Windows HPC Server 2008 R2

2020: The vulnerability of BlueKeep allowing to receive full control over the computer

On March 27, 2020 the company Positive Technologies announced that during monitoring of relevant threats (threat intelligence) experts of the company found out that the number of network points in Russia, available according to the remote desktop protocol (RDP) in only three weeks (since the end of February, 2020) increased by 9% and made more than 112,000. Already now over 10% of such resources are vulnerable for an error of security of BlueKeep (CVE-2019-0708) which allows the hacker to receive full control over computer based on Windows. Vulnerabilities are subject operating systems Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. In more detail here.

2011: The first service pack (SP1) for Windows Server 2008 R2

According to information for February, 2011 SP1 is available to downloading on the website of the company: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/ru-ru/details.aspx?FamilyID=c3202ce6-4056-4059-8a1b-3a9b77cdfdda.

The service pack for Windows Server 2008 R2 includes a number of the important updates first of all improving a virtualization subsystem:

• Dynamic Memory is technology of dynamic memory relocation between virtual machines in Hyper-V hypervisor. If earlier the extent of the used RAM in the virtual machine was fixed regardless of loading, then now the Dynamic Memory technology selects to the executed copies of virtual machines only necessary amount of memory, taking into account their loading, a priority in work and presence of free memory at other machines and a host of virtualization on which they are started. Actually Dynamic Memory allows to lower requirements to amount of the physical memory set on the server of virtualization and, respectively, allows to save means. The advantage of Dynamic Memory in the scenario Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is especially noticeable.
• RemoteFX is technology for the scenario VDI which allows to make processing of difficult graphics in VDI virtual machines using the graphic cards installed on the virtualization server. Also RemoteFX gives the long-awaited chance to connect any USB devices in virtual machines and supports additional compression of traffic that unloads a communication channel.

2010: Start of deliveries of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2

The Microsoft company in September, 2010 announced the beginning of deliveries of the new version of the Windows platform of HPC Server 2008 R2. Except new opportunities for cluster computings, the Windows platform of HPC Server 2008 R2 gives an opportunity for productive use of uninvolved processor cycles on computers with the Windows 7 operating system. The Windows platform of HPC Server is distinguished by quite low threshold of entry – clusters on its basis can use even rather small organizations.

The Windows platform of HPC Server is used for creation and carrying out simulation experiments. The new version of Windows HPC Server is focused on carrying out the most difficult and capacious calculations for business, academic institutions and the state organizations. In the new version many functions at the requests which arrived from users of the previous versions are implemented.

Some of the main differences of the cluster Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 operating system can consider the universal and complete nature of ready-made solutions. Implementing Windows HPC Server, customers receive the end-to-end platform of supercomputer calculations and should not spend extra money and time for aggregating diverse technologies. The additional convenience to administrators and users is provided due to full compatibility with other infrastructure solutions of Microsoft, including the Active Directory directory service, the SharePoint Server web portal, the console of systems management Microsoft System Center and office applications of Microsoft Office.

The important advantage of Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 is support of direct service of end users. For example, the HPC Services for Excel 2010 technology which is built in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 much reduces time of recalculation of large spreadsheets. For example, time of calculation of the table of 1700 records is reduced from 14 to three o'clock minutes and even less. Besides, customers can give free processor resources of the workstations working running Windows 7 to uniform computing "cloud" now, increasing the power of clusters of Windows HPC Server even more.

The Windows platform of HPC Server 2008 R2 differs in a huge range of supported applications. Already now Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 offers compatibility with hundreds of serial technical applications. The number of supported applications only in the last two years grew by 16 times. In addition expressed 40 more companies creating applications for technical calculations support of the new platform.

Improvements in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2

Customers use Windows HPC Server for carrying out the most various calculations, beginning from modeling of financial markets and creation of new drugs and finishing with design of means of new generation transport, etc. Their responses formed a basis of important improvements in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2.

• Complete integrated solution. Using Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 users receive the complex computing platform which is not requiring additional time expenditure for deployment and funds for debugging of operability of different technologies. The high-performance platform is easily integrated with such solutions as the Active Directory, SharePoint, System Center and Microsoft Office, that saving investments into IT infrastructure.
• High-performance and profitable solution. Based on tests of independent software makers and tests the Open source software, performance of the Windows platform of HPC Server it is similar to performance of the Linux (1) platform. The last researches show that the cost of ownership of HPC Server of the Windows platform within five years for 32% - 51% is cheaper than platforms based on Linux (2).
• New opportunities for more powerful analysis and calculations. Support services of high-performance computing in Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 for spreadsheets of HPC Services for Excel 2010 are reduced by time of difficult calculations of spreadsheets for several orders. For example, for the workbook with 1700 records time of calculations managed to be lowered from 14 hours to less than 3 minutes. Besides, the organizations can use the computing power of the Windows 7 workstations which are standing idle in time off or create the computing cloud providing additional power for a server cluster of Windows HPC Server.
• Support of bigger number of applications. Now hundreds of applications executing high-performance computing work with Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 already and for the last 2 years their quantity increased by 16 times. At the moment announced 40 partners support of the Windows platform of HPC Server. In Russia the new Microsoft HPC-platform was supported already by 17 partners.

Use of cloud computing for calculations

The cloud is a key component of an initiative of Microsoft Technical computing. Quickly to increase processor power, when necessary, customers can easily transfer high-performance calculations from own data processing center to a cloud. In the future the company will release update for Windows HPC Server using which it will be possible to add computing nodes of a cluster in a cloud of Windows Azure to own NRS-cluster and to manage flexibly them.

Simplification of process of parallel development

The key principle of an initiative of Microsoft Technical Computing is simplification of development of a HPC-applications for new generation of the distributed or parallel computing resources which consist of personal computers, server clusters and cloud resources. Using Windows HPC Server 2008 R2, Visual Studio 2010 and solutions of partners, such as Intel and NVIDIA, Microsoft provides the integrated platform for parallel computings based on which developers will be able effectively to create, test and optimize the parallel code for deployment on client, server resources or on resources of cloud computing.