Study On Communication Security Inside The Cluster Over WAN Based On IPSec

Computer clustering is the technology to unite and organize computers to execute tasks as a unified machine with more powerful functions by resource integration and task scheduling. With the increasing performance of computer hardware, the high availability and scalability of a cluster has become the basis of a reliable platform that provides data redundancy and high performance computing, which is of great importance in fields of server architecture and scientific calculation.However, with the development of computer network, especially that of grid, demands on high performance computing keeps increasing, which makes clusters a bottleneck gradually. On one hand, decided by the architecture of a cluster, all nodes must be located in the same LAN, which prevents a cluster from extending outside; on the other hand, with the popularization of broad-band network, actions of hacker invasion, viruses, trojan programs, bad codes, phishing and denial of service have been spreading rapidly, which has brought bad effects on security. As a result, LANs are no longer so secure as before. Communication security has become a significant issue within clustering services. Hence, measures must be taken to ensure secure communication among nodes when a cluster over different LANs is realized.This thesis briefly introduces the development and the current research of computer clustering, describes the basic protocols, working modes, principles and applications of IPSec in detail, points out the defects of a cluster by analyzing the architecture and technologies, establishes a model and implements a cluster over WAN with the assistance of virtual machine technologies, sets up four policies based on IPSec to provide integrity authentication and data encryption among nodes, and demonstrates the feasibility of the model and policies by carrying out different testings.