With the Beta 1 release of Windows® HPC Server 2008 R2, you can install the HPC databases on one or more remote servers, instead of installing them on the head node of your cluster. The advantage of this type of installation is that it saves resources on the head node, helping ensure that it can efficiently manage the cluster.
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Important |
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You should consider installing the HPC databases on one or more remote servers if your cluster will have more than 256 nodes. |
This guide provides step-by-step procedures for installing on a pre-production environment the Beta 1 release of HPC Pack 2008 R2 on the head node of your cluster, with the HPC databases stored on remote servers. This guide also provides information about how to prepare the remote database servers for the installation of the head node.
Scenario overview
In the Beta 1 release of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2, there are four HPC databases:
- Cluster management database
- Job scheduling database
- Reporting database
- Diagnostics database
During the installation process, you can select the location where you want to install each of the four HPC databases: on the head node or on a remote server. You select the installation location per database, so you can install some of the databases on the head node and the remaining databases on one or more remote servers.
To install the HPC databases on a remote server, that server must be running Microsoft SQL Server® 2008 SP1. Also, you need to create the databases and configure them for remote access before you start the deployment process for your HPC cluster.
You can install as many databases as you want on each remote server. Also, you can install as many databases as you want in each instance of SQL Server 2008 SP1 (there can be more than one instance on a given server).
There are no restrictions to the names that you can give the HPC databases, except the restrictions that are imposed by SQL Server 2008 SP1. The same rule applies to the names of the instances where these databases are created. During the installation process of the Beta 1 release of HPC Pack 2008 R2 on your head node, you are asked to specify the name of the databases that you created and the name of the instance where you created them. A SQL connection string is used to specify this information for each of the databases that you select to install on a remote server. This guide explains how to specify these SQL strings.
Sections in this guide
This guide contains the following sections: