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Hardware
Requirements
CPU
x64 architecture computer with Intel Pentium or Xeon family processors with Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T) processor architecture; AMD Opteron family processors; AMD Phenom family processors; AMD Athlon 64 family processors; compatible processor(s)
RAM
512 MB
Multiprocessor support
Windows Server 2008 HPC Edition and Windows Server 2008 Standard support up to four processors per server. Windows Server 2008 Enterprise supports up to eight processors per server.
Minimum disk space for setup
50 GB
Disk volumes
A single system volume is required for the head and compute nodes.
Redundant array of independent disks (RAID) is supported but not required.
The system volume must be Master Boot Record (MBR). Additional volumes can be MBR or GUID Partition Table (GPT).
Network interface card
At least one network interface card (NIC) is required. If a private network is used, the head node requires at least two NICs, and compute nodes at least one. Each node may also require a high-speed NIC for an application network.
The head and compute nodes for Windows HPC Server 2008 can be any of the following:
x64-based version of Windows Server 2008 Standard operating system
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise x64 Edition
The Job Scheduler uses SQL Server as its repository. An existing SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008 installation can be used, or the HPC Pack 2008 installer will install SQL Express. SQL Server Standard Edition or Enterprise Edition is required for head node failover clustering.
The Administration Console and job scheduling user console components are automatically installed on the head node of the compute cluster. These components can also be installed on other computers allowing either remote management of the cluster or job submission from client computers. The supported operating systems for installation of the remote components are:
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Release 2 (R2) (32-bit or x64 versions)
Windows Server 2008 (32-bit or x64 versions)
Windows® XP Professional SP3
Windows XP Professional, x64 Edition SP2
Windows Vista® Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate Editions SP1
System Requirements
