Understanding Node Template Images
Applies To: Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2, Microsoft HPC Pack 2012, Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2, Windows HPC Server 2008 R2
You can use an operating system image to install a server operating system on the nodes that you deploy on your HPC cluster. You must install an operating system when deploying nodes from bare metal and when reimaging nodes.
To use an operating system image, you must first add it to the image store on the head node. Operating system images are Windows Image Media (WIM) files. These image files can be created from server operating system installation media, from an installation folder available on the head node or on the network, or by capturing the image of an existing node. You can also add an existing image file to the image store, if it is available in the WIM file format.
After an operating system image is available in the image store, you can deploy it by using a node template. You can create a new node template that deploys that operating system image, or you can edit an existing node template to add a task to install an operating system using that image. For more information about creating and editing node templates, see Node Templates.