Geoplexing is a

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

term relating to the duplication of

computer storage Computer data storage or digital data storage is a technology consisting of computer components and Data storage, recording media that are used to retain digital data. It is a core function and fundamental component of computers. The cent ...

and

applications Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a ...

within a

server farm A server farm or server cluster is a collection of Server (computing), computer servers, usually maintained by an organization to supply server functionality far beyond the capability of a single machine. They often consist of thousands of compu ...

over geographically diverse locations for the purpose of

fault tolerance Fault tolerance is the ability of a system to maintain proper operation despite failures or faults in one or more of its components. This capability is essential for high-availability, mission-critical, or even life-critical systems. Fault t ...

. The name comes from a contraction of geographical

multiplex Multiplex may refer to: Science and technology * Multiplex communication, combining many signals into one transmission circuit or channel ** Multiplex (television), a group of digital television or radio channels that are combined for broadcast * ...

Description

In a geoplex, server clusters are duplicated over one or more geographically separate sites. Geoplexes can be "active-active" (where all of the clusters are used in tandem) or "active-passive" (where one or more of the clusters are kept as a hot spare). Data and applications are shared either via

cloning Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical genomes, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction; this reproduction of an organism by itself without ...

or partitioning. With cloning, each server in a cluster handles one or more applications, with the applications and the data both being cloned to other servers in the geoplex, and so a load balancer then distributes requests to the cloned servers. Meanwhile, with partitioning, hardware and applications are duplicated in the geoplex, while application datasets are divided between the servers, and therefore requests are routed to the appropriate server.

References

Fault-tolerant computer systems Data synchronization Computer storage technologies {{computer-security-stub