Step 6: Install HPC Pack 2008 R2 on a Server that Will Run Head Node Services

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Applies To: Windows HPC Server 2008 R2

Now that you have set up a two-server failover cluster, you can install HPC Pack 2008 R2 in the failover cluster. Here is a summary of how this differs from installing HPC Pack 2008 R2 when there is no failover cluster. Later sections describe these differences in more detail:

  • HPC Pack 2008 R2 Setup will detect that the server is part of a failover cluster and automatically guide you through the installation of the head node in the context of the failover cluster.

  • HPC Pack 2008 R2 Setup will prompt you to provide the names of your SQL Server instance and SQL Server databases.

  • You must run Setup on each of the two servers in the failover cluster.

  • Before HPC Pack 2008 R2 is installed on the second server in the failover cluster, HPC Cluster Manager displays the second server as “Unknown” in the Node Management navigation pane.

  • After Setup is complete on one server, the Network Configuration Wizard runs, detects that this head node is a part of a failover cluster, and automatically changes the available settings to support high availability.

  • Neither server in the failover cluster can serve in an additional HPC role. That is, neither server can be a compute node or a Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) broker node.

This section describes how to install and configure HPC Pack 2008 R2 on a server in the failover cluster:

  1. Prepare to run HPC Pack 2008 R2 Setup on a server in the failover cluster

  2. Run HPC Pack 2008 R2 Setup on a server in the failover cluster

Prepare to run HPC Pack 2008 R2 Setup on a server in the failover cluster

Before you begin Setup for HPC Pack 2008 R2, there are two preparatory steps to follow:

  1. Use the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in to view the clustered file server that you configured for use by the HPC cluster. You must ensure that this clustered file server is online on the server on which you will begin installing HPC Pack 2008 R2.

  2. In Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), make sure that you have at least two designated security groups, one for HPC users and one for HPC administrators. Then, on each of the two servers that are in the failover cluster, make sure that the local Administrators group contains only the designated group for HPC administrators. Remove all individual user accounts (other than the local Administrator account) from the local Administrators group.

    Important

    When HPC Pack 2008 R2 is installed on the second server in the failover cluster, the members of the local Administrators group on the servers in the failover cluster will become permanent members of the HPC cluster Administrator role. In other words, in the HPC cluster, you cannot remove members from HPC cluster Administrator role. Control the membership of this role by allowing only Active Directory group accounts in it, and control the membership of those groups through AD DS.

    Similarly, after the HPC cluster has been created, you should add only groups to the HPC cluster User role. Any account that you specifically add to this role will become a permanent member. (There is an exception to this guideline, the designated “installation credentials” account that you must specify when you first configure the head node. This account is described in the “Domain account and SQL Server account requirements” section of Requirements for Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 in Failover Clusters.)

    If you manage multiple failover clusters that run the head nodes for multiple HPC clusters, and you do not want the same set of administrators and users for all the clusters, you must create separate pairs of security groups for each cluster.

To prepare to run HPC Pack 2008 R2 Setup on a server in the failover cluster

  1. To open the failover cluster snap-in, click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Failover Cluster Manager. (If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Yes.)

  2. In the console tree, if the failover cluster that you created is not displayed, right-click Failover Cluster Manager, click Manage a Cluster, and then select the cluster on this server.

  3. In the console tree, expand the failover cluster, click Services and Applications, and click the clustered file server that you configured.

  4. In the center pane, view the Current Owner. If this is not the server on which you choose to install HPC Pack 2008 R2 first, in the console tree, right-click the clustered file server, and then click Move this service or application to another node. When you are prompted, confirm the move.

  5. If the clustered file server is not already listed as Online, in the console tree, right-click the clustered file server, and then click Bring this service or application online.

  6. In AD DS, make sure that you have at least two designated security groups, one for HPC users and one for HPC administrators. Make sure that your account, or the account that will be used for installing HPC Pack 2008 R2, is in the security group for HPC administrators.

  7. On the server on which you will install HPC Pack 2008 R2 first, open Server Manager.

  8. In the console tree, expand Configuration, expand Local Users and Groups, and then click Groups.

  9. In the center pane, double-click Administrators.

  10. Make sure that the designated security group that was created in AD DS for HPC administrators is a member of the local Administrators group.

  11. If there is an individual user account (other than the local Administrator account) in the local Administrators group, select the account and then click Remove. To select multiple accounts, hold down the CTRL key, click each account, and then click Remove.

    Continue removing accounts from the local Administrators group until it contains only the appropriate group accounts and (optionally) the local Administrator account. It should contain only the group or groups that you want to be included as HPC administrators when the HPC cluster is created (specifically, when HPC Pack 2008 R2 is installed on the second server in the failover cluster).

  12. Repeat steps 7 through 11 for the second server in the failover cluster.

Run HPC Pack 2008 R2 Setup on a server in the failover cluster

When you run HPC Pack 2008 R2 Setup on a server in the failover cluster, it detects that the server is configured for failover clustering and presents options as described in the following procedure.

Important

Be sure to complete the actions in the previous section, Prepare to run HPC Pack 2008 R2 Setup on a server in the failover cluster, before you begin the following procedure.

To run HPC Pack 2008 R2 Setup for the first time on a server in the failover cluster

  1. Run HPC Pack 2008 R2 Setup on the server from distribution media or from a network location.

    The Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2 Installation Wizard appears.

  2. On the Getting Started page, click Next.

  3. On the Select Installation Edition page, select the option that is appropriate for your installation, and then click Next.

  4. On the Microsoft Software License Terms page, read or print the software license terms in the license agreement, and accept or reject the terms. If you accept the terms, click Next.

  5. On the Select Installation Type page, click Create a new HPC cluster by creating a head node, and then click Next.

  6. You might see one or several pop-up windows. If so, use the following instructions to respond:

    • You might see the following message: “HPC Setup has detected that this node is a member of a Microsoft® Windows Server 2008 R2 Failover Cluster. Please configure an online file server resource with the Failover Cluster and make current node owner of the clustered instance to continue HPC setup.” If you see this message, first make sure that you have performed the steps in Prepare to run HPC Pack 2008 R2 Setup on a server in the failover cluster, earlier in this topic. If this does not correct the situation, make sure that you configured a clustered file server within the failover cluster and you added a shared folder to it, as described in Step 4: Configure a Clustered File Server for the Head Node in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2.

    • If you see the message “This node is not an active member of its Microsoft® Windows Server 2008 R2 failover cluster…,” the wizard has detected that failover clustering has been installed, but the service is not running on this server (node). Go to the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in and start the Cluster service on that node.

    • If you see the message “The SQL Server database is not available/online…,” ensure that the database service is started, and if your SQL Server is remote, ensure that the remote SQL Server instance is available on the network.

  7. If you see the Head Node Installation in a Failover Cluster page (which is expected), for Name of clustered instance in the failover cluster, select the clustered file server that you created in a previous procedure. Then click Next.

    If you do not see this page, Setup has not detected that the server on which you are installing HPC Pack 2008 R2 is a part of a failover cluster, and you must cancel Setup and confirm that the process of creating the failover cluster succeeded.

  8. If you see the Specify SQL Connection String for Remote HPC Database page, specify the name of the remote database server, and if you are using a named instance, specify the instance name (for example, SQLSERVER\HPCDB). Also specify the database name and the type of authentication required by the databases.

    Important

    If you have a remote database on a SQL Server failover cluster, when you specify the database server, be sure to specify the clustered name (not the name of an individual physical server).

    If you are familiar with SQL connection strings, and you would prefer to specify the SQL connection string directly, click Use Advanced Database Connection Options, and then type or modify the suggested SQL connection string according to the following syntax:

    • For Windows authentication:

      Data Source=<computer_name>\<instance_name>;Initial Catalog=<database_name>;Integrated Security=True

    • For SQL Server authentication:

      Data Source=<computer_name>\<instance_name>;Initial Catalog=<database_name>;User ID=<user_name>;Password=<password>

    where:

    • <computer_name> is the name of the remote database server where you want to install the HPC database.

    • <instance_name> is the name of the instance of SQL Server 2008 that you configured for the HPC database. If you are using the default instance, the instance name is not needed.

    • <database_name> is the name of the database that you created in the instance.

    • <user_name>, when you use SQL Server authentication, is the login name of the user that you want to use to connect to the HPC database.

    • <password>, when you use SQL Server authentication, is the password for the user.

  9. To test the connection to the database, click Next.

    Important

    If an error message appears that states the remote database could not be accessed, review the information that you specified and try again. If you continue to see the error message, security might not be properly configured for the database, or the Windows Firewall on the remote database server might not be permitting the head node computer to connect. Review Step 1: Prepare the Remote Database Servers (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=182600), and ensure that the remote database server meets the requirements listed there.

  10. Repeat the two previous steps for the databases that you will use for the head node in the HPC cluster. Four databases are needed, for four basic functions: HPC cluster management, job scheduling, reporting, and diagnostics.

  11. Follow the remaining steps in the installation wizard to specify the following:

    • The locations (paths) for HPC Pack 2008 R2 files and data

    • Whether to use Microsoft Update

    • Whether to participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program

    After you specify the preceding items, you can begin to install the necessary software components.

  12. When the Installation Complete wizard page appears, select Start HPC Cluster Manager, and then click Finish. If the installation was not successful, review your configuration.

    If the setup was successful, when you open the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in, in the clustered instance under Services and Applications, new resources and shared folders will be visible. The resources represent services that are needed by the HPC cluster, and the shared folders provide access to the spooler directory, and support for remote installations. One example of a shared folder that should appear in your clustered instance is REMINST, which is shown near the bottom of the following illustration.

    Failover cluster with HPC Pack 2008 R2

Additional references

Step 7: Configure the Head Node on the First Server