If you used to watch Star Trek: the Next Generation, you are no doubt familiar with the Borg, a species that are a combination of life forms and technology. You may also remember their signature line, “Resistance is futile.” Some people say that destiny is something that no one can ever escape, and that the future was written before the past ever even began. While those people may or may not be right about that, they probably can’t predict who will win the Droid vs iPhone war that seems to be getting a little bit hotter with each passing day. And they may or may not be able to tell whether clustering smart phones together could make them work any better.
As any nerd could tell you, clustering any group of computers basically allows them to function as one cohesive unit. In cases such as a wireless network, a group of clustered computers basically allow the system to function even if one or more of the components within the group fail. Since wireless customers like to have their service available 24/7, this is a very important part of the success of clustering. When one point of failure doesn’t bring down the entire system, the people who depend on you can rest easy. But reliability is not the only benefit of having clustered computers hooked up.
When your network is clustered properly, you have more than just a reliable group of computers. You essentially have one very large, very powerful computer that you can use to perform a wide range of tasks. If you require a great deal of computational power, such as for plotting the wind patterns inside of a tornado, you can use the processors of each computer as fluidly as if they were part of one machine. This is a great efficiency, and allows you to rock functions you never even dreamed of.
