Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 comes with the Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000), which is installed by default and is used to track jobs. Due to licensing restrictions, customers cannot install the full version of SQL Server on compute nodes running Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003. Customers wishing to install full versions of SQL Server should purchase Windows Server 2003 x64 Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter Edition.

The Microsoft Windows Server 2003 family takes the best of Microsoft Windows 2000 Server technology and makes it easier to deploy, manage, and use. For more information, see the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Web site. Microsoft has developed independent certification requirements for Windows Server 2003. The certification requirements for Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) on Windows Server 2003 differ from those for MCSE on Windows 2000.

Microsoft Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 is an integrated, standards-based compute clustering platform built on top of Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition. Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 is comprised of two CDs. The first CD is Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition (CCE), and the second CD is the Microsoft Compute Cluster Pack (CCP)-a combination of interfaces, utilities, and management infrastructure that makes up Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003.

Microsoft's goal is to empower end users by allowing them to easily harness distributed computing resources to solve complex problems. Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 is the most recent step in that effort, as Microsoft continues to focus on making distributed computing resources easier to use, more efficient to deploy, and less expensive to operate.

No. "High availability" describes systems designed for fault tolerance. Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 is designed to support scientific and technical high-performance computing applications that take advantage of parallel processing. Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 hardware requirements are identical to the requirements for 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003.

It is recommended that the Microsoft job scheduler be used with Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003. However, there are also third-party job schedulers that will work with Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003.

Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 does not support head-node failover. However, high-availability functionality is being considered for future versions. Windows supports a number of techniques for recovering from a system failure, from using backup utilities to using disk mirroring.

Yes. The Microsoft Compute Cluster Pack (in other words, the second CD of the two CDs that make up Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003) can be purchased separately and will run on 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003 R2.

Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 is based on Windows Server 2003 Standard x64 Edition and can only be installed on 64-bit hardware.

Purchasing information for Windows Compute Cluster Sever 2003 can be found on the How to Buy page and Pricing and Licensing page for this product. You can also download the trial version by following the instructions on the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 Trial Software page.

Minimum hardware requirements can be found on the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 system requirements page.

Licensing for Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 will be restricted to computers that are used as dedicated computational servers only. Customers wishing to use compute nodes for other purposes (for example, using a cluster head node as a database server) should purchase the appropriate version of Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions (Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter) for installation on those nodes.

Yes. Windows Compute Cluster Server (CCS) 2003 supports the security requirements for these environments by leveraging Active Directory directory service for user authentication. CCS also provides a Microsoft Management Console plug-in that simplifies managing the head node and compute nodes, which make up a compute cluster. Now, tools such as Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) and Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) can be used to manage CCS.

There are no special networking requirements for Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003. However, the product is designed to take advantage of high-speed networking technologies such as Gigabit Ethernet, Infiniband, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Myrinet, and other interconnects by way of the Microsoft Windows Sockets Direct Interface.

Although Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 requires 64-bit computers for use as compute nodes, 32-bit applications running on 64-bit compute nodes is a fully supported configuration. The 32-bit application will not be able to use the larger memory-addressing available on the compute node, but it will run. Developers will find both 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Message Passing Interface (MPI) libraries included in the Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 Software Development Kit (SDK).

Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 can be operated as a back end for a number of interactive parallel-computing programs with graphic user interfaces. How this is done and how tightly coupled the parallel processes are depends on the individual program.

Yes. Use of the command line to create and submit jobs is supported. The command-line interface also supports submission of jobs to the scheduler by script or batch file.

Yes. You can use any relational database that is accessible by JDBC and satisfies the SPECjAppServer2004 Run and Reporting Rules.

The application vendor is the best source for determining if your UNIX- or Linux-based application will run on Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003. Note that Microsoft Compute Cluster Pack in CCS can take advantage of 32- and 64-bit versions of Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications (SUA) on Windows Server 2003 Release 2 (R2), which may be required to run UNIX or Linux applications.

Yes, Microsoft MPIO is specifically designed to run on both platforms. Microsoft uses the same set of foundation MPIO drivers on both. This lets customers upgrade a server from Windows 2000 Server to Windows Server 2003 with a Microsoft MPIO solution in place, instead of having to remove it and disconnect the storage before upgrading.

There can be only one Windows Small Business Server 2003 server in a domain. Each Windows Small Business Server 2003 server is typically connected to the Internet either directly, or via a firewall. Windows Small Business Server 2003 does not support trusts between domains; therefore, user names and resources could not be shared between those Windows Small Business Server 2003 servers.

No, the Windows Server 2003 needs a new version of CALs. You need a Windows Server 2003 License Server, which can serve both Windows 2000 terminal servers and Windows Server 2003 terminal servers.

Yes. You can upgrade from Windows 2000 Server to Windows Small Business Server 2003, even if the computer running Windows 2000 Server is a domain controller. For more information, see Upgrading to Windows Small Business Server 2003.

Yes, this is an optional extra, for costs see the order form. Ideally you will manage your SQL Server DB using Enterprise Manager or Visual Studio.NET (or similar), however, we do offer a web based front end using ASP.NET Enterprise Manager.

Please consult the SQL Server licensing site for up-to-date information on how SQL Server 2000 is licensed, including answers to frequently asked questions. With MIIS 2003, Enterprise Edition, we assume that most customers will simply license "per processor," but there is also the option to license SQL Server 2000 on a device or user CAL basis.

Yes. Although the Legacy Client can be installed and used on clients running Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP, we highly recommend Legacy Client for migratory purposes only. By not using the Advanced Client you will not have the ability to take advantage of the bandwidth awareness, mobile software delivery support, and advanced security features of the Advanced Client. For more information on the differences between the clients, please see the previous question.

Which operating system you decide to use should depend on what features you need. For example, if you are already using IIS, ASP, VBScript, Windows Media, Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL Server, or Visual InterDev, and you don't have the time to learn Unix-based solutions, you'll have to choose a Windows NT or Windows 2000-based host. Just because your desktop is Windows-based doesn't mean you should use a Windows host.