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Configure Proxy Settings on the Compute Nodes

  • Article

Updated: September 2010

Applies To: Windows HPC Server 2008, Windows HPC Server 2008 R2

If your enterprise network uses a proxy server to access the Internet, you may need to configure the proxy settings of the compute nodes in your Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 or Windows HPC Server 2008 cluster. For example, you might want the compute nodes to receive updates directly from Microsoft Update instead of using a Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) server on your network. Another scenario is when you use a Multiple Activation Key (MAK) or individual retail product keys to deploy the operating system on your compute nodes, and you want to activate the operating system on the compute nodes.

Important
If your enterprise network has a WSUS server, you do not need to configure the proxy settings on your compute nodes, but you must ensure that the information about the WSUS server is properly configured in Active Directory DoMayn Services. You do not need to configure the proxy settings on your compute nodes for the activation of the operating system if you are using volume license product keys and your Active Directory doMayn has a properly configured Key Management Service (KMS) server. Also, if the operating system on your compute nodes was installed by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), the activation of the operating system should not require a connection to the Internet, and for that reason you would not need to configure the proxy settings on your compute nodes.

You can configure the proxy settings on your compute nodes by running the netsh winhttp set proxy command using node templates. This configuration can take place during deployment, or after the nodes have been deployed. This topic explains these two scenarios.

In this topic:

  • Configure the proxy settings during deployment

  • Configure the proxy settings on compute nodes that have been deployed

Configure the proxy settings during deployment

To configure the proxy settings during the deployment process of your compute nodes, you must add a task to the node template that will be used to deploy those nodes. The following procedure explains how you can modify the node template to run the netsh winhttp set proxy command at the end of the deployment process.

Important
The procedure in this section assumes that your compute nodes do not have an operating system already installed, and that the operating system will be installed during deployment. If your compute nodes have an operating system already installed, then you must follow the procedure in the Configure the proxy settings on compute nodes that have been deployed section. You must use a node template that includes a step to deploy an operating system on the compute nodes. If you do not have such a node template, you must create one. For more information, see Create a Node Template [Help link].

To add a task to configure proxy settings during deployment

  1. On the head node of your HPC cluster, open HPC Cluster Manager. Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft HPC Pack, and then click HPC Cluster Manager.

  2. In Configuration, in the Navigation Pane, click Node Templates.

  3. Double-click the node template that you want to modify. The Node Template Editor dialog box opens.

    Note
    You can also make a copy of an existing node template and modify that copy. To copy a node template, select the template, and then on the Actions pane, click Copy. The name of the duplicate template that is created will start with Copy of. You can change the name of the template when you modify it in the Node Template Editor dialog box.

  4. To ensure that the new task is added in the right place, in the Deployment section of the list of node template tasks, click the last task in that section.

  5. Click Add Task, point to Deployment, and then click Run OS command. The new Run OS command task will be listed right before the last task in the Deployment section.

  6. To move the new Run OS command task to the end of the Deployment section, click Move Down.

    Important
    The correct order of the tasks in the node template is crucial. Ensure that the new Run OS command task is the last task in the Deployment section.

  7. Set the ContinueOnFailure property to True.

  8. In the Command property, type the following command:

    netsh winhttp set proxy [proxy-server=]<ServerName>[:port] [[bypass-list=]<HostsList>]

    Where:

    • <ServerName> is the name of the proxy server.

    • [:PortNumber] is an optional parameter that you can use to specify the port number for which you want to configure the proxy server.

    • [[bypass-list=]<HostsList>] is an optional parameter that you can use to list websites that you want your compute node to be able to access by bypassing the proxy server.

    For example, the following command configures a server named MyProxyServer as the proxy server:

    netsh winhttp set proxy MyProxyServer

    For more information about the netsh winhttp set proxy command, see Netsh Commands for Windows Hypertext Transfer Protocol (WINHTTP) (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=154296).

  9. To save the changes that you have made to the node template and close the Node Template Editor dialog box, click Save.

The following image shows the node template in HPC Cluster Manager in Windows HPC Server 2008 after the new Run OS command task is added and configured. (The appearance of the node template in HPC Cluster Manager in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 is substantially similar.)

Configure the proxy settings on compute nodes that have been deployed

To configure the proxy settings after you have deployed and added your compute nodes to your HPC cluster, you can use the Mayntenance tasks in node templates to configure the proxy settings on the compute nodes. The following procedure explains how you can modify and use a node template to run the netsh winhttp set proxy command to configure the proxy settings on compute nodes.

Caution
To run Mayntenance tasks on your compute nodes using node templates, you must first bring the compute nodes offline. For this reason, plan in advance to run Mayntenance tasks when the compute nodes are not being used for computational tasks. If you do not want to bring your compute nodes offline, you can use the clusrun command-line tool to run the netsh winhttp set proxy command to configure the proxy settings on compute nodes. For more information, see the clusrun command reference (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=154292).

To add a Mayntenance task to configure proxy settings

  1. On the head node of your HPC cluster, open HPC Cluster Manager. Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft HPC Pack, and then click HPC Cluster Manager.

  2. In Configuration, in the Navigation Pane, click Node Templates.

  3. Double-click the node template that was used to deploy the compute nodes where you want to configure proxy settings. The Node Template Editor dialog box opens.

  4. To add a Mayntenance task, click Add Task, point to Mayntenance, and then click Post Install Command. The new Post Install Command task will be listed in the Mayntenance section of the list of node template tasks.

  5. Set the ContinueOnFailure property to True.

  6. In the Command property, type the following command:

    netsh winhttp set proxy [proxy-server=]<ServerName>[:port] [[bypass-list=]<HostsList>]

    Where:

    • <ServerName> is the name of the proxy server.

    • [:PortNumber] is an optional parameter that you can use to specify the port number for which you want to configure the proxy server.

    • [[bypass-list=]<HostsList>] is an optional parameter that you can use to list websites that you want your compute node to be able to access by bypassing the proxy server.

    For example, the following command configures a server named MyProxyServer as the proxy server:

    netsh winhttp set proxy MyProxyServer

    For more information about the netsh winhttp set proxy command, see Netsh Commands for Windows Hypertext Transfer Protocol (WINHTTP) (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=154296).

  7. If there is a task that you do not want to run at this time that is listed in the Mayntenance section of the list of node template tasks, click that task, and then click Delete Task.

  8. To save the changes that you have made to the node template and close the Node Template Editor dialog box, click Save.

  9. In Node Management, in the Navigation Pane, click Nodes.

  10. In the List view, select the compute nodes for which you want to configure the proxy settings.

    Caution
    Ensure that all the nodes that you select have been deployed using the node template that you modified. The Node Template column lists the node template for each node.

  11. Right-click your selection, and then click Take Offline. If the Take Offline dialog box opens, click Yes.

  12. After the nodes have been taken offline, right-click your selection again, and then click Mayntain.

  13. To bring the nodes online after the Mayntenance process has completed, right-click your selection again, and then click Bring Online.

The following image shows the node template in HPC Cluster Manager in Windows HPC Server 2008 after the new Post Install Command task is added and configured. (The appearance of the node template in HPC Cluster Manager in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 is substantially similar.)

Additional references