Distributed Processing Setup Guide

For information about a very basic setup, see Example of a Minimal Distributed Processing
Network.
Example of a Minimal Distributed Processing Network
A very small distributed processing setup could include as few as two computers:
• One computer connected to the client and configured to act as both the service node
and the cluster controller
• One client computer
Client
Service node with
cluster controller enabled
Minimum setup for distributed processing
Though simple, this setup is useful in a small-scale environment because it allows the
client computer to offload a lot of processing work.
See Example of an Expanded Distributed Processing Network for an illustration of a more
powerful setup.
Using One Computer to Serve Two Distributed Processing Roles
To maximize your resources, you may want to consider using some computers for more
than one distributed processing function.
• Service node and cluster controller: In a small setup, one of the service nodes in a cluster
can also act as the cluster controller so that it performs both functions. However, in
a cluster of many service nodes, the processing load required for the cluster controller
could be so high that it would not be efficient to use one computer as both a service
node and a cluster controller.
• Client computer and cluster controller or service node: You could also set up a client
computer to act as a cluster controller or service node in a cluster, but again, keep in
mind that the more available processing power a computer has, the faster it can
manage or process jobs.
22 Chapter 3 Preparing a Network for Distributed Processing