14 DAY TRIAL // Following the RTM of Windows HPC Server 2008 on September 22, Microsoft made available for download the HPC Pack 2008 Software Development Kit. Going against the supremacy of Linux on the high performance computing market requires more from Microsoft than providing a simple alternative to the open source operating system. This is where the SDK comes in, as it allows for the creation of parallel applications for Windows HPC Server 2008. C, C++, and .NET, developers will be able to enjoy the necessary tools to build parallel content for Microsoft's latest iteration of Windows for supercomputers.
“Microsoft HPC Server 2008 (HPC) provides secure, scalable cluster resource management, a job scheduler, and a Message Passing Interface (MPI) stack for parallel programming. HPC includes the Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 SDK that you can use to write client applications that interact with the job scheduler,” Microsoft revealed. “You can use this SDK to schedule jobs on Microsoft HPC Server 2008 and later servers; you cannot use this SDK to schedule jobs on Microsoft Compute Cluster Server 2003 (CCS).”
HPC Pack 2008 SDK is designed to integrate seamlessly with all supported versions of the Windows client and server platforms including Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003. The two versions of the SDK, namely the 32-bit and 64-bit flavors, weigh in at no more than 9.9 MB.
“Windows HPC Server 2008 provides a broad platform for independent software vendors (ISVs) and an expanded playing field for original equipment managers (OEM) to enable innovations in high performance computing. Microsoft has worked with dozens of partners, including AMD, Cray, Dell, HP, IBM and Intel, to continue driving high-performance computing further into the mainstream,” revealed Microsoft’s Craig Saint-Amour, U.S. capital markets industry solutions director.
The Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 Software Development Kit (SDK) is available for download here.