Node Does Not Reach the Preferred Domain Controller

Applies To: Windows HPC Server 2008 R2, Windows HPC Server 2008

HPC Cluster Manager may indicate that one or more nodes cannot reach the Active Directory domain. For example, the Domain Connectivity diagnostic may report a warning or a failure for one or more nodes. When you attempt to provision a compute node, provisioning may fail because a domain controller cannot be contacted. However, your Active Directory environment may contain one or more active domain controllers.

Cause

HPC Cluster Manager cannot contact the “preferred” domain controller for cluster operations. The preferred domain controller is identified internally for the cluster when you provide the credentials of a domain account in the Installation Credentials dialog box. These credentials, and the preferred domain controller, are used when installing the operating system, installing applications, and when adding nodes to the Active Directory domain.

Resolution

If you have a single domain controller in your Active Directory domain, check the network connections and make sure that the domain controller is started and is responding.

If you have more than one domain controller in your Active Directory domain, you can reset the preferred domain controller for the cluster. To do this, enter credentials again in the Installation Credentials dialog box. When you enter the credentials, the domain controller that responds is identified internally as the preferred domain controller. For more information about entering credentials, see Provide Installation Credentials.