Find answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Windows HPC Server 2008 R2.
General Information
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Q. What is Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite?
A.
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2, Microsoft’s third-generation HPC solution and successor to Windows HPC Server 2008, provides a comprehensive and cost-effective solution for harnessing the power of supercomputing. Out-of-the-box, world-class performance and scalability enable organizations of all sizes to rapidly deploy solutions ranging from personal HPC workstations to enterprise-level solutions spanning thousands of cores. Companies can take advantage of existing technology investments and employee skill sets to minimize TCO, optimize ROI, and make HPC resources easier to manage, augment, and extend to end users.
A familiar environment and rich tool-set empowers system administrators to deploy and manage powerful HPC solutions more easily; helps developers build HPC applications more quickly, and enables end users to access HPC resources using familiar Windows-based desktops and applications. Through its unique combination of performance, ease of use, and the ability to leverage existing technology investments, Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 makes it easier and more affordable to put the power of supercomputing within reach of more analysts, engineers, and scientists, giving them the computational resources they need to make better decisions, fuel product innovation, speed research and development, and accelerate time to market.
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite is comprised of two DVDs. The first DVD is Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition, and the second disk is Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise—a combination of essential interfaces, utilities, and management infrastructure for creating a Windows-based HPC Cluster.
Q. What applications can I run on Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite and Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition?
A.
Both Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite and Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition are licensed solely for running clustered HPC (high performance computing) applications. “HPC applications” are high performance computing applications. Clustered HPC applications solve complex computational problems or a set of closely related computational problems in parallel, typically using several servers as a group (or “cluster”). A “cluster node” runs clustered HPC applications or provides job scheduling services for HPC applications. You may run the server software: for the primary purpose of running a cluster node, and in conjunction with other software only as necessary to permit security, storage, performance enhancement and systems management on a cluster node for the sole and dedicated purpose of supporting the clustered HPC applications.
You may not use the server software for any other purpose. For example, except as permitted above, you may not use the server software as a general purpose server, database server, web server, e-mail server, print server, or file server.
Please see www.microsoft.com/hpc for more information.
Q. How do I obtain Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite?
Q. Which languages does Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite support?
A.
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite is available in English, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese. Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2, Express or Enterprise, will also install on any of the Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2008, x64-based operating systems (Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter). When installed on an edition of Windows that does not match the HPC Pack languages, the HPC Pack user interfaces will be displayed in English.
Q. What are the differences between Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Express and Enterprise?
A.
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite is the third release of the Microsoft solution for high performance computing (HPC). Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 combines the power of Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition with Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 —a set of essential interfaces, utilities, and management infrastructure for building out a Windows-based HPC cluster. With the R2 release, Microsoft HPC Pack comes in two editions: Express and Enterprise. The addition of the Express pack allows a low cost solution with the essential functionality such as: job scheduling, deployment, management, MS MPI and support for high speed networking fabrics necessary to deploy and maintain a Windows-based HPC cluster. The Enterprise pack is a superset of the Express edition which includes additional premium capabilities explained below.
As compared to Microsoft HPC Pack 2008, Express and Enterprise Editions include the following improvements:
Improved scalability—with out-of-the-box support for deploying, running, and managing clusters of 1,000 nodes or more.
New configuration and deployment options—such as diskless boot, mixed-operating system version (Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2) clusters, and support for a remote head node database.
Improved system management, diagnostics, and reporting—including an enhanced heat map with multiple customizable tabs, an extensible diagnostic framework, and the ability to create richer custom reports.
Improved support for service-oriented architecture (SOA) workloads—including a new fire-and-recollect programming model, finalization hooks, improved Java interoperability, automatic restart and failover of broker nodes, and improved management, monitoring, diagnostics, and debugging.
Message-passing interface (MPI) and networking enhancements—including optimizations for new Intel “Nehalem”-based processors, enhanced support for RDMA over Ethernet and Infiniband, improved MPI debugging, and a pushbutton LINPACK optimization wizard.
With the addition of Service Pack 1, both editions of the HPC Pack include the ability to provision, manage, and schedule jobs to Windows Azure worker nodes. Azure worker nodes can be added manually, or scheduled deployments, to expand the capacity of your on-premise cluster providing additional compute resources when running service oriented HPC applications.
Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise edition includes the following additional premium capabilities:
The ability to expand the capacity of a Windows-based HPC clusters, while increasing the return on existing technology investments, by including underutilized desktops running Windows 7 as part of your overall HPC infrastructure. Head nodes running Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise can include Windows 7 desktops that are licensed to run Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 for Workstation.
HPC Services for Excel 2010, which provide new ways to speed-up Microsoft Excel® 2010 workbooks—such as support for running Excel user-defined functions and Excel workbooks on the compute nodes of a Windows-based HPC cluster.
Q. What new functionality is included in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1?
A.
Along with product fixes, SP1 includes the ability to include Windows Azure-based worker nodes and new availability policy options for clusters using Windows 7-based workstation nodes. SP1 enables service oriented, HPC, jobs to be executed as a web service using Windows Azure i.e. you can use resources running within a Windows Azure data center as temporary “compute nodes” to extend the capabilities of your on-premise Windows HPC cluster. Additionally, SP1 expands the scheduling policies for workstation nodes. Along with time-based scheduling, workstation availability policies can also include idle detection including an administrator specified time since an input device was last used and threshold for when CPU utilization drops below a specified level.
Q. What new functionality is included in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 2?
A.
Along with product fixes, SP2 includes several new features to improve your HPC capabilities and performance. These new features include the ability to add new Windows Azure instances using the new VM (virtual machine) roles to the cluster, support for the MPI runtime in Windows Azure, new scheduler policies for lend/borrow and over and under subscription of core, or socket counts, on cluster nodes, multi-domain support for workstation nodes, web portal for job submission and job status, support for LINQ to HPC, and smart card authentication. Please click here to learn more about Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 SP2.
Q. What is Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 for Workstation?
A.
Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 for Workstation is an optional software license which allows you to enable a Windows 7 desktop to participate in a Windows-based HPC cluster. This enables the addition of workstation nodes, sometimes referred as desktop cycle scavenging, where Windows 7 desktops can act as temporary compute nodes in an HPC cluster. Compared to Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2, the “for workstation” edition is limited to use with: Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate (32 or 64-bit), provides the ability to set time of day availability for the workstation nodes, and does not include the operating system deployment capabilities provided in the server-only editions of Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Express and Enterprise.
Q. What are the HPC Services for Excel 2010?
A.
There are two new features in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite and Microsoft Office 2010 to accelerate Excel 2010 using a Windows-based HPC Cluster:
Running Excel Workbooks on a Windows HPC Cluster – Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite enables running multiple instances of Excel 2010 on a Windows-based HPC cluster, where each instance is running an independent calculation or iteration of the same workbook with a different dataset and parameters. This allows near linear performance increases for iterative spreadsheets, such as those running a Monte Carlo algorithm.
Running Excel User-Defined Functions on an Windows-based HPC Cluster - Cluster-Safe User Defined Functions are a new feature of Microsoft Excel 2010, which provides the ability to run complex, or time consuming User Defined Functions—functions contained in Excel extension libraries (XLLs)—on a Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 based Cluster. If a long-running workbook includes a large number of independent User Defined Function calls, and these functions contribute to the majority of overall processing time, offloading these functions to a cluster can result in significant speedup of the overall execution time.
Pricing, Licensing, and Availability
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Q. How is Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite licensed?
A.
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite is licensed per server. The software is licensed based on the number of instances of server software that you run. You may run, at any one time, one instance of the server software in one physical operating system environment and one instance in one virtual operating system environment on the licensed server.
If you run both permitted instances at the same time, the instance of the server software running in the physical operating system environment may be used only to:
Run hardware virtualization software.
Provide hardware virtualization services.
Run software to manage and service operating system environments on the licensed server.
Q. Do I require Client Access Licenses (CALs) to use Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite?
A.
Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition, which comes as part of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite, is licensed per server and does not require CALs. While the Microsoft HPC Pack Enterprise and Express do not require CALs, If you are using the pack with a different edition of Windows, such as Windows Server Standard or Windows Server Enterprise, you will need to comply with the licensing programs for that edition of Windows Server.
Q. Can I buy the component separately?
A.
You may choose to purchase Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite or the individual components, Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition, or Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise, separately.
Q. If I bought Windows HPC Server 2008 or Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 with software assurance which edition of the HPC Pack 2008 R2 is provided with new version rights?
A.
For customers that purchased Windows HPC Server 2008 with software assurance (SA), new version rights will allow for an upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition along with Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise. For customers that purchased only Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 with SA new version rights allow for an upgrade to Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise.
Q. What are the pricing and licensing differences between Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise and Express editions?
A.
Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 now comes in two editions, Express and Enterprise. Microsoft HPC 2008 R2 Enterprise is licensed per server via original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and volume licensing channels, such as Open and Select, and is available through Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA). Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 license is included when purchased as part of the Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite. HPC Pack 2008 R2 Express is available for download. Visit the How to Obtain the HPC Pack 2008 R2 Express page for details.
Q. Can my cluster contain both HPC Pack 2008 R2 Express and HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise nodes?
A.
Yes. Compute nodes that require the Enterprise functionality require a license per server for Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise. It is recommended when deployed in this mix licensed mode that the cluster administrator create a node group for Enterprise nodes to make job submission easier when using Enterprise-only features.
Q. How does the pricing for Window Azure worker instances work?
A.
Windows Azure is a public flexible cloud-computing platform that offers on-demand, pay-as-you-go, access to highly scalable compute and storage resources with 99.99% uptime. Included with Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 SP2 is the ability for a system administrator to include Windows Azure worker nodes as temporary compute nodes. The cost of running Azure worker nodes depends on many factors including, but not limited to: size of the worker instance, data transfers and storage, and other contract terms. For more information on Azure options and pricing please visit the following website.
Technical
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Q. What are the minimum requirements for Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition?
Q. How much memory does Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite support?
A.
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite supports 128 GB of memory.
Q. How many processors, or sockets, does Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite support?
A.
Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition supports up to four sockets per server. The HPC Pack 2008 R2 supports up to 64 cores per server.
Q. What operating systems does the Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 support?
A.
The head node must run any of the following x64-bit (Non-Itanium) operating systems:
Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard
Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise
Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter
The compute nodes must run any of the following x64-bit (Non-Itanium) operating systems:
Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition or Windows Server 2008 HPC Edition
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard (x64-based) or Windows Server 2008 Standard Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise (x64-based) or Windows Server 2008 Enterprise
Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter (x64-based) or Windows Server 2008 Datacenter
Client computers from which users can run the administration and job submission consoles must run on any of the following operating systems:
Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 7 Ultimate (x86- or x64-based)
Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Home, or Windows Vista Ultimate
Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3 or later (x86- or x64-based)
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard, Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition (x86- or x64-based)
Windows Server 2008 Standard, Windows Server 2008 Enterprise, Windows Server 2008 HPC Edition (x86- or x64-based)
Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition or Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition (x86- or x64-based)
Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition, Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, or Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 2 or later (x86- or x64-based)
Client workstations that are running as workstation nodes, a feature of Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 for Workstation, must be running any of the following (32-bit or 64-bit) operating systems:
Windows 7 Professional
Windows 7 Enterprise
Windows 7 Ultimate
Q. Can I access a Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and Window HPC Server 2008, or Window HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite, cluster from the same desktop/workstation?
A.
A single workstation can have the Compute Cluster Pack 2003 and HPC Pack 2008 client tools installed allowing an administrator to manage a Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 or Windows HPC Server 2008 cluster. A separate machine running the HPC Pack 2008 R2 client tools must be used to manage a HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite cluster. For job submission, a single workstation can have the compute cluster pack 2003 and HPC Pack 2008 client tools installed. The HPC Pack 2008 R2 client tools can be used for submitting jobs to a Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003, HPC Server 2008 , or HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite cluster without the use of the Compute Cluster 2003 or HPC Pack 2008 client utilities.
Q. What hardware platforms does Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite support?
A.
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite can only be installed on x64-bit hardware when deploying on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 (Itanium,IA-64, hardware is not supported). The pack client utilities can and Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 for Workstation can be used with x86 or x64 bit hardware.
Q. Will there be a 32-bit version of Windows HPC Server 2008?
A.
There are no plans at this time to release a 32-bit version of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite. The exception is for the cluster of workstations functionality, HPC Pack 2008 R2 for Workstation, will work on either 32-bit or 64-bit editions of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate. HPC Pack 2008 R2 for Workstation is not compatible with Windows Server operating system.
Q. Will my 32-bit application run on Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite?
A.
Although Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite requires 64-bit computers for use as compute nodes, 32-bit applications running on 64-bit compute nodes is a supported configuration. The 32-bit application will not be able to use the larger memory-addressing available on the compute node, but it will run. Developers will find both 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Message Passing Interface (MPI) libraries included in the Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite Software Development Kit (SDK). For issues with third-party 32-bit applications running on a 64-bit server, please contact your software vendor for support.
Q. Does Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite provide head node failover?
A.
Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise, and Express, support failover clustering services, included with Windows Server 2008 Enterprise or Datacenter, to provide a second head node for improved cluster availability. However, Windows Failover Clustering is not a feature of Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition. In order to take advantage of failover clustering, appropriate licenses and media of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise, or Datacenter, will need to be acquired and installed for the two cluster head nodes.
Additionally, licenses and media for Microsoft SQL Server, Standard or Enterprise, will need to be acquired to utilize the database clustering services necessary to provide resiliency for the system databases used for management and job queuing.
Q. Does HPC Pack 2008 R2 require Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise?
A.
Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise is only required when using two head nodes or two or more broker nodes in a failover configuration. Compute nodes can still run Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC Edition even when head nodes are using Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise.
Q. Does Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite require Microsoft SQL Server?
A.
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite stores management and job queue information in a Microsoft SQL Server database. A minimum of Microsoft SQL Server Express, which is included, is required. If a customer requires head node failover or a management database greater than 4 GB (if the headnode was originally installed with HPC Pack 2008 R2 RTM) or 10 GB (if the head node was originally installed with HPC Pack 2008 R2 with Service Pack 2 integrated media), SQL Server Standard or Enterprise will be required.
Q. Can there be more than one head node in a Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite cluster?
A.
Each cluster can have only one active head node. Each cluster may also have a second, inactive, head node for failover purposes.
Q. Can I use Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite 2008 R2 Pack with Windows Server Core?
A.
No. Server Core is a minimal server installation option for computers running on the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system. Server Core provides a low-maintenance server environment with limited functionality. Server Core does not include the Microsoft .NET Framework which is a prerequisite to install Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2.
Q. Can Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite integrate with third-party HPC offerings?
A.
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite supports the OGF (Open Grid Forum) HPC Basic Profile specification for jobs submission into the scheduler. It uses common Web services specifications to enable interoperability between multiple HPC middleware platforms and allows application and middleware software providers to target multiple HPC systems via a single protocol.
Q. What is LINQ to HPC?
A.
LINQ to HPC enables the development and deployment of data intensive applications on Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 SP2 clusters. LINQ to HPC includes a new runtime that is responsible for scheduling, executing, and managing data-centric jobs. LINQ to HPC allows developers to define distributed queries against distributed data and the Distributed Storage Catalog (DSC) on a cluster infrastructure. LINQ to HPC is currently in beta and requires HPC Pack 2008 R2 Service Pack 2 be installed.
Migration and Backwards Compatibility
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Q. How can I upgrade to HPC Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 2?
A.
When deploying a new cluster from the HPC Pack 2008 R2 with Service Pack 2 integrated media you will immediately have the SP2 functionality. If you are deploying a new cluster from your original HPC Pack 2008 R2 (“RTM”) media, or upgrading an existing cluster, Service Pack 1 must be installed prior to SP2. After updating the head node(s) to SP2 you can use the HPC Pack deployment tools to redeploy your compute nodes, and they will automatically have SP1 and SP2 installed.
Q. Is Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite backwards compatible with the Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite and Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 APIs?
A.
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite provides API-level backwards compatibility with Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 (WCCS) and HPC Server 2008. Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite supports job submission from WCCS 2003 and HPC Server 2008 clients, including the command-line tools, the Job Manager, and the COM APIs. However, the pack client tools, including the Administrator Console, Job Manager, Command-Line Interface, and APIs, cannot be used to manage or submit jobs to a WCCS cluster. Additionally, PowerShell scripts written for WCCS 2003 are not supported on Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite, while HPC Server 2008 PowerShell scripts are supported. Third-party applications using the WCCS API should be compatible with Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite. These applications may, however, require changes to run properly on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2. If you encounter problems running your application on Windows Server, you should consult your software vendor.
Q. Does Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite support a cluster with compute nodes running both Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite nodes?
A.
There is no support for cluster comprised of both Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite compute nodes.
Q. Does Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite support a cluster with compute nodes running both Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 nodes?
A.
A Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite cluster can have compute nodes running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2, though the head node must run an 64-bit edition of Windows Server 2008 R2 such as Windows Server 2008 R2 HPC edition.
Q. Does Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite support side-by-side installation?
A.
Side-by-side installation of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite and Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 on the same computer is not supported. This includes Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 client utilities.
Q. Can I upgrade my existing Windows HPC Server 2008 cluster to Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite?
A.
Make sure that your existing hardware and any third-party applications are certified to run Windows Server 2008 R2.
Create a new Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite head node.
Reimage your existing compute nodes using the HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite.
