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Release Notes for Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

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Applies To: Microsoft HPC Pack 2012, Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2

These release notes address late-breaking issues and information for the high-performance computing (HPC) cluster administrator about Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Microsoft® HPC Pack 2012. You can install HPC Pack 2012 SP1 to update an existing HPC cluster that is currently running HPC Pack 2012. You should install the service pack on all head nodes, compute nodes, Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) broker nodes, workstation nodes, unmanaged server nodes, and computers that are running the HPC Pack client utilities.

To download the packages for the SP1 update, go to the Microsoft Download Center.

Note

In addition to update packages for existing HPC Pack 2012 clusters, you can download an integrated installation package of HPC Pack 2012 with SP1 for a new cluster installation. To get started with a new cluster installation, see the Getting Started Guide for Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2 and HPC Pack 2012.

For more information about the service pack, see:

In this topic:

  • Before you install HPC Pack 2012 SP1

  • Install Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 SP1 on the head node

  • Install HPC Pack 2012 SP1 on compute nodes, WCF broker nodes, workstation nodes, and unmanaged server nodes

  • Redeploy existing Windows Azure nodes

  • Install HPC Pack 2012 SP1 on client computers

  • Uninstall HPC Pack 2012 SP1

  • Known issues

    • A job that is canceled from the Configuring state cannot be requeued

    • An HPC job operator can requeue a job only by using a job submission tool from HPC Pack 2012 with SP1

    • The HPC Pack iSCSI provider is not automatically updated during the installation of the service pack

    • Changing a cluster member to a job operator role can cause the identity to lose job permissions

Before you install HPC Pack 2012 SP1

Perform the following actions before you install HPC Pack 2012 SP1:

  • Take all compute nodes, workstation nodes, and unmanaged server nodes offline and wait for all current jobs to drain.

  • If you have a node template in which an Automatic availability policy is configured, set the availability policy to Manual.

  • Stop all existing Windows Azure nodes so that they are in the Not-Deployed state. If you do not stop them, you may be unable to use or delete the nodes from HPC Cluster Manager after the service pack is installed, but charges for their use will continue to accrue in Windows Azure. You must redeploy (provision) the Windows Azure nodes after you install the service pack on the head node.

    Note

    Under certain conditions, you might be prompted to stop Windows Azure nodes before you install the service pack, even if you have already stopped all Windows Azure nodes (or do not have any Windows Azure nodes deployed). In this case, you can safely click OK to continue the installation.

  • Ensure that all diagnostic tests have finished or are canceled.

  • Close any HPC Cluster Manager and HPC Job Manager applications that are connected to the cluster head node.

  • After all active operations on the cluster have stopped, back up all HPC databases by using a backup method of your choice.

Additional considerations for installing the service pack

  • When you install the service pack, several settings that are related to HPC services are reset to their default values, including the following:

    • Firewall rules

    • Event log settings for all HPC services

    • Service configuration properties such as dependencies and startup options

    • Service configuration files for the HPC services (for example, HpcSession.exe.config)

    • If the head node or WCF broker nodes are configured for high availability in a failover cluster, the HPC Pack related resources that are configured in the failover cluster

    After you install the service pack, you may need to re-create settings that you have customized for your cluster or restore them from backup files.

    Note

    You can find more installation details in the following log file after you install the service pack on the head node: %windir%\temp\HPCSetupLogs\hpcpatch-DateTime.txt

  • When you install the service pack on the head node, the files that the head node uses to deploy a compute node or a WCF broker node from bare metal are also updated. Later, if you install a new compute node or WCF broker node from bare metal or if you reimage an existing node, the service pack is automatically applied to that node.

Install Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 SP1 on the head node

To install Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 SP1 on the head node

  1. Download the x64 version of the installation program for HPC Pack 2012 SP1 from the Microsoft Download Center. Save the installation program for the service pack to installation media or to a network location.

  2. Run the installation program as an administrator from the location where you saved the service pack.

  3. Read the informational message that appears. If you are ready to apply the service pack, click OK.

  4. Continue to follow the steps in the installation wizard.

Note

  • After you install the service pack, if you are prompted, restart the computer.

  • You can confirm that HPC Pack 2012 SP1 is installed on the head node. To view the version number in HPC Cluster Manager, on the Help menu, click About. The server version number and the client version number that appear will be similar to 4.1.xxxx.x.

If you have set up a head node for high availability in the context of a failover cluster, use the following procedure to apply the service pack.

To install HPC Pack 2012 SP1 on a high-availability head node

  1. Download the x64 version of the installation program for HPC Pack 2012 SP1 from the Microsoft Download Center. Save the service pack installation program to installation media or to a network location.

  2. Take the following high-availability HPC services offline by using Failover Cluster Manager: hpcscheduler, hpcsdm, hpcdiagnostics, hpcreporting, hpcsession, and hpcsoadiagmon.

  3. Install the service pack on the active head node by running the installation program as an administrator from the location where you saved the service pack.

    After you install the service pack on the active head node, in most cases, the active head node restarts and fails over to the second head node.

    Note

    Because the second head node is not updated, Failover Cluster Manager might report a failed status for the resource group and the HPC services.

  4. Use the following procedure to install the service pack on the second head node:

    1. Take the following high-availability HPC services offline by using Failover Cluster Manager: hpcscheduler, hpcsdm, hpcdiagnostics, hpcreporting, hpcsession, and hpcsoadiagmon.

    2. Verify that the second head node is the active head node. If it is not, use Failover Cluster Manager to make the second head node the active head node.

    3. Install the service pack on the second head node.

      If you have additional head nodes in the cluster, move the current active head node to passive. After failover occurs, install the update on the current active head node according to the preceding steps.

Important

During the installation of the service pack on each head node that is configured for high availability, leave the Microsoft SQL Server resources online.

Install HPC Pack 2012 SP1 on compute nodes, WCF broker nodes, workstation nodes, and unmanaged server nodes

To work with a head node that is updated to HPC Pack 2012 SP1, you must also update existing compute nodes and WCF broker nodes. You can optionally update your existing workstation nodes and unmanaged server nodes. Depending on the type of node, you can use one of the following methods to install HPC Pack 2012 SP1:

  • Reimage an existing compute node or broker node that was deployed by using an operating system image. For more information, see Reimage Compute Nodes.

    Note

    After the head node is updated to HPC Pack 2012 SP1, if you install a new node from bare metal or if you reimage an existing node, HPC Pack 2012 with SP1 is automatically installed on that node.

  • Install HPC Pack 2012 SP1 on existing nodes that are running HPC Pack 2012, either manually or by using a clusrun command.

    Note

    If you do not have administrative permissions on workstation nodes and unmanaged server nodes in the cluster, the clusrun command might not be able to apply the update. In these cases, the administrator of the workstation and unmanaged servers should perform the update.

To use clusrun to install HPC Pack 2012 SP1 on existing nodes

  1. Download the appropriate version of the installation program for HPC Pack 2012 SP1 from the Microsoft Download Center, and save the service pack installation program to installation media or to a shared folder such as \\headnodename\SP1.

  2. In HPC Cluster Manager, view nodes by node group to identify a group of nodes that you want to update; for example, ComputeNodes.

  3. Take the nodes in the node group offline.

  4. Open an elevated command prompt and type the appropriate clusrun command for the operating system of the update. The following command is an example.

    clusrun /nodegroup:ComputeNodes \\headnodename\SP1\HPC2012_SP1-x64.exe -unattend -SystemReboot

    Note

    The SystemReboot parameter is required. It causes the updated nodes to restart after the service pack is installed.

    After the service pack is installed and the nodes in the group restart, bring the nodes online.

To run the installation program for HPC Pack 2012 SP1 manually on individual nodes that are currently running HPC Pack 2012, you can copy the installation program to a shared folder on the head node. Then, access the existing nodes by making a remote connection to install the service pack from the shared folder.

Important

If you have WCF broker nodes that are configured for high availability in a failover cluster, install HPC Pack 2012 SP1 on the high-availability broker nodes as follows:

  1. Install HPC Pack 2012 SP1 on the active broker node.

  2. Fail over the passive broker node to the active broker node.

  3. Install HPC Pack 2012 SP1 on the active broker node that is not yet updated.

Redeploy existing Windows Azure nodes

If you previously added Windows Azure nodes to your HPC Pack 2012 cluster, you must start (provision) those nodes again to install the updated HPC Pack components. If you previously changed the availability policy of the nodes from Automatic to Manual, you can reconfigure an Automatic availability policy in the Windows Azure node template that will automatically bring the nodes online and offline at scheduled intervals. For more information, see Steps to Deploy Azure Nodes with Microsoft HPC Pack.

Install HPC Pack 2012 SP1 on client computers

To update computers on which the HPC Pack client utilities are installed, ensure that any HPC client applications, including HPC Cluster Manager and HPC Job Manager, are stopped. Then, apply the service pack.

To update client computers to HPC Pack 2012 SP1

  1. Download the appropriate version of the installation program for HPC Pack 2012 SP1 from the Microsoft Download Center. Save the service pack installation program to installation media or to a network location.

  2. Run the installation program as an administrator from the location where you saved the service pack.

  3. Read the informational message that appears. If you are ready to apply the service pack, click OK.

  4. Continue to follow the steps in the installation wizard.

Uninstall HPC Pack 2012 SP1

You can uninstall the service pack on the head node to revert to HPC Pack 2012, or you can completely uninstall HPC Pack 2012.

To uninstall HPC Pack 2012 SP1, uninstall the updates in the following order:

  • HPC Pack 2012 Services for Excel 2010

  • HPC Pack 2012 Server Components

  • HPC Pack 2012 Client Components

  • HPC Pack 2012 MS-MPI Redistributable Pack

To completely uninstall HPC Pack 2012, see Uninstall HPC Pack 2012 in the release notes for HPC Pack 2012.

Known issues

A job that is canceled from the Configuring state cannot be requeued

You cannot requeue a submitted job that is canceled when it is in the Configuring state. A permissions or authentication error may occur if you attempt a requeue. The reason for this error is that the HPC Job Scheduler Servicer considers the job to be in a nonsubmitted state.

To requeue the job, first modify the job and then resubmit it.

An HPC job operator can requeue a job only by using a job submission tool from HPC Pack 2012 with SP1

A cluster user who is configured as an HPC job operator in a cluster that is running HPC Pack 2012 with SP1 can requeue a job only when by using a job submission tool that is installed with HPC Pack 2012 with SP1. If the job operator attempts to use a job submission tool from HPC Pack 2008 R2 with Service Pack 4 (SP4) or from the previous version of HPC Pack 2012 to requeue a job on the cluster, a “Permission denied” error will occur.

The HPC Pack iSCSI provider is not automatically updated during the installation of the service pack

If you plan to deploy on-premises nodes from bare metal over Internet SCSI (iSCSI) from a network-attached storage array, ensure that you manually install the iSCSI provider that is available for HPC Pack 2012 SP1. The iSCSI provider is not automatically updated during the installation of the service pack.

Changing a cluster member to a job operator role can cause the identity to lose job permissions

As summarized in Understanding User Roles, a cluster member that is configured in the single role of job operator has restricted permissions on cluster jobs. For example, a job operator cannot create or submit jobs. These restrictions apply to all jobs, including jobs for which the single-role job operator is the owner.

Example

A cluster member is configured in the role of cluster user, and that member creates and submits jobs to the cluster in that role. Later, the role of that member is changed to the single role of job operator. At that time, the cluster member remains as the owner of the jobs that it previously created. However, the member no longer has permissions to submit the jobs that it owns. Only HPC cluster administrators and job administrators have full permissions on such jobs.

See also