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Requirements for Adding Workstation Nodes in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2

Updated: June 29, 2011

Applies To: Windows HPC Server 2008 R2

To add workstation nodes to your HPC cluster, you need the following:

An HPC cluster where the head node computer, other cluster nodes, and the workstation computers are connected in a topology that allows the workstations to communicate with all the resources that they need to interact with.

Important
Topology 5 (all nodes on an enterprise network) is often a recommended topology for adding workstation nodes, because in that topology workstation nodes (usually already connected to the enterprise network) are able to communicate with all other types of nodes in the cluster. You can use a topology other than topology 5 for adding workstation nodes. However, depending on the type and the scope of the jobs that you want to run, there might be important limitations that you need to consider. For example, if you choose topology 1 (compute nodes isolated on a private network) or topology 3 (compute nodes isolated on private and application networks), and workstation nodes are already connected to the enterprise network, communication between compute nodes and workstation nodes will not be possible. For more information about adding workstation nodes to each cluster network topology, see Appendix 1: Cluster Network Topologies for Workstation Nodes.

Important

Topology 5 (all nodes on an enterprise network) is often a recommended topology for adding workstation nodes, because in that topology workstation nodes (usually already connected to the enterprise network) are able to communicate with all other types of nodes in the cluster.
You can use a topology other than topology 5 for adding workstation nodes. However, depending on the type and the scope of the jobs that you want to run, there might be important limitations that you need to consider. For example, if you choose topology 1 (compute nodes isolated on a private network) or topology 3 (compute nodes isolated on private and application networks), and workstation nodes are already connected to the enterprise network, communication between compute nodes and workstation nodes will not be possible.
For more information about adding workstation nodes to each cluster network topology, see Appendix 1: Cluster Network Topologies for Workstation Nodes.

A head node computer where Microsoft® HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise and HPC Pack 2008 R2 for Workstation edition is installed and configured (that is, all the steps required in the Deployment To-do List have been completed).
One or more workstation computers, each running a supported edition of the Windows 7 operating system, that you want to add as workstation nodes to your cluster. A workstation node can be running Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 7 Professional, or Windows 7 Ultimate.
If you are running Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 SP2 or later, the workstation computers and the head node computer can be joined to the same Active Directory domain, but you can also use workstation computers that are joined to any domain that has an established trust relationship with the domain to which the head node is joined. If you are running a previous version of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2, the workstation computers and the head node computer must be joined to the same Active Directory domain.
Installation media for HPC Pack 2008 R2 Enterprise and HPC Pack 2008 R2 for Workstation edition, to install on the workstation computers.

Considerations for user accounts used on the workstation computers

For a domain user to submit an HPC job to a workstation node, the user account must be added as an HPC cluster user (or an HPC cluster administrator) in HPC Cluster Manager on the head node, or by using HPC PowerShell. For additional information about HPC user roles, see Security Considerations for Designating HPC Cluster Users and Administrators in the Windows HPC Server Technical Library (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=194685).
The user account must also be a valid member of the local Users group on each workstation computer on which the job will run. By default, this requirement is met when a workstation computer is joined to the domain. Unless specific restrictions are configured, this action automatically adds all domain users to the local Users group on that workstation.

The administrator of workstations in your organization should determine which users in the organization are designated to submit jobs to workstation nodes, and ensure that those user accounts have the necessary permissions on the HPC cluster and on the workstation nodes.

Caution
It is strongly recommended that you do not add workstation computers to your HPC cluster on which users have local administrative privileges. If you add these workstation computers as workstation nodes, the users who have local administrative privileges on their computers can affect the performance and the outcome of HPC jobs that are running on their computers. It might also be possible for an attacker who has local administrative privileges to create a service that can affect HPC services or jobs that are running on the computer or on other nodes in the cluster.

Caution

It is strongly recommended that you do not add workstation computers to your HPC cluster on which users have local administrative privileges. If you add these workstation computers as workstation nodes, the users who have local administrative privileges on their computers can affect the performance and the outcome of HPC jobs that are running on their computers. It might also be possible for an attacker who has local administrative privileges to create a service that can affect HPC services or jobs that are running on the computer or on other nodes in the cluster.

The administrator of workstations can use standard administrative tools for Windows 7 to help control the access of HPC cluster users to resources on the workstations, such as the following:
- Customize the default user profile when a Windows 7 image is prepared. After the image is deployed, these settings are applied to all new users who log on to the computer, including HPC cluster users who submit jobs. For more information, see How to customize the default local user profile when you prepare an image of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=207844).
- Configure Group Policy settings that restrict HPC cluster users from changing certain configurations of the workstation computers. For an overview of these settings that can be configured in Group Policy objects (GPOs), see Group Policy Settings for Creating a Steady State (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=207845).
- Configure local Group Policy settings or a GPO to schedule automatic updates on workstation computers at times that do not interfere with jobs that might be scheduled on the workstation nodes.
- Configure NTFS file quotas that limit the amount of space on a volume that an HPC cluster user account can use on the workstation computers. For more information about the options for NTFS file quotas, see Configuring Disk Quotas on NTFS Volumes (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=207846).

Additional considerations

When Microsoft® HPC Pack 2008 R2 is installed on the workstation computers, inbound and outbound rules are configured in Windows Firewall on the workstation computers to enable communication with the head node of your HPC cluster and with other nodes in the cluster. For more information about these rules, see Appendix 1: HPC Cluster Networking in the Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Design and Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=194568).
You must configure any additional rules that might be required by the applications that you want to run on the workstation nodes.
If you are planning to configure workstation computers in more than one trusted domain as workstation nodes (supported in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 SP2 or later), each computer must have a unique computer name (host name).

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