Step 3: Advanced Firewall and Proxy Client Configuration (Optional)

Note
This topic applies to Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 that has been updated with Service Pack 1 (SP1), SP2, or SP3.

If your enterprise network uses a proxy server or network firewall device that manages Internet traffic, at a minimum you must ensure that specific firewall ports used for communication between Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 and Windows Azure are open. These ports are listed in Configure the network firewall. In some cases, you might need to perform additional steps to configure that server or firewall device, or client software on the head node, to ensure that specific Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 services can communicate with Windows Azure. This additional configuration is only necessary in some environments.

To deploy and use the Windows Azure nodes, the following services that run under the system account on the head node in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 must be able to communicate over the Internet with the services for Windows Azure:

• HPCManagement
  
  
• HPCScheduler
  
  
• HPCBrokerWorker
  
  

Because these services run under the system account, they may be blocked by certain proxy servers or network firewalls unless those devices are configured to allow their traffic. Depending on your network environment, you may also need to configure client software on the head node to associate specific user credentials with the services.

Important

You should consult with your network administrator and the vendor of your proxy server or network firewall to find out if a proxy server or network firewall on your enterprise network will block the traffic for the HPCManagement, HPCScheduler, and HPCBrokerWorker services for Windows HPC Server 2008 R2. If additional configuration is needed, the specific configuration steps will depend on factors such as your specific network and security policies, your proxy server or network firewall, and whether and what type of firewall client software is running on the head node. If you are running Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 with SP2 or later, you can run the Windows Azure Firewall Ports Test to help detect this issue. If all of the firewall ports required for communication between Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 and Windows Azure are open, but the diagnostic test fails, this can indicate a problem with the configuration of a proxy server or network firewall. For more information about the firewall ports that must be open in the network firewall, see Requirements for Windows Azure Nodes in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 in this guide.

See Also