Cluster application types

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Cluster application types

Applications that run in a server cluster fall into one of four categories:

  • Cluster-unaware applications

    These types of applications do not interact with the server cluster at all but can still fail over. Failure detection is limited. The Cluster service protects these applications mainly against hardware failures.

  • Cluster-aware applications

    These types of applications are characterized by superior failure detection. The Cluster service can protect these applications not only against hardware but also against software failures.

  • Cluster management applications

    These types of applications, which include Cluster Administrator and Cluster.exe, allow administrators to manage and configure clusters. For more information, see Server Cluster Components.

  • Custom resource types

    Resource types provide customized cluster management and instrumentation for applications, services, and devices. For more information, see Resource types.

For more information on the concepts in this topic, see: