title: Running MongoDB on heterogeneous cluster
body: <p>We're currently trying to find a solution, where we can host tens of millions of images of various sizes on our website. We're evaluating Riak and MongoDB. Currently Riak looks very nice, but all the servers in the cluster should be homogeneous, because Riak treats each node equally. </p>
  
  <p>It is a bit hard to find information about MongoDB regarding to this, except the fact, that you can set a priority on the nodes. My questions are:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p>What is the consequence of creating a MongoDB cluster composed of machines with wildly varying specifications (cpu, diskspace, disk speed, amount and speed of memory, network speed)?</p></li>
  <li><p>Can the MongoDB cluster detect and compensate for such differences automatically?</p></li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>I'm also open for ideas for other solutions, where heterogeneous cluster would work nicely.</p>