Apply Software Updates

Applies To: Windows HPC Server 2008

Windows HPC ServerĀ 2008 integrates with Microsoft Update services to update the compute nodes on your cluster. The maintenance phase of the node template includes a task called Update Nodes.

In HPC Cluster Manager, you can use the following three steps to apply software updates:

  1. Determine what software updates are needed

  2. Add the Apply Updates task to a node template

  3. Apply software updates to compute nodes

Note

You can update compute nodes that are already imaged without reimaging them.

1. Determine what software updates are needed

You can use either the Pending Software Updates or the Software Updates Required diagnostic test to determine which updates are needed. For more information, see Run Diagnostic Tests.

  • Run the Pending Software Updates diagnostic to view a list of updates that the cluster needs. This test provides an overall list of updates that are available for all the nodes, as well as a list of updates for each individual node. This test reports on the updates (patches) that are identified as critical by Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or Microsoft Update.

    Important

    The Pending Software Updates diagnostic fails if the winhttp proxy is not set on the compute node. Run the netsh winhttp show proxy command to see if the compute nodes have a proxy server set.

  • If you have an Apply Updates task in the node template, you can run the Software Updates Required diagnostic. The Software Updates Required diagnostic compares the updates that are installed on the compute node against the updates specified in the node template. The report indicates if any compute nodes fail to meet the required update level that is specified in the template.

    Note

    To view the compute nodes on the cluster that do not have the updates that are required in the node template, right-click the Software Updates Required test result, click Pivot To, and then click Failed Nodes of the Test. The Node Management pane appears. All compute nodes that failed the Software Updates Required test are listed.

2. Add the Apply Updates task to a node template

The node template for the nodes you need to update must have the Apply Updates task. You can view the node template in the Node Template Editor to verify or modify the settings for the existing Apply Updates task, or to add the task to the node template. For more information, see Add the Apply Updates Task to a Node Template.

3. Apply software updates to compute nodes

After the software updates you want to apply are added to the node template, you are ready to apply the software updates to the compute nodes. Use the Maintain node action to run the update task. For more information, see Run Maintenance Tasks on Compute Nodes.

About Microsoft Update

Microsoft Update is a Web site that is used to publish updates (also known as patches) for Windows and Microsoft products. WSUS enables information technology administrators to deploy the latest Microsoft product updates to computers running a Windows operating system. By using WSUS, administrators can fully manage the distribution of updates that are released through Microsoft Update to computers in their network.

Additional references