PlayStation 3 Clusters In The Data Center

Sony is releasing an online version of Warhawk for its PlayStation 3 console, powered by an unusual back-end: clusters of rack-mounted PlayStation 3 systems housed in data centers around the globe. The infrastructure for WarHawk - a reissue of a flight combat game that debuted on the original PlayStation in 1995 - was outlined yesterday on the PlayStation blog.

The clusters are designed to reduce latency (lag) for PS3 users by providing shorter routes to Warhawk servers. Sony has also included an "Integrated Game Server" (IGS) with Warhawk that allows users to run their PS3 as a server, creating a distributed network of hosts. "Since Warhawk is a global online game, our IGS method scatters game servers quite literally into player's homes all over the planet