Control the Way the Head Node Responds to PXE Boot Requests in HPC Server 2008

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Applies To: Windows HPC Server 2008

The default deployment setting in Windows HPC Server 2008 is to respond only to Pre-Boot Execution Environment (PXE) boot requests that come from known, existing compute nodes. When you are deliberately adding a new compute node, the Add Node Wizard makes it easy to temporarily allow a PXE boot request from that new node, and then to return to the default setting as soon as the compute node has been added. However, you can review or manually control the way the head node responds to PXE boot requests, as described in this procedure.

For background information, see Understanding Security Considerations for the PXE Boot Process in Windows HPC Server 2008.

To control the way the head node responds to PXE boot requests

  1. To open HPC Cluster Manager, click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft HPC Pack, and then click HPC Cluster Manager. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.

  2. In the menu bar, click Options, and then click Deployment Settings. The Deployment Settings dialog box appears.

  3. Click one of the two options:

    • Respond only to PXE requests that come from existing compute nodes. When this option is set, only existing compute nodes will have their PXE requests serviced by the head node. PXE requests sent by other computers will be ignored. (However, even with this setting, you can still use the Add Node Wizard to add nodes from bare metal, because the wizard temporarily changes the setting when you run it, and provides you with the option to choose whether to return to this setting when the wizard completes.)

    • Respond to all PXE requests. This option allows you to add a new, unknown computer as a compute node. If a new computer contacts the head node with a PXE request, Windows Deployment Services will respond to that request and alert the HPC Management Service. The computer is then assigned a name according to the compute node naming series specified during configuration, and it is listed with that name in Node Management, under the Offline state.

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