In general, the Cluster Edition supports the scenarios described in this section, except those that include the features listed in the Release Bulletin for your platform.
Most users considering clustered database architectures have these objectives:
Increased availability – if a node fails, other nodes in the cluster continue to run and the database continues to be available.
Increased manageability – multiple applications and databases can be consolidated into a single cluster, thus reducing management complexity and introducing economies of scale.
Increased scalability – support for multiple nodes that allow clustered databases to scale beyond the limits imposed by single-node environments. Commonly referred to as “vertical scalability,” this means increasing the processing capacity of a single node by adding more CPUs, memory, host bus adaptors (HBAs), network interface cards (NICs), and so on.
Reduced total cost of ownership – software that can be deployed on industry-standard, nonproprietary hardware, thereby reducing the cost of purchase, maintenance, and support.
