Joining two computers as one

Say you have two computers, and they're linked together, as one, sharing the processor load. With either computer able to access the other's hard drive as it's own. With one monitor if possible.

Could this ever work? If so, how? Would 3rd party software be required? Special OS? Cabling? (Don't even mention USB...way to slow)

I had no idea where to put this thread...move it if necessary.

This is called a cluster.

You should require linux or Windows 2000 advanced server.

As fast as possible networking is nice.

The Windows 2000 clusters like high spec machines, but the linux clusters can use lots of smaller specced rigs effectively.

When you use a system like Google or something its not a single machine but rather a cluster of machines like this.

In linux there is a system called beowulf clustering. Its useful because if you have a lot of lesser specced machines you can use them all at once to work on problems, etc.

Check out this article at Tech Extreme It gives quite a bit of interesting info about parallel processing and building clusters. It seems that some students at Cornell University have been experimenting with it, building theirs from a bunch of old PIIs.