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Define a Node ReleaseTask

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Applies To: Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2, Microsoft HPC Pack 2012, Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2

A Node Release task runs a command or script on each node as it is released from the job. You can use a Node Release task to clean up or collect data from nodes as they are released from your job. For example, you can specify commands to perform the following tasks:

  • Move locally created data or log files to a shared resource.

  • Delete files or directories.

  • Return the node to its original state.

  • Start or stop services.

You can use the following procedure to create a Node Release task using HPC Job Manager.

Note

To complete this procedure, you must have been added as a user on the cluster, or you must be a member of a domain group that has been added as a user on the cluster. For more information, contact your cluster administrator.

Add a Node Release Task

In HPC Cluster Manager, the option to add a task is available in the New Job, Modify Job, and Copy Job dialog boxes. As an example, the following procedure describes how to add a task in the New Job dialog box.

To add a Node Release task

  1. In Job Management, in the Actions pane, click New Job.

  2. In the left pane of the New Job dialog box, click Edit Tasks.

  3. Point to the Add button, click the down arrow, and then click Node Release Task.

  4. In the task dialog box, type a name for your task.

  5. Specify a command for the task. For example, to delete all files from a folder, you can type the command like this:

    delete c:\temp\^*

    Note

    In jobs that include sub-tasks, such as Node Release tasks, the job scheduler interprets the asterisk (*) as a placeholder for the sub-task ID. To run a command that uses an asterisk (*), include the caret (^) as an escape character.

  6. Click OK to add the task to your job. The new task now appears in the list of tasks for your job.

  7. You can define additional Task properties, such as the Execution Settings and Required Resources by selecting the task in the list and modifying the property values in the Task Properties pane.

Additional considerations

  • The default maximum run time (in seconds) for Node Release tasks is defined by the cluster administrator with the Node Release Task Timeout cluster parameter.

  • If a job has a maximum run time and a Node Release task, the job scheduler cancels the other tasks in the job before the run time of the job expires (job run time minus Node Release task run time). This allows the Node Release task to run within the allocated time for the job.

  • Node Release tasks run when a job is canceled. Node Release tasks do not run when the job is force canceled or canceled by immediate preemption. To skip the Node Release task, see Force Cancel a Job or Task.

  • The following task properties do not apply to tasks which are started on a per-resource basis, and they cannot be set on Node Preparation, Node Release, or Service tasks:

    • Number of cores, sockets, nodes

    • Required nodes

    • Exclusive

    • Rerunnable

    • Depends (task dependencies)

    • Parameter sweep settings

Additional references