Getting Started Guide for Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2 and HPC Pack 2012

 

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

This guide provides basic conceptual information and general procedures for installing a high performance computing (HPC) cluster by using Microsoft® HPC Pack 2012 R2 or Microsoft® HPC Pack 2012. These versions of HPC Pack allow you to create and manage HPC clusters consisting of dedicated on-premises compute nodes, part-time servers, workstation computers, and on-demand compute resources that are deployed in Windows Azure.

The steps in this guide will help you to deploy a new head node and on-premises compute nodes. Deployment procedures for HPC Pack 2012 R2 and HPC Pack 2012 are generally identical, except for some differences in system requirements for the different cluster roles. For information about migration from an HPC Pack 2008 R2 cluster or advanced deployment scenarios, see the content in the Microsoft TechNet Library.

Note

To learn about late-breaking issues and other important information about HPC Pack, review the release notes for your version of HPC Pack and for any service pack you have applied. See the topics in Microsoft HPC Pack: Getting Started.

Checklist: Deploy an HPC cluster

The following checklist describes the overall process of designing and deploying an on-premises HPC cluster. Each task in the checklist is linked to the section in this document that describes the steps to perform the task.

Task

Description

Step 1: Prepare for Your Deployment

Before you start deploying your HPC cluster, review the list of prerequisites and initial considerations.

Step 2: Deploy the Head Node

Deploy the head node by installing Windows Server and HPC Pack.

Step 3: Configure the Head Node

Configure the head node by following the steps in the Deployment To-do List in HPC Cluster Manager.

Step 4: Validate Your Environment Before Deploying Nodes

If you will be deploying on-premises nodes from bare metal, run a set of diagnostic tests to identify common problems that can affect node deployment.

Step 5: Add Nodes to the Cluster

Add on-premises nodes to the cluster by deploying them from bare metal, by importing an XML file, or by manually configuring them.

Step 6: Run Diagnostic Tests on the Cluster

Run diagnostic tests to verify that the deployment of the cluster was successful.

Step 7: Run a Test Job on the Cluster

Run a basic job on the cluster to verify that the cluster is operational.

Appendices

The following appendices provide additional information that might be needed to complete certain steps in this guide.

See also