What Is a Linux Cluster?

A Linux cluster is a system of two or more computers running a Linux distribution connected via a network and set up to work together as a single unit. The computers, known as cluster nodes, can be physical and virtual machines. While they are frequently all placed within the same data center, connected by a local area network, they can also be geographically separated and communicate via the internet. When used for mission-critical tasks, Linux clusters usually contain redundant nodes to achieve high availability (HA) and enable disaster recovery. The process of connecting remote nodes into a HA cluster is known as geo clustering.