I am working in the domain of distributing computing and I am looking into the Microsoft HPC Server platform as a possible option.  One of the most important aspects is the development experience, and to test that I will need to create a suitable development environment.

The environment will consist of a network of virtual machines with the following “Roles”:

• Domain Controller / DNS Host
• HPC Server Head Node.
• ‘N’ number of Child nodes.

So numerous headaches and a ServerFault Question later (Domain Controller / DNS Issue – Creating Network of Virtual Machines for Development), I’ve thrown together this rough guide which should hopefully aid some other poor developer get up and running developing against a Microsoft HPC Cluster.

BEFORE YOU CONTINUE NOTE:

• I am a developer, NOT an IT Professional, and my actions will reflect that.
• This is a network of virtual machines I am using for testing purposes.
• These are running on a SECURE LAN, working on a Private network.
• With little to no security in place.

So in a nutshell if you are trying to install a cluster of machines in an enterprise environment get a professional and DO NOT use this guide.

Creating the Domain Controller & DNS

For this I followed this great guide: Build a Windows Server 2008 R2 Domain Controller.

Configuring machines to join Domain

This is where the first real headache started.  I followed the usual steps to add a machine to the domain, but realised that the machine was point at my router (thinking it was the Domain Name Server (DNS) ).

Step Zero: Add machine to Domain

Error: “Domain Controller for the domain <Your Domain> could not be contacted”

Full Error Message

Note: This information is intended for a network administrator.  If you are not your network’s administrator, notify the administrator that you received this information, which has been recorded in the file C:\Windows\debug\dcdiag.txt.
The following error occurred when DNS was queried for the service location (SRV) resource record used to locate an Active Directory Domain Controller for domain 17B.CO.UK:
The error was: “DNS name does not exist.”
(error code 0×0000232B RCODE_NAME_ERROR)
The query was for the SRV record for _ldap._tcp.dc._msdcs.17B.CO.UK
Common causes of this error include the following:
- The DNS SRV records required to locate a AD DC for the domain are not registered in DNS. These records are registered with a DNS server automatically when a AD DC is added to a domain. They are updated by the AD DC at set intervals. This computer is configured to use DNS servers with the following IP addresses:
192.168.1.1
- One or more of the following zones do not include delegation to its child zone:
17B.CO.UK
CO.UK
UK
. (the root zone)
For information about correcting this problem, click Help.

Resolution: Configure Network Card To Point at DNS Server

Go to: Network Connections > ‘Properties (of your network connection) > IPv4 > Properties > Advanced..

Then: > DNS tab > Add > “Enter the IP of the DNS machine (which is also you Domain Controller).

(Disable & Enable) Your Network Connection. Now you should be able to add the machine to the domain.

You will be prompted to Authenticate

If all is well you should see this screen

Finally Restart Your machine and it will have been successfully added to the Domain

Note: This step will need to be repeated for each machine you wish to add to the domain.

Installing and Configuring HPC Machines

For this I followed this guide  Installing HPC Server 2008 by (Parallel Programming Guru) Daniel Moth.

Conclusion

That was how I got up and running developing on the HPC Platform, hope this was helpful. (Wish I had it when I started).

netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off

Reference: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/datacenter/?p=480

Wmic computersystem where name="%computername%" call joindomainorworkgroup
name="[new workgroup name]"

e.g.

Wmic computersystem where name="WIN08-00" call joindomainorworkgroup
name="WORKGROUP”

Then Restart you machine:

shutdown /r

Simple (When you know how its done =/ ).

References:

http://www.mail-archive.com/ntsysadmin@lyris.sunbelt-software.com/msg27669.html

I decided to go down the path of using the “Server Core” installation as it is more light weight.

“A Server Core installation provides a minimal environment for running specific server roles, which reduces the maintenance and management requirements and the attack surface for those server roles.

In Windows Server 2008, Server Core installation does not include the traditional full graphical user interface (GUI).” Petri IT Knowledge

This is sure to sharpen my command line skills… so I’ll blog about the things I find most useful in working with a server core installation.

Getting Started

When you log in for the first time you will be faced with a cmd prompt.  Remember “help” is your friend!

Get the machine name

The machine will be named something random like “WIN-542FGEOER9”. You will need to find what the current name of the machine is.  You can do this by using the command:

systeminfo

Renaming a Server Core Machine

netdom renamecomputer <CurrentComputerName> /newname:<NewComputerName>

Rebooting Your Machine

Now you will need to restart your machine which can be done by using one of the following command:

shutdown /r

The next step will be to add you machine to the domain.

The are solutions out there for controlling “Server Core” installations remotely as well as automating changes to large groups of machines at once via Power Shell.

I will touch on these topics as I am faced with them.

Update:  I have found a brilliant article on Microsoft’s TechNet, by a better person than I, on the topic which mirrors what I have discussed in this post and then some!  Well worth checking out: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.02.geekofalltrades.aspx?pr=blog#id0080012