<s>
Microsoft	B-Operating_System
Cluster	I-Operating_System
Server	I-Operating_System
(	O
MSCS	B-Operating_System
)	O
is	O
a	O
computer	O
program	O
that	O
allows	O
server	B-Application
computers	I-Application
to	O
work	O
together	O
as	O
a	O
computer	B-Architecture
cluster	I-Architecture
,	O
to	O
provide	O
failover	B-General_Concept
and	O
increased	O
availability	O
of	O
applications	O
,	O
or	O
parallel	B-Operating_System
calculating	I-Operating_System
power	I-Operating_System
in	O
case	O
of	O
high-performance	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
(	O
HPC	O
)	O
clusters	O
(	O
as	O
in	O
supercomputing	B-Architecture
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
has	O
three	O
technologies	O
for	O
clustering	O
:	O
Microsoft	O
Cluster	O
Service	O
(	O
MSCS	B-Operating_System
,	O
a	O
HA	B-General_Concept
clustering	I-General_Concept
service	O
)	O
,	O
Component	B-Application
Load	I-Application
Balancing	I-Application
(	O
CLB	O
)	O
(	O
part	O
of	O
Application	O
Center	O
2000	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
Network	B-Protocol
Load	I-Protocol
Balancing	I-Protocol
Services	I-Protocol
(	O
NLB	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2008	I-Device
the	O
MSCS	B-Operating_System
service	O
was	O
renamed	O
to	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
Server	I-Operating_System
Failover	I-Operating_System
Clustering	I-Operating_System
(	O
WSFC	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Component	B-Application
Load	I-Application
Balancing	I-Application
(	O
CLB	O
)	O
feature	O
became	O
deprecated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2008	I-Device
,	O
clustering	O
required	O
(	O
per	O
Microsoft	O
KBs	O
)	O
that	O
all	O
nodes	O
in	O
the	O
clusters	O
to	O
be	O
as	O
identical	O
as	O
possible	O
from	O
hardware	O
,	O
drivers	O
,	O
firmware	O
,	O
all	O
the	O
way	O
to	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2008	I-Device
however	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
modified	O
the	O
requirements	O
to	O
state	O
that	O
only	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
needs	O
to	O
be	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
level	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
patch	O
level	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cluster	B-Architecture
Server	I-Architecture
was	O
codenamed	O
"	O
Wolfpack	B-Operating_System
"	O
during	O
its	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	O
NT	O
Server	O
4.0	O
,	O
Enterprise	O
Edition	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
Windows	O
to	O
include	O
the	O
MSCS	B-Operating_System
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2006	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
released	O
Windows	O
Compute	O
Cluster	B-Architecture
Server	I-Architecture
2003	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
high-performance	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
(	O
HPC	O
)	O
cluster	O
technology	O
offering	O
from	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
first	O
attempt	O
at	O
development	O
of	O
a	O
cluster	B-Architecture
server	I-Architecture
Microsoft	O
,	O
originally	O
priced	O
at	O
$10	O
,	O
000	O
,	O
ran	O
into	O
problems	O
causing	O
the	O
software	O
to	O
fail	O
because	O
of	O
buggy	O
software	O
causing	O
fail-over	B-General_Concept
forcing	O
the	O
workload	O
from	O
two	O
servers	O
to	O
a	O
single	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
announcement	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
update	O
to	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Operating_System
Cluster	I-Operating_System
Server	I-Operating_System
software	O
came	O
in	O
1998	O
promising	O
new	O
features	O
in	O
1999	O
and	O
the	O
newest	O
addition	O
in	O
the	O
line	O
of	O
Windows	O
NT	O
software	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
NT	I-Application
5.0	I-Application
Enterprise	O
Edition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
promising	O
support	O
for	O
4	O
nodes	O
post	O
release	O
of	O
NT	B-Application
5.0	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
's	O
first	O
attempt	O
at	O
pushing	O
the	O
cluster	B-Architecture
server	I-Architecture
software	O
was	O
at	O
the	O
2005	O
Super-Computing	B-Architecture
conference	O
in	O
Seattle	O
the	O
new	O
software	O
being	O
developed	O
,	O
Windows	O
Compute	O
Cluster	B-Architecture
Server	I-Architecture
2003	O
(	O
Windows	O
CCS	O
2003	O
)	O
,	O
is	O
still	O
in	O
beta	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
8	O
,	O
2006	O
Microsoft	O
reports	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
full-featured	O
Windows	O
Compute	O
Cluster	B-Architecture
Server	I-Architecture
2003	O
(	O
for	O
industrial	O
use	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
Windows	O
Compute	O
Cluster	B-Architecture
Server	I-Architecture
2003	O
R2	O
(	O
for	O
small	O
businesses	O
)	O
software	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
for	O
purchase	O
in	O
summer	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
