At first glance, stretching a single cluster between two physical locations kinda makes sense. You get business continuity, redundancy, and you don’t have to do any weird engineering.

But is stretching a cluster really that simple? We argue there’s a lot more to think about on today’s episode of Datanauts.

Our guest is Erik Ableson, owner of the consultancy Infrageeks. We discuss why people stretch clusters, the problems this can cause, and alternative design strategies.

Sponsor: Packet Pushers Virtual Design Clinic 3

Register now for the Packet Pushers’ Virtual Design Clinic on December 19th. This live, online event includes deep-dive technical presentations for network engineers, Ask Me Anything sessions with expert panelists, and a sponsored presentation from Apcela. It’s free to sign up. Register here.

Show Links:

Erik Abelson on Twitter

Infrageeks Blog

VMware vSphere Metro Storage Cluster Recommended Practices – VMware (PDF)

Introduction To Stretched Clusters – VMware

No-Click Data Center Site Failovers Powered by Metro Availability Witness – Nutanix