Independence of Clusters

Why will clusters continue to run?

Because the nodes in a cluster are a set of independently operating

interconnected systems (that is, machines operating independently of each
other but interconnected via a LAN), the failure of an individual node does not
affect the operation of the entire cluster. The cluster will continue to function.
There are built-in fault tolerance mechanisms called heartbeats that are used
to check the status of each node. To leverage heartbeats, the cluster
constantly checks for the presence or the absence of each node. Depending
on the result of the check, an action or reaction is undertaken. Constant
verifications of node availability are done across the network. This can be
across the data highway or across a private LAN established solely for the
purpose of the cluster.

The cluster can be best described as a virtual entity that is based on the
existence of the physical infrastructure (compilation of many individually
connected systems). Across the network, the cluster is referenced by
applications and users as an IP address or a DNS name, which is the same as
the cluster name. The cluster could be viewed as a cloud that lives on at least
one of the nodes at any one time, or that is possibly active on all nodes
depending on the deployment strategy used. The cluster name, which in
essence is nothing more than an IP address or a fully qualified domain name
(FQDN), is the name by which users will access the set of interconnected
systems. The underlying cluster technology allows connection request to be
handed off to individual nodes that provide connectivity to the data. That is, it
services the user's request by drawing on the centrally stored data.