Server Architectures - Multiprocessors, Clusters, Parallel Systems, Web Servers, Storage Solutions

This work presents and compares various options regarding server architecture from two separate points of view: first, that of the information technology decision-maker who must choose a solution matching company business requirements, and second, that of the systems architect who finds himself between the rock of changes in hardware and software technologies and the hard place of changing business needs.

Different aspects of server architecture are presented, from databases designed for parallel architectures to high-availability systems, touching en route on often neglected performance aspects.

René's book will answer the following questions critical to server architecture design, implementation, and management and more...

• Given the shift to widespread use of Intel microprocessors, is the importance of hardware architecture, once the province of systems manufacturers, tending to decrease?
• Given that they are extremely complex to implement, will MPP architectures be confined to scientific and technical markets?
• Are RISC processors dead, killed by Intel?
• How much longer will system performance continue to increase?
• How do the three major multiprocessor architectures compare: SMP, Massively Parallel, and Cluster?