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Step 5: Add Nodes to the Cluster

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Updated: August 2010

Applies To: Windows HPC Server 2008 R2

Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 simplifies the process of deploying nodes by providing automatic node imaging, automatic naming of nodes, and other capabilities to streamline deployment tasks. Also, it provides tools that you can use to monitor the progress of your deployment.

Important
  • Before you add nodes to your cluster, verify that the physical network topology of your cluster matches the topology specified on your head node.

  • All nodes should have the latest BIOS and firmware installed prior to the installation of any operating system.

You can use the Add Node Wizard to add nodes to your HPC cluster. There are three ways to add on-premises nodes to your cluster:

  • Deploy compute nodes or broker nodes from bare metal

  • Add nodes by importing a node XML file

  • Add preconfigured nodes

For more information about each of these three node deployment options, see “1.4. Decide how to add nodes to your cluster” in Step 1: Prepare for Your Deployment.

Important
Ensure that nothing can restart or shut down the head node during the node deployment process, or the deployment might fail. For example, temporarily disable automatic updates on the head node.

In this section:

  • 5.1. Deploy nodes from bare metal

  • 5.2. Add nodes by importing a node XML file

  • 5.3. Add preconfigured nodes

  • 5.4. Monitor deployment progress

  • 5.5. Cancel the deployment of a node

5.1. Deploy nodes from bare metal

The following procedure describes how to add nodes to your HPC cluster from bare metal, by using a node template that includes a step to deploy an operating system image.

Important
  • If you are deploying nodes from bare metal, it is strongly recommended that you validate your environment first, to find common problems that can affect node deployment. For more information, see Step 4: Validate Your Environment Before Deploying Nodes.

  • To complete this procedure, you must have a template that includes a step to deploy an operating system image. If you do not have a template that includes a step to deploy an operating system image, create one by following the steps in “3.4. Create a node template”, in Step 3: Configure the Head Node.

  • Before turning on a node for this procedure, verify in the configuration of the BIOS of that computer that the node will boot from the network adapter that is connected to the private network, instead of booting from the local hard drive or another device, and that Pre-boot Execution Environment (PXE) boot is enabled for that network adapter.

  • The default in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 is to respond only to Pre-boot Execution Environment (PXE) requests that come from existing nodes. This default setting is automatically changed to respond to PXE requests from all nodes when you add nodes from bare metal using the Add Node Wizard. Also, you can manually change this setting in the Options menu, under Deployment Settings.

To deploy nodes from bare metal

  1. If HPC Cluster Manager is not already open on the head node, open it. Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2, and then click HPC Cluster Manager.

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

  3. On the Select Deployment Method page, click Deploy nodes from bare metal using an operating system image, and then click Next.

  4. On the Select New Nodes page, in the Node template list, click the name of a node template that includes a step to deploy an operating system image.

  5. Turn on the computers that you want to add as nodes to your cluster. Computers will be listed on the Add Node Wizard as they contact the head node during PXE boot. They will be named using the naming series that you specified when you configured the head node. For more information, see “3.3. Configure the naming of new nodes” in Step 3: Configure the Head Node.

  6. When all computers that you have turned on are listed, click Select all, and then click Deploy. If you see a node that you do not want to deploy at this time, you can unselect it.

  7. On the Completing the Add Node Wizard page, if you will be deploying more nodes, click Continue responding to all PXE requests. If you will not be deploying more nodes, click Respond only to PXE requests that come from existing nodes.

  8. To monitor deployment progress, select the Go to Node Management to track progress check box, and then click Finish. For more information, see 5.4. Monitor deployment progress.

5.2. Add nodes by importing a node XML file

The following procedure describes how to add nodes by importing a node XML file.

Important
To complete this procedure, you must have a valid node XML file that was provided to you by your vendor of cluster solutions, or that you have previously created from a preconfigured cluster. For more information, see Appendix 2: Creating a Node XML File.

To add nodes by importing a node XML file

  1. If HPC Cluster Manager is not already open on the head node, open it. Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2, and then click HPC Cluster Manager.

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

  3. On the Select Deployment Method page, click Import nodes from a node XML file, and then click Next.

  4. On the Select Node XML File page, type or browse to the location of the node XML file, and then click Import.

  5. To monitor deployment progress, on the Completing the Add Node Wizard page, select the Go to Node Management to track progress check box, and then click Finish. For more information, see 5.4. Monitor deployment progress.

5.3. Add preconfigured nodes

A preconfigured node is a computer that has HPC Pack 2008 R2 already installed and that is connected to the HPC cluster networks according to the network topology that you have chosen for your cluster. After HPC Pack 2008 R2 is installed on all the nodes that you want to add to your cluster, you can use the Add Node Wizard on the head node to add the preconfigured nodes to your cluster.

The following procedures describe how to add preconfigured compute to your HPC cluster. The first procedure describes how to install HPC Pack 2008 R2 on the computers that will act as nodes, and the second procedure describes how to add the preconfigured nodes to the cluster.

Important
  • The computers that you will add to your cluster as preconfigured nodes must already be running a supported Windows operating system for the type of node that you are adding. For more information about the software requirements for nodes in a Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 cluster, see “1.1. Review initial considerations and system requirements”, in Step 1: Prepare for Your Deployment.

  • We strongly recommend that you perform a clean installation of the Windows operating system before installing HPC Pack 2008 R2. If you want to install HPC Pack 2008 R2 on an existing installation of Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2008, remove all server roles first and then follow the procedures in this guide.

  • To complete this procedure, you must have a node template that does not include a step to deploy an operating system image, or a workstation node template, depending on the type of node that you want to add. If you do not have a node template, create one by following the steps in “3.4. Create a node template”, in Step 3: Configure the Head Node.

To install HPC Pack 2008 R2 on a node computer

  1. To start the HPC Pack 2008 R2 installation wizard on the node computer, run setup.exe from the HPC Pack 2008 R2 installation media or from a network location.

  2. On the Getting Started page, click Next.

  3. On the Select Installation Edition page, select the edition of HPC Pack 2008 R2 that you want to install, 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 of that agreement. If you accept the terms, click Next.

  5. On the Select Installation Type page, depending on the type of node that you want to add to your cluster, click one of the available options: Join an existing HPC cluster by creating a new compute node, Join an existing HPC cluster by creating a new WCF broker node, or Join an existing HPC cluster by creating a new workstation node. Then click Next.

    Note
    Depending on the Windows operating system that is installed on the computer, one or more options may be unavailable on the Select Installation Type page.

  6. On the Join Cluster page, type the computer name of the head node on your cluster, and then click Next.

  7. Continue to follow the steps in the installation wizard to complete the installation of HPC Pack 2008 R2.

After HPC Pack 2008 R2 is installed on all the nodes that you want to add to your cluster, use the Add Node Wizard on the head node to add the preconfigured nodes to your cluster.

To add preconfigured nodes to your cluster

  1. If HPC Cluster Manager is not already open on the head node, open it. Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2, and then click HPC Cluster Manager.

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

  3. On the Select Deployment Method page, depending on the type of node that you want to add, click Add compute nodes or broker nodes that have already been configured or Add workstation nodes that have already been configured, and then click Next.

  4. Turn on all the preconfigured nodes that you want to add to your cluster.

  5. After all the preconfigured nodes are turned on, on the Before Deploying page, click Next.

  6. On the Select New Nodes page, in the Node template list, click the name of the node template that you want to use. If you selected to add workstation nodes, only workstation node templates will be listed.

  7. On the list of nodes, select the preconfigured nodes that you want to add to your cluster. To select all the preconfigured nodes, click Select all.

  8. To add the selected nodes to your cluster, click Add.

  9. To monitor deployment progress, select the Go to Node Management to track progress check box, and then click Finish. For more information, see 5.4. Monitor deployment progress.

5.4. Monitor deployment progress

During the node deployment process, its state is set to Provisioning. You can monitor the progress of the node deployment process in Node Management. You can also see detailed information for each deployment operation, and any errors that may have occurred.

After the deployment process is complete, the node state changes to Offline. You must bring nodes online before they can process jobs. For more information, see “7.2. Bring a node online” in Step 7: Run a Test Job on the Cluster

To monitor deployment progress

  1. If HPC Cluster Manager is not already open on the head node, open it. Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2, and then click HPC Cluster Manager.

  2. To view information about the deployment operations:

    1. In Node Management, in the Navigation Pane, click Operations.

    2. To view more information about a specific operation, click that operation. The Detail Pane will list the log entries for that operation.

  3. To view the list of nodes that are currently being deployed:

    1. In Node Management, in the Navigation Pane, under Nodes, under By Node State, click Provisioning.

    2. To view the list of operations related to the deployment of a specific node, double-click that node, and then click the Operations tab.

  4. To bring online the nodes that have finished deploying:

    1. In Node Management, in the Navigation Pane, under Nodes, under By Node State, click Offline.

    2. Select all the nodes that you want to bring online. To select all nodes that are currently offline, on the list of offline nodes, click any node and then press CTRL+A.

    3. In the Actions pane, click Bring Online.

  5. If the deployment of a node fails, the state of that node is set to Unknown and the health is set to Error. To determine the reason of the failure, review the provisioning log for that node and the list of operations that were performed:

    1. In Node Management, in the Navigation Pane, under Nodes, under By Node Health, click Error.

    2. To review the provisioning log for a node, in the views pane, click the node, and then in the Detail Pane, click the Provisioning Log tab.

    3. To view the list of operations related to the deployment failure, in the view pane, click the node, and then in the Detail Pane, click the Operations tab. To pivot to the operations log to list all the operations related to that node, in the Actions pane, click Operations for the Nodes.

    4. To view more information about a specific operation, click that operation. The Detail Pane will list the log entries for that operation.

5.5. Cancel the deployment of a node

You can stop the deployment of a node from HPC Cluster Manager by canceling the provisioning operations.

To cancel the deployment of a node

  1. To view only nodes that are currently being deployed, in Node Management, in the Navigation Pane, under Nodes, under By Node State, click Provisioning.

  2. In the views pane, click the node that you want to stop deploying.

  3. To cancel the provisioning operations, in the Detail Pane, on the Node Health tab, click Cancel provisioning. The deployment process will stop, the node will be moved to the Unknown state, and the health for that node will be changed to Provisioning Failed.