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Release Notes for Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

  • Article

 

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

These release notes address late-breaking issues and information for the high-performance computing (HPC) cluster administrator about Microsoft® HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1. You can use the deployment script introduced with Update 1 and the HPC Pack VM image in the Azure Marketplace to set up a complete HPC cluster in Microsoft Azure infrastructure services (IaaS), or you can do a full installation to build a new on-premises cluster. You can also use this update to upgrade an existing HPC cluster (either in Azure IaaS or on-premises) that is currently running HPC Pack 2012 R2.

When performing an upgrade installation, you should upgrade all head nodes, compute nodes, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) broker nodes, workstation nodes, unmanaged server nodes, and computers that are running the HPC Pack client utilities. For important information about new features in HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1, including updated system requirements, see What's New in Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1.

Go to the Microsoft Download Center to download the upgrade and installation packages for HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1 and the HPC Pack IaaS deployment script.

Note

To get started with a new cluster installation, see the Getting Started Guide for Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2 and HPC Pack 2012. If you are migrating from an HPC Pack 2008 R2 cluster, see Migrate a Cluster to HPC Pack 2012 R2 or HPC Pack 2012. To use the HPC Pack image in the Azure Marketplace to set up a complete HPC cluster in the Azure IaaS environment, see Create an HPC Cluster with the HPC Pack IaaS Deployment Script.

In this topic:

  • Before you upgrade to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

  • Upgrade the head node to Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

  • Upgrade compute nodes, WCF broker nodes, workstation nodes, and unmanaged server nodes to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

  • Redeploy existing Azure nodes

  • Upgrade client computers to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

  • Uninstall HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

  • Known issues

    • Upgrade installation does not upgrade SQL Server Express

    • Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Express cannot be installed: error code -2068774911 or -2068709375

    • “VNet doesn’t exist” error when running the HPC Pack IaaS deployment script

    • Problem accessing the Internet from the Azure virtual network configured by the HPC Pack IaaS deployment script

    • Problem accessing RDMA network from size A8 or A9 compute node or broker node VMs added by the HPC Pack IaaS deployment script

    • Head node login required for SQL Server AlwaysOn availability group

    • Problem retrieving data from cluster databases

    • Failover cluster issue on Windows Server 2012

Before you upgrade to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

Perform the following actions before you upgrade to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1:

  • Take all compute nodes, workstation nodes, and unmanaged server nodes offline and wait for all current jobs to drain.

  • If you have a node template in which an Automatic availability policy is configured, set the availability policy to Manual.

  • Stop all existing Azure “burst” nodes so that they are in the Not-Deployed state. If you do not stop them, you may be unable to use or delete the nodes from HPC Cluster Manager after the upgrade, but charges for their use will continue to accrue in Azure. You must redeploy (provision) the Azure nodes after you upgrade the head node.

    Note

    Under certain conditions, the upgrade installation program might prompt you to stop Azure nodes before it upgrades the head node, even if you have already stopped all Azure nodes (or do not have any Azure nodes deployed). In this case, you can safely continue the installation.

  • Ensure that all diagnostic tests have finished or are canceled.

  • Close any HPC Cluster Manager and HPC Job Manager applications that are connected to the cluster head node.

  • After all active operations on the cluster have stopped, back up all HPC databases by using a backup method of your choice.

Additional considerations for installing the upgrade

  • When you upgrade, several settings that are related to HPC services are reset to their default values, including the following:

    • Firewall rules

    • Event log settings for all HPC services

    • Service configuration properties such as dependencies and startup options

    • Service configuration files for the HPC services (for example, HpcSession.exe.config)

    • MSMQ message storage size

    • If the head node or WCF broker nodes are configured for high availability in a failover cluster, the HPC Pack related resources that are configured in the failover cluster

    After you upgrade, you may need to re-create settings that you have customized for your cluster or restore them from backup files.

    Note

    You can find more installation details in the following log file after you upgrade the head node: %windir%\temp\HPCSetupLogs\hpcpatch-DateTime.txt

  • When you upgrade the head node, the files that the head node uses to deploy a compute node or a WCF broker node from bare metal are also updated. Later, if you install a new compute node or WCF broker node from bare metal or if you reimage an existing node, the upgrade is automatically applied to that node.

Upgrade the head node to Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

To upgrade the head node to Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

  1. Download the x64 version of the HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1 upgrade installation program from the Microsoft Download Center. Save the installation program to installation media or to a network location.

  2. Run the installation program as an administrator from the location where you saved it.

  3. Read the informational message that appears. If you are ready to upgrade, click OK.

Note

  • After the installation completes, if you are prompted, restart the computer.

  • You can confirm that the head node is upgraded to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1. To view the version number in HPC Cluster Manager, on the Help menu, click About. The server version number and the client version number that appear will be 4.3.4652.0.

If you have set up a head node for high availability in the context of a failover cluster, use the following procedure to apply the update.

To upgrade a high-availability head node to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

  1. Download the x64 version of the HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1 upgrade installation program from the Microsoft Download Center. Save the installation program to installation media or to a network location.

  2. Take the following high-availability HPC services offline by using Failover Cluster Manager: hpcscheduler, hpcsdm, hpcdiagnostics, hpcreporting, hpcsession, and hpcsoadiagmon.

  3. Upgrade the active head node by running the installation program as an administrator from the location where you saved it.

    After you upgrade the active head node, in most cases, the active head node restarts and fails over to the second head node.

    Note

    Because any additional head node is not upgraded, Failover Cluster Manager might report a failed status for the resource group and the HPC services.

  4. Use the following procedure to upgrade any additional head node:

    1. Take the following high-availability HPC services offline by using Failover Cluster Manager: hpcscheduler, hpcsdm, hpcdiagnostics, hpcreporting, hpcsession, and hpcsoadiagmon.

    2. Verify that the head node is the active head node. If it is not, use Failover Cluster Manager to make the head node the active head node.

    3. Upgrade the head node.

      If you have additional head nodes in the cluster, move the current active head node to passive. After failover occurs, upgrade the current active head node according to the preceding steps.

Important

While you are upgrading each head node that is configured for high availability, leave the Microsoft SQL Server resources online.

Note

High availability head nodes and broker nodes configurations are currently not supported in the Azure IaaS environment because the dependent Windows Server Failover Clustering is not yet fully supported.

Upgrade compute nodes, WCF broker nodes, workstation nodes, and unmanaged server nodes to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

To work with a head node that is upgraded to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1, you must also upgrade existing compute nodes and WCF broker nodes. You can optionally upgrade your existing workstation nodes and unmanaged server nodes. Depending on the type of node, you can use one of the following methods to upgrade to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1:

  • Upgrade existing nodes that are running HPC Pack 2012 R2, either manually or by using a clusrun command.

    Note

    If you do not have administrative permissions on workstation nodes and unmanaged server nodes in the cluster, the clusrun command might not be able to upgrade the node. In these cases, the administrator of the workstation and unmanaged servers should perform the upgrade.

  • Reimage an existing compute node or broker node that was deployed by using an operating system image. For more information, see Reimage Compute Nodes.

    Note

    • Ensure that you edit the node template to add a step to copy the MS-MPI installation program to each node. Starting in HPC Pack 2012 R2, MPISetup.exe is installed in a separate folder in the REMINST share on the head node, and it is not automatically installed when you deploy a node using a template created in an earlier version of HPC Pack.

    • After you upgrade the head node to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1, if you install a new node from bare metal or if you reimage an existing node, HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1 is automatically installed on that node.

To use clusrun to upgrade existing nodes to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

  1. Download the appropriate version of the HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1 upgrade installation program from the Microsoft Download Center. Save the installation program to installation media or to a shared folder such as \\headnodename\install.

  2. In HPC Cluster Manager, view nodes by node group to identify a group of nodes that you want to upgrade; for example, ComputeNodes.

  3. Take the nodes in the node group offline.

  4. Open an elevated command prompt and type the appropriate clusrun command to install the upgrade. The following command is an example to install the x64 version.

    clusrun /nodegroup:ComputeNodes \\headnodename\install\HPC2012R2_Update1_x64.exe -unattend -SystemReboot

    Note

    The SystemReboot parameter is required. It causes the nodes to restart after the upgrade completes.

    After the upgrade and the nodes in the group restart, bring the nodes online.

To upgrade individual nodes manually to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1, you can copy the installation program to a shared folder on the head node. Then, access the existing nodes by making a remote connection to run the upgrade installation program from the shared folder.

Important

If you have WCF broker nodes that are configured for high availability in a failover cluster, upgrade the high-availability broker nodes as follows:

  1. Upgrade the active broker node to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1.

  2. Fail over the passive broker node to the active broker node.

  3. Upgrade the active broker node (that is not yet updated).

Redeploy existing Azure nodes

If you previously added Azure nodes to your HPC Pack 2012 R2 cluster, you must start (provision) those nodes again to install the updated HPC Pack components. If you previously changed the availability policy of the nodes from Automatic to Manual, you can reconfigure an Automatic availability policy in the Azure node template so that the nodes come online and offline at scheduled intervals. For more information, see Steps to Deploy Azure Nodes with Microsoft HPC Pack.

Upgrade client computers to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

To update computers on which the HPC Pack 2012 R2 client utilities are installed, ensure that any HPC client applications, including HPC Cluster Manager and HPC Job Manager, are stopped. Then, upgrade the computers to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1.

To upgrade client computers to HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

  1. Download the appropriate version of the HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1 upgrade installation program from the Microsoft Download Center. Save the installation program to installation media or to a network location.

  2. Run the installation program as an administrator from the location where you saved it.

  3. Read the informational message that appears. If you are ready to upgrade, click OK.

Uninstall HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1

To completely uninstall HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1, uninstall the features in the following order:

  • HPC Pack 2012 R2 Web Components (if they are installed)

  • HPC Pack 2012 R2 Key Storage Provider (if it is installed)

  • HPC Pack 2012 R2 Services for Excel 2010

  • HPC Pack 2012 R2 Server Components

  • HPC Pack 2012 R2 Client Components

Important

Not all features are installed on all computers. For example, HPC Pack 2012 R2 Server Components is not installed when you choose to install only the client components.

When HPC Pack is installed on the head node, other programs are installed with it. After uninstalling HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1, you can remove the following programs if they will no longer be used:

  • Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable 2010 SP1

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Express

    Note

    This program also includes Microsoft SQL Server Setup Support Files.

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Native Client

Additionally, the following server roles and features might have been added when HPC Pack was installed, and they can be removed if they will no longer be used:

  • Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Server server role

  • File Services server role

  • File Server Resource Manager role service

  • Routing and Remote Access Service server role

  • Windows Deployment Services server role

  • Microsoft .NET Framework feature

  • Message Queuing feature

To downgrade HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1 to HPC Pack 2012 R2, uninstall the updates (in Control Panel, click Programs, click Programs and Features, and then click Installed Updates) in the following order:

  • HPC Pack 2012 R2 Services for Excel 2010

  • HPC Pack 2012 R2 Client Components

  • HPC Pack 2012 R2 Server Components

Known issues

Upgrade installation does not upgrade SQL Server Express

The HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1 upgrade installation does not upgrade an existing installation of SQL Server 2012 Express or 2008 R2 Express to SQL Server 2014 Express. Only the full installation package HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1 will install SQL Server 2014 Express, if SQL Server 2012 Express or SQL Server 2008 R2 Express is not already installed.

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Express cannot be installed: error code -2068774911 or -2068709375

Because of a known limitation, if you use certain user account names to install a head node with SQL Server 2014 Express installed locally, the SQL Server installation can fail with error code -2068774911 or -2068709375. This occurs with a user name that is abbreviated when converted to a DOS-compatible (8.3) name --- for example, a user name that is longer than 8 characters without a dot (“.”) character. Additional error information is in the SQL Server Setup log files at %programfiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\120\Setup Bootstrap\Log.

To work around this problem, do the following to complete the installation of SQL Server 2014 Express and HPC Pack:

  1. Run the following command from the location of the HPC Pack Setup.exe to start the installation of SQL Server 2014 Express.

    .\amd64\SQLEXPR_x64_ENU.exe /action=install /features=sqlengine /instancename=COMPUTECLUSTER /sqlsvcaccount="NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" /browsersvcstartuptype="automatic" /sqlsysadminaccounts="builtin\administrators" /TCPENABLED=1

  2. Follow the installation wizard to install SQL Server 2014 Express. Do not change the configuration settings in the wizard; they are already set in the command line.

  3. After SQL Server is successfully installed, run Setup.exe again to install HPC Pack.

“VNet doesn’t exist” error when running the HPC Pack IaaS deployment script

If you run the HPC Pack IaaS deployment script to deploy multiple clusters in Azure concurrently under one subscription, one or more deployments may fail with the error “VNet VNet_Name doesn't exist”. If this error occurs, re-run the script for the failed deployment.

Problem accessing the Internet from the Azure virtual network configured by the HPC Pack IaaS deployment script

If you create an HPC Pack cluster in Azure with a new domain controller by using the HPC Pack IaaS deployment script, or you manually promote a VM to domain controller, you may experience problems connecting the VMs in the Azure virtual network to the Internet. This can occur if a forwarder DNS server is automatically configured on the domain controller, and this autoconfigured forwarder DNS server doesn’t resolve properly.

To work around this problem, log on to the domain controller and either remove the forwarder configuration setting or configure an alternative forwarder DNS server. To do this, in Server Manager click Tools > DNS to open DNS Manager, and then double-click Forwarders.

Problem accessing RDMA network from size A8 or A9 compute node or broker node VMs added by the HPC Pack IaaS deployment script

If you add compute node or broker node VMs of size A8 or A9 by using the HPC Pack IaaS deployment script, you may experience problems connecting those VMs to the RDMA application network. One reason this can occur is if the HpcVmDrivers extension is not properly installed when the size A8 or A9 VMs are added to the cluster. For example, the extension might be stuck in the installing state.

To work around this problem, first check the state of the extension in the VMs. If the extension is not properly installed, try removing the nodes from the HPC cluster and then add the nodes again. For example, you can add compute node VMs by using the Add-HpcIaaSNode.ps1 script. For information, see Manage the Compute Node VMs in an HPC Pack IaaS Cluster.

Head node login required for SQL Server AlwaysOn availability group

To use a SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn availability group in an HPC Pack cluster, add the head node as login for all the SQL Server instances in the SQL Server availability group. The login should be in the form domain_name\computer_name$ for a single HPC cluster head node or, in the case of a head node configured in a failover cluster, domain_name\clustered_instance_name$.

Problem retrieving data from cluster databases

HPC Pack may fail to retrieve data from the cluster’s SQL Server databases, and you may see SQL Server timeout exceptions in Event Viewer's HPC Scheduler pane. One possible reason for this problem is that SQL Server fails to autogrow a cluster database because of the performance impact of autogrow settings. If this problem happens, check your database settings, and manually change the database size if the database space is exhausted. It is recommended to consider autogrow settings only as a contingency for unexpected growth. You can avoid the problem by using performance counters to monitor the database size, and manually adjust the database size when needed. Alternatively, if the SQL Server service account is trusted, you can enable SQL Server instant file initialization.

Failover cluster issue on Windows Server 2012

Adding the file server role or managing a Windows Server failover cluster on certain versions of Windows Server 2012 may fail with an error similar to: “A weak event was created and it lives on the wrong object, there is a very high chance this will fail, please review and make changes on your code to prevent the issue.” The problem can be solved by installing Windows update KB2803748 

See Also

What's New in Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2 Update 1