The Hit Parade

So, I've been thinking about some stuff about my time as a Windows HPC Sysadmin which I'd like to share, & the more I think, the more top level bullet points I come up with. I thought I'd kick off this blog with a couple of top tens. The first are somewhat abstract topics, the second specific to Windows HPC Server. I'll then follow it up with some more detailed blog posts which dive a little deeper into each of them.

So, without further ado, I give to you:
The Ballpark, and The Strike Zone

The Ballpark

Increase your generic High Performance Computing smarts.
Many new Windows HPC Sysadmins will be heading in from the Enterprise, having expertise in Microsoft platforms but relatively little knowledge of HPC.

Trust the product group.
You know, no-one's perfect, but the HPC product group come pretty close.

High Performance is relative.
You don't necessarily need a multi-thousand core set up to produce heroic results.

You get out what you put in.
Contributing to the Windows HPC forum has been a very useful process.

Damn there are some clever people out there.
Sometimes I just feel inadequate, desperately trying to wrap my feeble brain around complex problems discussed by some of my peers.

Do you really need it?
There's a bunch of people out there intent on selling you a bunch of kit, but is it right for you?

The methodical process of troubleshooting.
My advice - start from the bottom & work up... or start at the top and work down.

Don't forget the basics.
There's pleasure to be found in the simple things in life. Or, if you want to be blunt, keep it simple, stupid!

The business is (nearly) always right.
I find there's direct correlation between good business reporting and being left alone to get on with work.

Try to get to SuperComputing.
No, really, it's a great show, with great people.


The Strike Zone

Know your underlying infrastructure.
You only need to look at the Top 500 results to know that alot of HPC kit does not currently run Windows HPC Server. This means that many Windows HPC Sysadmins will be transferring their expertise from Linux (or other OS) based systems.

It's all in the name
How does Windows HPC handle name resolution?

Digging through the versions
SP1? Well, yes, but SP1 of what? And R2? Is that beta or RTM? So you want to install what on where now?

Performance enhancing shrugs
Well, it seems to run OK, but is OK good enough?

The database interloper
SQL Server? In every Windows HPC Server deployment? Surely not.

PowerShell is powerful
OK it might sound like an obvious statement, but it's true! At the risk of offending those not listed I have some favourite HPC PowerShell Commandlets I'd like to share.

Network topology - choices choices
RRAS, dedicated router, managed firewall and the like.

Monitor Lizard, the thinking person's test rig
If you've ever tried to compile HPL to run on Windows HPC you'll absolutely love Lizard. Performance results aside, it's a great starting point for cluster verification.

Node deployment
If one person with one DVD takes 2 hours to build one compute node, how long would it take that person to build a tree house?

A job a day keeps the user at bay
Become one with your users, know what they know, type what they type.