14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has made available a performance update designed to help customers dealing with high performance computing environments overcome issues associated with HPC Pack 2008 SDK Service Pack 1. The Redmond company reveals that applying the first service pack for the HPC Pack 2008 software development kit for Windows HPC Server 2008 introduces MPI performance degradation problems associated with machines powered by Nehalem CPUs. This is why the software giant is currently offering for download the HPC Pack 2008 SDK SP1 Fix for MPI Performance Degradation on Nehalem Processors update.
“This SDK update fixes an issue where after applying Service Pack 1 you may experience a performance degradation in MPI jobs,” Microsoft explains. “Supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2003; Windows Server 2003 x64 editions; Windows Server 2008; Windows Vista; Windows Vista 64-bit Editions Service Pack 1; Windows XP; Windows XP Professional x64 Edition ; Windows XP Service Pack 3. An HPC Pack 2008 / HPC Server 2008 cluster. HPC Pack 2008 Service Pack 1 must be installed HPC Pack 2008 SDK with Service Pack 1.”
The latest release of HPC Pack 2008 SDK SP1 has been available via the Microsoft Download Center since July 2009. It is not a coincidence that Microsoft also released the first service pack for Windows HPC Server 2008 around the same period. Now, developers still focusing on Windows HPC Server 2008 SP1 will be able to ensure that there no longer are any performance degradation issues related to HPC Pack 2008 SDK SP1 and Nehalem processors.
Of course, in parallel with the development of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft has also worked to push its high performance computing platform to the next level. In this regard, the company started offering testers a taste of the next generation of Windows for Supercomputers in May 2009. Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 CTP continues to be available for download via Microsoft Connect.