What does active/active configuration in a cluster signify?

In an active/active configuration within a clustering environment, both servers indeed run applications simultaneously, allowing for load balancing and high availability. This means that both servers actively process requests and share the workload, which improves performance and redundancy. In an active/active setup, if one server goes down, the other continues to handle the load without any downtime, thus enhancing system reliability and availability.

Other configurations, such as active/passive (where one server is primary and the other remains on standby), do not provide the same level of resource utilization as active/active setups. Similarly, methods like round robin request handling may distribute requests across multiple servers, but they might not represent the true parallel processing that occurs in an active/active scenario. The key point with active/active configurations is the simultaneous operation of both servers, allowing for effective resource sharing and an optimal system performance.