Add Azure Nodes to a Windows HPC Cluster

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You can add Azure nodes to your HPC cluster to increase (or burst) the capacity of your cluster. After an Azure node template is configured, you can use the Add Node Wizard on the head node to add the Azure nodes to your cluster.

To add Azure nodes to your cluster

  1. In Node Management, in the Actions pane, click Add Node. The Add Node Wizard appears.

  2. On the Select Deployment Method page, click Add Azure nodes, and then click Next.

  3. On the Specify New Nodes page, select an Azure node template, the number of Azure nodes, and the size of the nodes that you want to add.

  4. To add the nodes to your cluster, click Next. Then click Finish.

Additional considerations

  • The size you select is one of the predefined worker role instance sizes in Azure that is supported by your version of Microsoft HPC Pack. The size determines characteristics such as the number of CPU cores, the memory capacity, and the local file system size of each role instance. You should choose an appropriate size for your cluster applications. For details about each size, see Virtual Machine and Cloud Service Sizes for Azure.

  • If you want to add Azure nodes of different sizes, you must run the Add Node Wizard separately for each size.

  • All Azure nodes that are added to the cluster by using a specific node template define a set of nodes that are deployed and can be managed together in Azure when you start the nodes. This includes Azure nodes that you add later by using the node template.

  • Azure nodes are numbered consecutively in a naming series that begins with the root name AzureCN. Unlike the naming series for compute nodes, the naming series for the Azure nodes cannot be configured.

  • After they are added, the Azure nodes are in the Not-Deployed state and they have a node health state of Unapproved. Before you can use them to run jobs, they must be started (provisioned) and then brought online. The nodes are started and brought online either manually or automatically according to a weekly schedule, as specified in the Azure node template. Your subscription may limit the number of nodes that can be provisioned at one time.

See Also

Adding Nodes to a Cluster
Configuring an Azure Node Template for Microsoft HPC Pack
Steps to Deploy Azure Nodes with Microsoft HPC Pack