Instruction: Explain the cluster module and its use cases in Node.js applications.
Context: This question assesses the candidate's knowledge on utilizing the cluster module for improving the performance of Node.js applications by taking advantage of multi-core systems.
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The cluster module in Node.js is designed to allow easy creation of child processes that run simultaneously and share the same server port. At its core, the purpose of the cluster module is to enable the scaling of network applications across multiple CPU cores. Node.js runs in a single-thread mode by default, but with the cluster module, we can spawn a process for each core, significantly enhancing performance and the capability to handle more transactions simultaneously.
Now, let me break down its use cases and how it benefits Node.js applications, especially from my experience and perspective as a Node.js Developer....