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To: Paul Engel who wrote (52475)4/9/1998 2:06:00 PM
From: ericneu  Read Replies (1) of 186894
 
> Re: "MSCS has nothing to do with the number of CPUs supported in a system."

If one server (assuming we are talking Intel SMP servers) can hold 4 CPUS and MSCS can cluster 2 servers, doesn't that imply a limit of 8 CPUs supported by MSCS - at least for Intel architecture servers?

Paul
--

Actually, no.

Your math is correct, but it's also misleading, as it implies that MSCS is limited in the number of CPUs in the cluster. MSCS is limited in the number of nodes in the cluster, but the number of CPUs/node (and thereby, CPUs/cluster) is irrelevant to it.

There is a limit as to how many CPUs are supported in a single system. This limit comes from the operating system and the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer). The standard CPU limitation within NT Server is 4; NT Server Enterprise Edition (which includes MSCS) is limited to 8.

Vendors can (and have) written HALs that allow the use of more CPUs on their hardware. Sequent once offered an NT Server that supported 32 CPUs, IIRC. Now, 12-CPU PPro servers are beginning to appear.

So, if you're looking for the maximum number of CPUs that can be stuffed into an MSCS cluster, the true answer is "As many as the OEM supports in each server x 2".

Eric.
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