Clustering vs Load Balancing
These are 2 terms quite frequently used by majority of IT people. Let’s understand what both the terms mean and how are different from each other.Before knowing the difference between both, let’s know what Load Balancing and Clustering is all about –
Load balancing
This typically works to manage the server workload so that it is evenly distributed among the servers. It monitors each server and divide the workload according to a predetermined formula or algorithm. It also ensures that, even though the traffic may originate from any of several different inside servers, the content is represented by a single IP address.
Clustering
This ensures the availability of critical services by using a group of computers, instead of a single computer. Each computer in a cluster is called a node. Clustering enhances the fault tolerance and scalability of a system by allowing one or more nodes to be removed from service without hindering system operation.