Scope:
MySQL Cluster is a technology that enables clustering of in-memory databases in a shared-nothing system. The shared-nothing architecture allows the system to work with very inexpensive hardware, and with a minimum of specific requirements for hardware or software.
MySQL Cluster is designed not to have any single point of failure. For this reason, each component is expected to have its own memory and disk, and the use of shared storage mechanisms such as network shares, network filesystems, and SANs is not recommended or supported.
MySQL Cluster integrates the standard MySQL server with an in-memory clustered storage engine called NDB. The term NDB refers to the part of the setup that is specific to the storage engine, whereas “MySQL Cluster” refers to the combination of MySQL and the NDB storage engine. A MySQL Cluster consists of a set of computers, each running a one or more processes which may include a MySQL server, a data node, a management server, and (possibly) a specialized data access programs.
