Windows HPC Server 2008

{{short description|Operating system for high performance computing}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}

Windows HPC Server 2008, released by Microsoft on 22 September 2008, is the successor product to Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003. Like WCCS, Windows HPC Server 2008 is designed for high-end applications that require high performance computing clusters (HPC stands for High Performance Computing).{{cite web

|url = https://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsserver/archive/2008/09/22/windows-hpc-server-2008-rtm-s.aspx

|title = Windows HPC Server 2008 RTM's

|work = Windows Server Division WebLog

|publisher = Microsoft Corporation

|date = 22 September 2008

|access-date = 26 April 2011

}} This version of the server software is claimed to efficiently scale to thousands of cores. It includes features unique to HPC workloads: a new high-speed NetworkDirect RDMA, highly efficient and scalable cluster management tools, a service-oriented architecture (SOA) job scheduler, an MPI library based on open-source MPICH2,{{cite web|url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb524831%28VS.85%29.aspx|title=Microsoft MPI|access-date=2011-10-22}} and cluster interoperability through standards such as the High Performance Computing Basic Profile (HPCBP) specification produced by the Open Grid Forum (OGF).{{cite web|url=https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc972837%28WS.10%29.aspx|title=HPC Server Basic Profile Web Service Operations Guide|access-date=2011-10-22}}

In June 2008, a system built collaboratively with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and Microsoft ranked #23 on the TOP500 list, a ranking of the world's fastest supercomputers, with a LINPACK score of 68.5 teraflops. The NCSA supercomputer uses both Windows Server HPC and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.{{cite web|url=http://www.top500.org/list/2008/06/100|title=June 2008 TOP500 Supercomputer Rankings|access-date=2011-10-22|archive-date=1 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080701071821/http://www.top500.org/list/2008/06/100|url-status=dead}} By November 2011, that ranking had dropped to #253.{{cite web|url=http://i.top500.org/site/1200|title=TOP500 Supercomputer Rankings for the NCSA supercomputer|access-date=2012-01-19|archive-date=12 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412044311/http://i.top500.org/site/1200|url-status=dead}} Since then, all Windows computers have dropped off the TOP500 list, and Linux has replaced all other operating systems on the list.

In the November 2008 rankings, published by TOP500, a Windows HPC system built by the Shanghai Supercomputer Center achieved a peak performance of 180.6 teraflops and was ranked #11 on the list.{{cite web|url=http://www.top500.org/system/176118|title=TOP500 Supercomputer Rankings|access-date=2014-10-26}} In June 2015, that was the last Windows machine left on the list (dropped off later) then ranked 436, just barely made the TOP500 (with Windows Azure dropping off earlier).