A distributed graph can be launched from any machine, not just one belonging to the cluster. All that is required is connectivity to the cluster nodes and the knowledge of the cluster manager location.

At least some portion of a distributed graph is run local to the machine executing it. This portion is known as the graph client. The client provides the overall coordination of the execution plan, handling remote execution of the partitions’ physical graphs. The client is also responsible for executing any local phases of the graph. Local phases consist of any operators marked as non-parallel.