What is a key factor in determining whether two hosts are considered a single unit?

The key factor in determining whether two hosts are considered a single unit is the timing of when the hosts are started and stopped. This concept is particularly relevant in environments where hosts may work together in clusters or as part of a service that requires synchronization. If two hosts are started and stopped in coordination, they are often treated as a single unit in terms of availability, load balancing, and distributed processing.

In scenarios where hosts are expected to function collaboratively, their operational timing can impact how they are monitored, scaled, and managed. For example, in a cluster configuration, maintaining consistent timing for starting and stopping can ensure that workloads are evenly distributed and that there are no interruptions in service.

The other factors, while important in different contexts, do not directly address the fundamental criteria for unity in operational terms. RAM capacity, running software applications, or network capacity may influence performance or capability, but they do not determine how the hosts are managed or perceived in relation to each other within a specific operational time frame.