A specification designed to promote the development of platform-independent clustering networks has been completed and was made public yesterday by Compaq Computer Corp., Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp.
More than 100 companies contributed to the Virtual Interface (VI) Architecture specification. The spec has been under development since April and is expected to accelerate the development of networks optimized for clustering - known as system area networks (SAN), said Mitch Shults, Intel's director of server platform marketing.
Clustering involves linking together separate Web servers or application servers in such a way that the machines can share a workload, making the network more efficient and less prone to failure. For example, if a Web server becomes overloaded with hits from Internet surfers and crashes, the workload is automatically shifted to another server.
Clustering systems available today are limited to high-end, proprietary systems, and the companies that design platforms for them, such as IBM, dictate the form and function of products that developers can build for them, Shults said.
The VI Architecture unveiled yesterday is platform-independent, which means developers can make interface cards, high-speed switches, databases and other cluster-optimized products without having to worry if they will be compatible with particular systems, Shults said.
Intel has been working behind the scenes with PeopleSoft, Inc., Baan Co. and Oracle Corp., who are developing versions of their databases and client/server applications for release in the second half of 1998 that will comply with the VI Architecture, Shults said.
Other products based on the VI Architecture, such as switches and interface cards, are expected to appear in the first quarter of 1998, Shults said.
