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FAQ: General Information about Windows HPC Server 2008

  • Article

Applies To: Windows HPC Server 2008

In this section:

  • What is Windows HPC Server 2008?

  • What applications can I run on Windows HPC Server 2008?

  • How do I obtain Windows HPC Server 2008?

  • Which languages does Windows HPC Server 2008 support?

What is Windows HPC Server 2008?

Windows® HPC Server 2008 combines the power of a 64-bit platform of Windows Server with out-of-the-box functionality to improve the productivity, and reduce the complexity, of your high performance computing environment. Windows HPC Server 2008 provides a comprehensive set of deployment, administration, job scheduling, and monitoring tools that are easy to deploy, manage, and integrate with your existing Windows infrastructure.

Windows HPC Server 2008 has two main components:

  • Windows Server® 2008 HPC Edition

  • Microsoft® HPC Pack 2008

The high performance computing component of Windows HPC Server 2008 is HPC Pack 2008. It includes management tools, a job scheduler, and Microsoft Message Passing Interface (MS-MPI). Although Windows Server 2008 HPC Edition should be the preferred choice for most customers as the base operating system, Windows HPC Server 2008 can be installed on any of the 64-bit editions of Windows Server® 2008, by installing the HPC Pack 2008.

Windows HPC Server 2008 is the successor to Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003; Windows Server 2008 HPC Edition is the successor to Windows Server® 2003, Compute Cluster Edition; and HPC Pack 2008 is the successor to Microsoft Compute Cluster Pack 2003.

What applications can I run on Windows HPC Server 2008?

Windows HPC Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 HPC Edition are licensed solely for running clustered HPC (high performance computing) applications. Clustered HPC applications solve complex computational problems or a set of closely related computational problems in parallel, typically using several servers as a group (or “cluster”). You may run the server software for the primary purpose of running clustered HPC applications, and in conjunction with other software only as necessary to permit security, storage, performance enhancement, and systems management of any devices in the cluster when running the other software on a cluster node for the sole and dedicated purpose of supporting the clustered HPC applications.

You may not use the server software for any other purpose. For example, except as permitted in above, you may not use the server software as a general purpose server, database server, web server, e-mail server, print server, or file server. For more information, see the Windows HPC Server 2008 Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=85562).

How do I obtain Windows HPC Server 2008?

For information about purchasing Windows HPC Server 2008, see the Windows HPC Server 2008 Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=85562). You can also download a trial version of Windows HPC Server 2008 from the Microsoft Download Center.

Which languages does Windows HPC Server 2008 support?

Windows HPC Server 2008 is available in English, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese. HPC Pack 2008 can be installed on any of the 64-bit editions of Windows Server 2008 (Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter). When installed on one of the 64-bit editions of Windows Server 2008 that does not match the HPC Pack 2008 languages, the HPC Pack 2008 user interfaces will be displayed in English.