Free Windows for Supercomputers Available for Download - Windows HPC Server 2008
Microsoft made the latest iteration of its Windows operating system for supercomputers available as a free download.
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23.9.2008 Windows HPC 2008 R2 CTP released
If you've got a spare supercomputer that is just sitting around waiting to test pre-released software on, then you'll be glad to hear that Microsoft has made the Community Technical Preview (CTP) of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 available on Microsoft Connect.
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22.5.2009 Longhorn Server to be christened Windows Server 2008
To next to no one's surprise, Microsoft is going to christen Longhorn Server "Windows Server 2008." And it might do so as early as next week to coincide with the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Los Angeles.
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10.5.2007 New Windows Server 2008-Based Server Products Available
Windows Essential Server Solutions are basically designed as a bundle of SQL Server 2008, Exchange Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008, along with additional Microsoft technologies, set up as an all-in-one IT offering for small and midsize customers.
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13.5.2008 An Introduction to Windows Server 2008 Server
Server is a new installation option that was introduced in Windows Server 2008. It provides the ability to install and configure a trimmed-down version of Windows Server 2008 which is designed to perform only certain server tasks.
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9.6.2009 Windows Server 2008 Is 45 Times Faster Than Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2008, formerly codenamed Longhorn, is no leas than 45 times faster than its predecessor, Windows Server 2003, in terms of network transfer speeds.
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22.11.2007 Windows 7 Server vs. Windows Server 2008 SP2 Performance Comparison
Its that time again! Microsoft traditionally doesnt allow the benchmarking of its products as long as the software is still in development, but both the Windows 7 client and Windows Server 2008 R2 have been released to manufacturing on July 22nd, 2009.
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18.8.2009 Windows Server 2008: Need to Know
After many months of waiting, Microsoft finally released the Beta 3 version of Windows Server 2008 (previously codenamed "Longhorn"), a major milestone pre-release version of the next version of Windows Server.
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31.7.2007 What will run on Windows Server 2008 and when
Now that Microsoft has released to manufacturing Windows Server 2008, the next obvious question is which applications will run on it and when?
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4.2.2008 Windows 7 Server Is Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows 7 Server and Windows Server 2008 R2 are both, much in the same sense, future iterations of the Windows Server platform.
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14.8.2008 Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 Download
Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 helps IT professionals to increase the flexibility of their server infrastructure while offering developers a more robust web and applications platform for building connected applications and services.
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5.9.2007 Windows Server 2008 RC0 Downloads
Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate helps IT professionals to increase the flexibility and reliability of their server infrastructure while offering developers a more robust web and applications platform for building connected applications and services.
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26.9.2007 How to Bypass Windows Server 2008 Activation
In Windows Server 2008 (and previous Microsoft operating systems) you must activate your computer in order to use it legally.
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9.3.2008 Windows Server 2008 Unleashed Promo
Thanks to dhan for posting about this in our Back Page News section. After the embarrassing Vista SP1 promo posted here earlier this week, it seems the sales team have got their act together and released a really cool promo for Windows Server 2008, called "Windows Server 2008 Unleashed".
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18.4.2008 Previewing Windows Server 2008 R2
Microsoft seems like the most unlikely company to ship products that really support Enterprise 2.0. After all, the company is the poster child for packaged software.
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13.6.2008 Windows Server 2008 R2 still lives
What do you do with a blog post that is so messed up that you cant even go in and edit it in order to fix it? Thats my dilemma with my post from August 15 about Microsoft skipping over Windows Server 2008 R2 and proceeding direct to Windows 7 Server.
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18.8.2008 Windows Server 2008 R2 revealed
Microsoft announced the second release of its Windows Server 2008 operating system at its Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles this week.
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31.10.2008 Windows Server 2008 Foundation Launched
Today Microsoft announced the availability of Windows Server 2008 Foundation. For small businesses with 15 or fewer users, Windows Server 2008 Foundation puts the reliability, security and manageability of the Windows Server platform within the reach of all businesses at an affordable price.
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1.4.2009 Windows Server 2008 R2 SCONFIG
SCONFIG is a command line tool designed to streamline the work of system administrators that work with core deployments of Windows Server 2008 R2.
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8.7.2009 Windows Server 2008 R2 planned for 2009....
Microsoft is sticking to their promise of delivering a minor release after a major Windows Release.
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16.5.2007 Top 10 New Features in Windows Server 2008
There are a myriad of both subtle and fundamental differences in the basic architecture of Windows Server 2008, which could dramatically change not only the way it's used in the enterprise, but also the logical and physical structure of networks where it's the dominant OS.
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25.5.2007 Microsoft.com runs on Windows Server 2008 Beta 3!
this great story just arrived my inbox: "...were extremely proud to announce that the www.microsoft.com site is running 100% on our next generation web platform!!"
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14.6.2007 Windows Server 2008 launch set for February
Confirming what many had expected, Microsoft announced on Tuesday that the next version of its server operating system, Windows Server 2008, won't formally launch until next year.
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10.7.2007 FTP7 for Windows Server 2008 RC0 is released!
Today Microsoft released the newest version of our FTP server for Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate 0 (RC0)!
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27.9.2007 Top Overlooked Features of Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 is on its way. With the first release candidate in the pipeline, it shouldn't be long before release to manufacturing and general availability.
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8.10.2007 Microsoft to Release 8 Versions of Windows Server 2008
Microsoft will release eight versions of Windows Server 2008 when it ships in late February 2008, three of which will include its hypervisor technology, Hyper-V.
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13.11.2007 Windows Server 2008 public test build available
On December 5, Microsoft made available for download the Release Candidate (RC) 1 version of Windows Server 2008. Microsoft is making the RC1 bits available for download from the Windows Server evaluation site on Microsoft.com.
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5.12.2007 Windows Server 2008 Domain Re-Directs To Apple
A solution provider in Florida that owns the domain name windowsserver2008.com has re-directed the URL to Apple's online store, where visitors are greeted by a giant image of the recently unveiled MacBook Air.
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1.2.2008 Windows Server 2008 Is Microsoft`s Leanest, Meanest Yet
Networking enhancements, a reduced attack surface and virtualization capabilities earn Windows Server 2008 eWEEK Labs' Analyst's Choice award.
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5.2.2008 Using Windows Server 2008 as a SUPER workstation OS
Vijayshinva Karnure, a IIS, ASP and ASP.NET troubleshooter as well as a consultant for developers and system admins of Microsoft India is so cool!
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14.2.2008CTP of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 available today
Ryan Waite: It was almost exactly one year ago that we signed off on beta 2 of Windows HPC Server 2008 and today we made available the Community
Technical Preview (CTP) of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2. Based on Windows Server 2008 R2, the CTP is a preliminary release, allowing an early preview of
planned functionality for HPC Server 2008 R2.
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21.05.2009Windows HPC Server 2008 RTM's
Ryan Waite: Were DONE with HPC Server 2008! We shipped our first beta last November, then a series of CTPs, then a second Beta in May, then a couple
release candidates, and now we are FINISHED. 600MB of technical specifications, 500K lines of code, 250 customer based design changes, and 3000 beta
downloads.
2 years and 3 months ago we shipped Compute Cluster Server 2003 (yes, a strange name for a product that shipped in
2006). Now were shipping
Windows HPC Server 2008. First, we have a better name. The
Clunk-Clunk of Compute Clusters cacophony was confusing. The HPC means were ready for the most demanding HPC workloads. For example, on the last Top
500 list we were number TWENTY-THREE, jumping 93 positions from our previous listing of #116.
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22.09.2008Windows HPC Server 2008 April CTP Release Now Available
Phil Pennington: Please see the latest Community Technology Preview (CTP) release of Windows HPC Server 2008 at the beta program community site (
http://Connect.Microsoft.Com). If you aren't yet a registered beta program participant, then
you'll first need to join the program using the same web site.
This CTP release includes the HPC Pack which may be installed on
any x64 edition of Windows Server (an evaluation version is also available for download) as well as the HPC Pack SDK (for developing HPC applications)
and the HPC Pack OPK (for OEMs preparing HPC offerings). Be sure to provide feedback on the CTP features using the Feedback Tool on the Connect
website. Also, please leverage the HPC MSDN Forums to obtain product support for ITPro's and Developers (
http://forums.microsoft.com/WindowsHPC).
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23.04.2008Microsoft Unveils Windows HPC Server 2008
Microsoft Corp. today released the first public beta of Microsoft Windows HPC Server 2008, a server operating system and tools designed for the
fast-growing high-performance computing (HPC) market. Microsoft also established the Parallel Computing Initiative, a program creating a set of common
development tools across multicore desktops and clusters.
Windows HPC Server 2008, the successor to Windows Compute Cluster
Server 2003, is based on the Windows Server 2008 operating system and is designed to increase productivity, scalability and manageability. Windows HPC
Server 2008 has been renamed to reflect its readiness to tackle the most challenging HPC workloads. Key features are new high-speed networking, highly
efficient and scalable cluster management tools, advanced failover capabilities, a service oriented architecture (SOA) job scheduler, and support for
partners clustered file systems. The beta is now available for download at
http://www.microsoft.com/hpc; the final version will be generally available in the second half of 2008.
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13.11.2007Windows HPC 2008 R2 CTP released
If you've got a spare supercomputer that is just sitting around waiting to test pre-released software on, then you'll be glad to hear that
Microsoft has made the Community Technical Preview (CTP) of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 available on Microsoft Connect. Windows HPC Server is a
specialized version of Windows Server designed for use in high performance computing applications, designed to solve complex computation problems or
in parallel (cluster) computing. Minimum system requirements for Windows HPC server is an x64 hardware platform such as Intel Xeon processors with
Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T) or AMD Opteron processors and 512MB of RAM. However, we suggest picking up a Cray CX1, starting price is
around $25,000.
Read full story.....
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23.05.2009Windows HPC Server 2008 CTP released
Volker Will: Today the product group has released the HPC Server 2008 Community Technology Preview (CTP). This is the next major milestone on our way
to RTM. As always, the software is available via Microsoft Connect.
If you are interested in the CTP build, please visit
this page on Microsoft Connect. You'll
have to provide a bit of information about yourself and any intended use. As always, the team provides newsgroup support via Microsoft Connect.
For more information about Windows HPC Server 2008, please visit the Microsoft HPC
homepage and use the
Windows HPC Community Portal for all things
technical information.
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11.03.2008Design and Deployment Guide for Windows HPC Server 2008
This guide provides detailed information and step-by-step procedures for designing and installing a high performance computing cluster using Windows®
HPC Server 2008. You can use this guide to first plan the deployment of your HPC cluster, and when you are ready to deploy you can follow the
procedures to configure the head node, add compute nodes to the cluster, and verify that your cluster deployment has been successful.
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18.09.2008Windows HPC Server 2008 RC1 Now Available
Phil Penn: You may now download the Windows HPC Server 2008 release candidate via
http://connect.microsoft.com. Register for the "Windows HPC Server 2008" beta program.
You'll also want to grab the corresponding SDK. Please do provide usability feedback using the "Feedback Tool" on the beta program web-site.
For technical discussions, join and participate in the Windows HPC forums accessible via the "Forums" tab on
http://windowshpc.net.
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01.07.2008Turning a Mac Mini into a virtual Windows HPC Server 2008 Compute Cluster
Volker Will: Best thing you can do to a Mac Mini? No, wait, certainly not the right way to start this post.
I am going prepare a
Mac Mini in such a way that you will be able to install a 2 or more node HPC cluster and a head node. Once you followed the steps outlined in the
videos you will be able to install a fully functional HPC cluster environment, literally a cluster-in-one-box. This post covers all aspects from
reinstalling the Mac OS with fewer options, using less space on the disk to a Boot Camp installation of Windows Server 2008 and configuring Hyper-V.
The final steps necessary to install the HPC cluster software are outlined in
Giovanni’s document on
windowshpc.net.
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20.03.2008Windows Server 2008 High-Availability Clusters
Giovanni Marchetti: It is no secret that HPC Server 2008 will offer the option to make the head node of a HPC cluster highly available. This feature
is not in beta 1, but it is being developed. It will exploit fail-over mechanisms provided by Server 2008 (enterprise edition or better), so I thought
I'd mention some highlights in this area too.
High-availability clusters are difficult to set up and troubleshoot on several
platforms. With Windows Server 2003 we made progress in simplifying them, but limitations are still significant...
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23.01.2008Q&A: Microsoft Launches Windows HPC Server 2008 at Leading Wall Street Event
At the 2008 High Performance on Wall Street event, U.S. Capital Markets Industry Solutions Director Craig Saint-Amour and Director of HPC Marketing
Group Vince Mendillo discuss how Microsofts new high-performance computing server can help financial services firms uncover and analyze risk...
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22.09.2008Windows HPC Server 2008 Beta1 Observations
Phil Pennington: HPC Pack Beta1 was recently announced at the Super-Computing convention in Reno (i.e. "SC'07"). Executing on release milestones
with hard dates, as with the convention date, is always a project management night-mare. The task illustrates the classic struggle between time,
resources, and features. Generally, features are sacrificed and resources are increased (i.e. the product team works overtime).
Such is the case with HPC Server 2008 beta1. Yes, there are missing features and certain features that present a nice "Easter Egg" type of
surprise for those willing to give the product a spin. Although, the beta generally accomplishes what beta's are supposed to accomplish. That is,
the user community is given a good idea of where the product is headed and the beta also give us an opportunity to provide feedback which will
ultimately positively influence the product.
With this perspective, it seems appropriate to keep a running-list of observations
that might help you get past some of the features that were first scattered amongst the resources and subsequently gathered into beta1...
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02.12.2007"Virtual" HPC Cluster on a Notebook PC...?
Maybe a stretch, eh? Well maybe not if you just want to experiment with the tools and platform technologies. Today, you can acquire a multi-core
notebook supporting a CPU/RAM combination capable of running multiple virtual machines simultaneously. This allows you to experiment not only with
new Windows Server 2008 RC0 Virtualization (i.e. "Hyper-V"), but also Windows Compute Cluster Server and Visual Studio 2008 release candidate.
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16.11.2007Windows HPC Server 2008 RC2 Now Available
The 2nd release candidate is now available for beta community participants. You can download the bits by registering as a beta participant
at
http://connect.microsoft.com. See the "Windows HPC Server 2008 beta program".
A significant new feature with RC2 is the ability to schedule jobs using applications designed to offload processing to multi-core
graphics cards. A white-paper published within the beta program downloads section details this feature. A typical command line
to submit a graphics processor job uses the new HPC_ATTACHTOCONSOLE environment variable as follows: Job submit /env:HPC_ATTACHTOCONSOLE=TRUE
mygpgpu.exe
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20.08.2008Next Windows for Supercomputers Enters Beta
Demonstrating it can indeed rename a product with something that sounds pleasing and not so euphemistic, Microsoft took the wraps off its replacement
for Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 this morning. It will be called Windows HPC Server 2008, and today, the company taped it out for the second
half of next year...
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13.11.2007Microsoft to release near-final beta of HPC Server 2008
Microsoft Wednesday said it plans to release at the end of the month another beta of its Windows HPC Server 2008 and that the final version will ship
by year-end.
The beta is the first release candidate (RC), which Microsoft says is feature complete. An RC is a final beta before
the code is considered finished. Microsoft officials said they plan to have one more RC before development is complete.
Microsoft made the announcement at the start of the International Supercomputing Conference in Dresden, Germany, where it also placed for the
first time in the Top 25 of the worlds largest supercomputers.
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19.06.2008Microsoft makes available new high performance Windows Server test build
Microsoft made available on November 16
a code-complete beta of Windows HPC (High
Performance Computing) Server 2008 R2 to selected testers.
The company made the announcement at the
Supercomputing 2009 show in Portland, Oreg., where officials said they planned to provide all of the
4,500 or so of the attendees with the bits today. Microsoft also will be providing select testers with access to the downloadable beta via the Connect
site today. Microsoft is expecting to release at least one more beta of HPC Server 2008 R2 before rolling out the final version some time in 2010.
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16.11.2009Microsoft amassing high-performance server software attack
Microsoft has built a strategy around the planned early-November release of its high-performance computing server that it hopes will be the catalyst
to deliver massive computing power for future applications.
The strategy encompasses Microsoft applying its typical mantra of
simplifying computing to the costly and often complex high-performance computing world in the form of its Windows HPC Server 2008 surrounded by
Microsofts collection of applications, management wares, development tools and independent software vendor community.
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26.09.2008Windows HPC Server 2008 Beta 2 is Here
Ryan Waite: Friday at 2:18PM we signed off on Beta 2 of Windows HPC Server 2008. Its a good thing too since the Redmond team is looking at the first
sunny and hot Northwest weekend this year. Mother nature usually gives us these days on weekdays. Its been a hard push since November when we shipped
our last beta. Since then weve done test runs on a cluster with over 1000 nodes, fixed over 1000 bugs, coded a bunch of new features, and made a bunch
of design changes based on customer feedback. For example, one beta customer was using our new WCF Broker for financial risk modeling but wanted a
totally reliable messaging solution. We built a solution leveraging MSMQ that still provides high throughput while allowing for reliable messaging.
Now that Beta 2 is finished our Technology Adoption Partners (TAP) will put this beta into production environments. Well carry
pagers to help them out if they run into a crit-sit after hours. Actually, we have cell phones. Pagers have gone the way of sock punch cards,
teletypes, and sock garters. I suspect there are teenagers wandering around that dont know what a pager is.
Anyway, theres a
bunch of new stuff in Beta 2...
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17.05.2008Porting your HPC Code to Windows
Wenming Ye: One of the most frequent questions I get when I talk to customers is, what is my best option for porting my Linux HPC code to windows...
As a cross platform developer for the last few years, I had to make sure codes worked on mac/various linux/windows/unix platforms, and it can be a
major headache at times. Fortunately, HPC codes are usually not that difficult to port, as they are often console only (has no gui), and they often
use MPI, which is an industrial standard.
Porting from Unix to Windows often requires a little bit of research first. There are
many options depending on the situation. I would like to introduce several options and state my personal experiences with these options...
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07.09.2008
