MOSIX is essentially a patch to the Linux kernel, as well as a collection of utilities that enables a group of machines to work together in tandem. This is done through process distribution by the login node. The rest of the system is transparent to the user. The MOSIX kernel uses preemptive process migration to distribute the processes to different nodes, in order to balance the load on the system, making it unnecessary to link added libraries, or recompile existing binaries. Whenever new processes are spawned, they all appear as if running in the login node. For optimal speed, programs must be designed to spawn as many separate processes as there are individual nodes. Direct memory sharing does not occur, but processes may communicate through System V IPC, as if running on a single computer.