FAQ: Migration and Compatibility With Previous Versions Windows HPC Server 2008

  • Article

Applies To: Windows HPC Server 2008

In this section:

  • Is Windows HPC Server 2008 compatible with the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 APIs?

  • Does Windows HPC Server 2008 support a cluster with compute nodes running both Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and Windows HPC Server 2008 nodes?

  • Does Windows HPC Server 2008 support side-by-side installation?

  • Can I upgrade my existing Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 cluster to Windows HPC Server 2008?

Is Windows HPC Server 2008 compatible with the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 APIs?

Windows® HPC Server 2008 provides API-level compatibility with Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003. Windows HPC Server 2008 supports job submission from Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 clients, including jobs submitted using the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 command-line tools, the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 Job Manager, and the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 COM APIs. However, the Windows HPC Server 2008 client tools, including the administration consoler (HPC Cluster Manager), the user console (HPC Job Manager), the command-line tools, and APIs cannot be used to manage or submit jobs to a Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 cluster. Additionally, Windows PowerShell™ scripts that are written for Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 are not supported on Windows HPC Server 2008. Third-party applications using the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 API should be compatible with Windows HPC Server 2008. These applications may, however, require some changes to run properly on Windows HPC Server 2008. If you encounter problems running your application on Windows HPC Server 2008, you should consult your software vendor.

For more information about compatibility between Windows HPC Server 2008 and Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003, see Windows HPC Server 2008: V1/V2 Compatibility (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=123634).

Does Windows HPC Server 2008 support a cluster with compute nodes running both Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and Windows HPC Server 2008 nodes?

No. There is no support for clusters that have compute nodes that are running both Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and Windows HPC Server 2008.

Does Windows HPC Server 2008 support side-by-side installation?

Side-by-side installation of Windows HPC Server 2008 and Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 on the same computer is not supported. However, a single workstation can have the client tools for both Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and Windows HPC Server 2008 installed.

For more information about compatibility between Windows HPC Server 2008 and Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003, see Windows HPC Server 2008: V1/V2 Compatibility (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=123634).

Can I upgrade my existing Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 cluster to Windows HPC Server 2008?

Upgrade of a Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 head node to a Windows HPC Server 2008 head node is not supported. To upgrade an existing Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 cluster to a Windows HPC Server 2008 cluster, we recommend that you perform the following steps:

  1. Ensure that your existing hardware and any third-party applications are certified to run on Windows Server 2008.

  2. Create a new Windows HPC Server 2008 head node.

  3. Upgrade all compute nodes from an x64-based version of Windows Server 2003 to an x64-based version of Windows Server 2008.

  4. Install HPC Pack 2008 on all compute nodes.

  5. Join the compute nodes to the new Windows HPC Server 2008 cluster.