Windows CCS and Linux dual boo.doc

Dual Boot:

? Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003

? and SUSELinux Enterprise Server 10

Setup and Configuration Guide

Published: July 2007, Updated: December 2007

For the latest information, see http://www.microsoft.com/hpc

Contents

Introduction .................................................................................................................................4 Prerequisites ...............................................................................................................................6 Mixed Compute Cluster Configuration ...................................................................................6 Compute Nodes ...................................................................................................................6 Windows Compute Cluster Head Node ...............................................................................6 Infrastructure Server ............................................................................................................7 Software Requirements and Versions Used ..........................................................................7 Windows Compute Cluster Server ......................................................................................7 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server ............................................................................................7 Hardware Used .......................................................................................................................7 2 embedded NC370i Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapters..................................................8 Prepare for Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1 Dual Boot ........................................................................................................................8 Prepare for Deployment of Operating Systems ..........................................................................9 Prepare for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Deployment ........................................................9 Configure the Deployment Server .......................................................................................9 Create the AutoYaST Control File .................................................................................... 20 Integrate the Linux HPC Software into the Repository ..................................................... 23 Integrate the Dual-Boot Script in to the Repository .......................................................... 24 End of script

............................................................................................................................. 24

Create the Post-Installation Script .................................................................................... 25 Prepare for Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 Deployment ...................................... 27 Prerequisites ..................................................................................................................... 27 Install and Configure RIS .................................................................................................. 28 Add an Image to RIS ........................................................................................................ 28 Inject Drivers ..................................................................................................................... 37 Include Scripts into RIS .................................................................................................... 37 Modify the Answer File ..................................................................................................... 38 Deploy the Operating Systems to the Compute Nodes ........................................................... 39 Deploy SUSE Linux Enterprise Server ................................................................................ 39 Deploy Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 ................................................................. 40 Prerequisites ..................................................................................................................... 40 Deploy Windows ............................................................................................................... 41 Approve Compute Nodes ................................................................................................. 47 Switch Operating Systems on the Compute Cluster ............................................................... 49 Boot from Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server ....... 51 Boot from Linux to Windows Compute Cluster Server ........................................................ 51 Verify the Cluster Setup ........................................................................................................... 53 Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 ............................................................................. 53 Run a Simple Command .................................................................................................. 53 Run an MPI Command on All Nodes ............................................................................... 55 Log Entries........................................................................................................................ 59 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server ............................................................................................ 59

Summary .................................................................................................................................. 60 Appendices .............................................................................................................................. 61 Appendix 1 - Background Information ................................................................................. 61 This section provides background material on dual-boot scenarios and Windows

Compute Cluster Server 2003. ......................................................................................... 61 Dual-Boot Scenarios ......................................................................................................... 61 Introduction to Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 .................................................. 61 Appendix 2 - Deployment Methods for WCCS and Linux ................................................... 63 Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 Deployment Methods ....................................... 63 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Deployment ..................................................................... 65 Appendix 3 - Example of WCCS Deployment with ADS ..................................................... 66 Requirements ................................................................................................................... 66 Appendix 4 - Table of Installation Options .......................................................................... 70 Note: If you already have SUSE Linux Enterprise Server installed on your HPC cluster, you can install Windows as a second OS with either RIS or ADS; modifications will be required to provide partition space for the Windows OS. If you already have Windows Computer Cluster Server installed on your HPC cluster, you will need to create space for the Linux partitions. You can then use standard SUSE Linux Enterprise Server installation methods. ............................................................................................................................................. 71 Appendix 5 - Related Links ................................................................................................. 72 Links for Windows ............................................................................................................ 72 Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles: ................................................................................. 73 Links for Linux................................................................................................................... 74 AutoYaST: ........................................................................................................................ 74 Appendix 6 - Checklist for WCCS Deployment with RIS ..................................................... 75 Appendix 7 - Summary of Scripts ........................................................................................ 76 Appendix 8 - Sample hpcautoyast.xml Script ............................................................... 77 Appendix 9 - Sample RIS Answer File ................................................................................ 84

Introduction

This document describes the installation and configuration of a high-performance computing

? ?

(HPC) cluster for a dual boot of MicrosoftWindows Compute Cluster Server 2003 (WCCS) and SUSE? Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1. You can use this document as a guide for setting up your own dual boot cluster, although you may need to modify the procedures described here according to your own particular hardware and software configurations.

Because HPC clusters represent a significant investment of resources, maximizing the

benefits of your existing investment can result in huge savings. By using the same cluster for two operating systems, you gain the flexibility of an additional cluster without having to invest in further hardware. There are a number of scenarios in which the ability to switch easily between SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Windows Compute Cluster 2003 on your HPC cluster is an advantage, including proof-of-concept scenarios, application migration scenarios, and test scenarios.

For a dual-boot installation using Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1, both must be installed on each of the compute nodes of your cluster. There are several options available for OS installation. In the setup discussed here, Remote Installation Services (RIS) were used for the WCCS installation. RIS, now called the Windows Deployment Services (WDS) legacy mode, is a standard component of WCCS. It was installed on the head node of the compute cluster. A dedicated network installation server installed with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server was used to deploy SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to compute nodes using AutoYaST, the Novell? auto-installation mechanism.

To operate in a dual-boot environment using Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1, both must be installed on different partitions on the hard disks of all of the compute nodes. For Linux, two hard disk partitions are required. For Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003, one hard disk partition is required.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server was the first OS deployed to the compute nodes in this setup. It was installed on Partition 1 and Partition 2, leaving the remaining free space, Partition 3, for the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 OS. WCCS was then deployed by using RIS. This configuration was used because it is not possible to create custom partitions with RIS.

Typically, a dual-boot configuration provides a boot menu that lets users choose which OS they want to boot. A boot menu will not work in a compute cluster dual-boot environment, however, because there are no users at the compute nodes. To switch between operating systems, the disk partition of the desired OS is flagged as active and the nodes are rebooted. This process can be automated by executing a task that runs on all of the compute nodes. If the cluster is running Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003, either the compute cluster

administrative GUI or a script can be used to flag the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server partitions as active. If the cluster is running SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, various methods can be used to run a script on all of the compute nodes to flag the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 partition as active. In this setup, the Secure Shell protocol (SSH) was used to run the script.

Dual Boot: Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 and SUSELinux Enterprise Server 10

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