  We provide an analysis of basic quantum information processing protocols
under the effect of intrinsic non-idealities in cluster states. These
non-idealities are based on the introduction of randomness in the entangling
steps that create the cluster state and are motivated by the unavoidable
imperfections faced in creating entanglement using condensed-matter systems.
Aided by the use of an alternative and very efficient method to construct
cluster state configurations, which relies on the concatenation of fundamental
cluster structures, we address quantum state transfer and various fundamental
gate simulations through noisy cluster states. We find that a winning strategy
to limit the effects of noise, is the management of small clusters processed
via just a few measurements. Our study also reinforces recent ideas related to
the optical implementation of a one-way quantum computer.
