Step 4: Add the InfiniBand Device Drivers for the Operating System Images

 

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

The next step is to add the device drivers for the InfiniBand Host Channel Adapters (HCA) cards to the head node using HPC Cluster Manager. This will make those device drivers available to the operating system images during deployment. The device drivers that you add must be in the .inf format.

Membership in the local Administrators group, or equivalent, is the minimum required to complete this procedure.

To add device drivers for the operating system images

1. On the head node computer, locate the .inf files that were included in the device driver package that you downloaded and installed in Step 1: Prepare for Your Deployment - IB. By default these files are installed in a subfolder of the C:\Program Files folder.

2. If HPC Cluster Manager is not already open on the head node, open it. Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft HPC Pack, and then click HPC Cluster Manager.

3. In Configuration, in the Navigation Pane, click Deployment To-do List.

4. In the To-do List, click Manage drivers. The Manage Drivers dialog box appears.

5. Click Add, and then browse to the folder where the .inf files for the device drivers are stored.

6. Select the .inf files that are available in the folder and in any subfolders, and then click Open.

7. After you are done adding the device drivers, click Close.

The following image shows an example of the Manage Drivers dialog box with all the device drivers added:

Note

At this point you have completed all the additional steps required for the configuration of the head node computer and the node template, in preparation for the deployment of InfiniBand drivers with NetworkDirect support. The next steps are the same as those in a general deployment process of an HPC cluster.