Microsoft Ships Windows HPC Server 2008 Beta 2

Published: May 21, 2008

by Alex Woodie

The second beta of Microsoft's Windows HPC Server 2008 became available for download last week. The new release introduces a slew of features, including a new programming model, a new user interface, and an easier configuration process, which should help the operating system compete in high performance computing (HPC) environments.

Microsoft has been targeting the supercomputer market since it revealed its intentions to develop an HPC version of Windows Server four years ago and shipped the first version of the product, called Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003, about two years later. With some experience under its belt, Microsoft now is seeking to expand its HPC capabilities on the Windows Server 2008 base, and compete more effectively against Linux, which dominates the field.

Ryan Waite, group program manager for Microsoft's HPC's effort, provided some insight into the development of the next release of the operating system with a posting to the Windows Server Division blog.

At the top of the list is a redesigned MPI stack and new Remote Data Memory Access (RDMA) network connectors that Waite hinted will show a significant boost in throughput when the Top 500 list of the world's biggest supercomputers is released next month.

Beta 2 also brings support for the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), the new messaging API, although some customers may prefer to use the transaction-oriented Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) messaging software if they want something "totally reliable," Waite says.

A new API for submitting jobs using Microsoft's integrated job scheduler is also part of the new beta. But users no longer are tied to Microsoft's job scheduler, thanks to support in the new release for Open Grid Forum's HPC Basic Profile specification, which enables Windows HPC Server 2008 to use other job schedulers, including the LSF and PBSPro job schedulers, thereby giving HPC sites better control over grids or clusters built on disparate technology.

On the administrative side, Microsoft has overhauled the To Do List, a component of the operating system used for configuration. "It should be much easier for people to get through setting up a cluster, adding drivers to images, and configuring patching for the cluster," Waite says. New high availability features for the head node have also been added.

The new user interface model "is really coming together," Waite says. Those who prefer a command line environment (the software will support GUI or DOS-like interfaces) will still have that option, he says, through COM and PowerShell, which debuted with Windows Server 2008. Lastly a new "Closrun" command will improve administrators ability to run scripts in parallel.

Windows HPC Server 2008 beta 2 can be obtained through Microsoft's Technology Adoption Program (TAP). Microsoft has high hopes for the new OS, and has tested it on clusters with more than 1,000 nodes.

Organizations interested in putting the beta through the paces on their own equipment can rest easy knowing Waite and his colleagues at Microsoft are at their beck and call. "We'll carry pagers to help them out if they run into a crit-sit [critical situation] after hours," Waite writes. "Actually, we have cell phones. Pagers have gone the way of sock punch cards, teletypes, and sock garters."

For instructions on how to download Windows HPC Server 2008 Beta 2, go to connect.microsoft.com.

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