Windows HPC Server 2008 R2
Updated: January 2015
Applies To: Windows HPC Server 2008 R2
The content in this technical library is intended for users who want to evaluate, set up, deploy, Mayntain, and submit jobs to a Windows® HPC Server 2008 R2 cluster.
In this topic
Featured content
In this library
Videos
Download Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 software
Featured content
Troubleshooting connections from Windows HPC Server to Azure (Wiki)
Resources for Windows Azure integration (Developers)
Database Capacity Planning and Tuning for Microsoft HPC Pack
Deploying Applications to Azure Nodes in a Windows HPC Cluster
Job Submission in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Quick Reference
DIY Supercomputing: How to build a small Windows HPC cluster or video
Service Pack 4 documentation
Service Pack 4 for Microsoft® HPC Pack 2008 R2 is available on the Microsoft Download Center.
Before installing SP4, we recommend that you create a backup of your head node and databases. For more information, see Release Notes for Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Service Pack 4 and What's New in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 4.
The Service Pack 4 release also marks the release of the Windows Azure HPC Scheduler SDK version 1.7. For more information, code samples, videos, and guides, see the Windows Azure HPC Scheduler SDK documentation on MSDN.
In this library
For a downloadable version of the documents in this library, go to https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=177810.
The following table lists the documents within each section of this library:
Videos
The following videos about Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 are available for viewing:
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
How to deploy Windows Azure Worker Nodes as part of a Windows HPC Cluster |
In this video (10 min), we show you how Windows HPC Server integrates with Windows Azure so you can add Windows Azure nodes to supplement your on-premises computing cluster. This video shows how to create a hosted service and storage account in your Windows Azure subscription, create a node template in HPC Cluster Manager in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 (with SP1 or later), and then deploy a set of Windows Azure nodes. This video is meant to introduce steps for node deployment, and does not cover application deployment or file staging. |
DIY Supercomputing: How to build a small Windows HPC cluster |
In this video (14 min), we walk through the steps to build a small Windows HPC 2008 R2 cluster that you can use to run your parallel software applications, cluster-enabled Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, service-oriented architecture based applications, or parametric sweeps. This video is intended for those of you out there who do not have an IT department to set up a cluster for you, and so you need to do it yourself. After you complete the steps in this video, you will have a cluster that is ready for you to install applications and start running jobs. |
Overview of Microsoft Technical Computing and HPC Server 2008 R2 |
In this video (25 min), Ryan Waite, the General Manager for Windows HPC, presents a high level synopsis of Microsoft's Technical Computing offerings. |
In this video (20 min.), Greg Burgess, Principal Development Manager for the Windows HPC team, describes the HPC job scheduler. Job lifecycle is described according to three phases, Admission (jobs enter the scheduler), Allocation (scheduler makes decisions about job placement), and Activation (scheduler starts and controls the job). |
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Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Monitoring and Management Part One |
In this video (22 min.), Cathy Palmer, Lead Program Manager of the Windows HPC Team, presents the management and monitoring enhancements released with R2. |
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Monitoring and Management Part Two |
In this video (21 min.), Cathy Palmer, Lead Program Manager of the Windows HPC Team, presents the management and monitoring enhancements released with Windows HPC Server 2008 R2. |
In this video (29 min.), Rae Wang, Senior Program Manager on the Windows HPC Team, presents the diagnostics and reporting features available in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2. |
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In this video (10 min.), Matt Blythe, Product Manager with the Microsoft Technical Computing team, offers an introduction to Dual-Boot "Hybrid" Clusters that allow Windows HPC and Linux HPC to exist on the same hardware. |
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Overview and sample scenario for Excel offloading on Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 |
In this video (7 min.), learn about a sample business use case scenario for Excel offloading, and learn the basics of how Excel offloading works on a Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 cluster. |
Download Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 software
HPC Pack 2008 R2 is the high performance computing aspect of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2. It includes management tools, a job scheduler, and Microsoft Message Passing Interface (MS-MPI), and the client utilities. The HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise and HPC Pack 2008 R2 for Cycle Harvesting edition (formerly called the Enterprise and Workstation edition) additionally includes HPC Services for Excel and the ability to join workstation nodes and unmanaged servers to the cluster.
You can use the following links to download the HPC software:
Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite Evaluation with Service Pack 4: You can download the evaluation versions of the Windows Server® 2008 R2 HPC Edition operating system and HPC Pack 2008 R2 with Service Pack 4 (https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4b013794-f6fc-4070-b769-9acd0c140ca9\&displaylang=en).
Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Service Pack 4: You can download the current service pack to update your existing Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 cluster.
HPC Pack 2008 R2 Software Development Kit: You can download the tools to write parallel applications for the Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 platform (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=198809). Updated versions of the SDKs and code samples, which include new APIs and capabilities introduced in the Service Packs, are available here:
When you install HPC Pack 2008 R2, you can select what edition and what features you want to install. You can install only the client utilities if you want to submit jobs or manage an HPC cluster remotely. All of the client utilities are available in both editions.
The options that you have depend on what operating system is installed on the computer or server:
| Installation option | Supported operating systems | Edition of HPC Pack |
|---|---|---|
Head node or WCF broker node |
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Compute node |
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Workstation node |
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