluster Server supports several traffic distribution policies to intelligently route incoming traffic to the best avail-able server. To optimize and enhance the client�s perceived per-formance, the server then responds directly back to the client.

In addition to routing traffic, TurboCluster insures the availability and health of the network. It continuously and unobtrusively samples all server nodes, verifying that the applications are healthy. This is accomplished through the use of intuitive application polling agents. In addition, each backup Advanced Traffic Manager node repeatedly queries the master node to verify that the router itself is running smoothly.

TurboCluster Server includes integrated application agents for Web services and provides a framework that allows Network Administrators to plug in their own application stability agents for other services. If an application failure is detected on a cluster node, TurboCluster Server will automatically compen-sate for the failure and insure the availability of the service. If a failure is detected on the Advanced Traffic Manager system, a backup will automatically be promoted and the network service will continue to be available.

Benefits

IT INVESTMENT PROTECTION

• Combine multiple independent low-cost commodity servers into a single service cluster.
• Supports Intel and Alpha (Q1, 2000) architecture hardware platforms as well as Linux, Windows NT and Solaris operating systems for seamless integration into heterogeneous IT environments.
• Able to leverage most existing TCP/IP applications in the cluster.

IMPROVED PERFORMANCE & AVAILABILITY

• Supports TCP/IP-based application heartbeats for improved uptime and availability.
• Automatically manages unexpected system and application failures.
• Dynamic load balancing removes bottlenecks and handles peak loads.

IMPROVED SECURITY

• The Advanced Traffic Manager only forwards traffic that has been pre-authorized, significantly improving network security by acting as a virtual firewall in front of mission-critical application servers.
• IP addresses of clustered servers do not have to be visible externally. The site is accessible to the outside world through a convenient virtual IP or hostname.

IMPROVED MAINTENANCE

• Individual nodes can be taken offline for maintenance or upgrades, at any time, all without impacting the service.
• Secure, web-based management tools offer easy local or remote administration and configuration.
• Cross platform systems and network management for heterogeneous computing environments with EnlightenDSM software.

TurboCluster Server works by virtualizing a set of independent server nodes into a single unified service network. This unified network is visible to the outside world as a single virtual IP address and hostname. When a client request comes into the network, it goes to the Primary TurboCluster Server Advanced Traffic Manager (TCS/ATM) node. This node manages the virtual identity and is responsible for binding the loose set of server nodes into a unified service network. Once the Advanced Traffic Manager receives the request, it determines which of the available servers in the cluster is best able to service that request. It then forwards the client request to that server for proper disposition. When the server has handled the request, and is ready to respond, it then communicates directly back to the client. Because response traffic is typically much heavier than request traffic, this can help eliminate the TCS/ATM node as a single point bottleneck.

System Requirements: Intel x86 architecture CPU, including Intel, AMD, and Cyrix models • IBM VGA-compatible display adapter (PCI/AGP SVGA card recommended) • 16M MB RAM (128 recommended) • 150-700 MB hard disk space • Network card required • 3.5" floppy drive • Supports most popular network, SCSI, video, sound and modem cards