Jon Oltsik hearkens back to the good old days of DEC and the VAXCluster:
Rather than roll in bigger and bigger boxes, Digital discovered a way to balance compute loads across multiple machines. What's more, the systems behaved as a single system image so IT administrators could manage the cluster as a distinct entity. This masked the underlying complexity, lowered cost, and simplified day-to-day activities.Apple, like DEC benefits from controlling both the horizontal and the vertical. Total control over a platform isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially when it comes to coordinating really big projects.[...] The fact is that in spite of good intentions and armies of engineers, none of [HP, IBM, Microsoft and Sun] will achieve anywhere near the success of the venerable VAX cluster.
Remember that Digital was a vertically integrated company that controlled all the parts, including the hardware, the operating systems, the interconnects and the database. Getting these pieces to work together in harmony was difficult enough when a single company is in full control. It is next to impossible when there are literally thousands of possible combinations.
