Windows HPC Server 2008, released in 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. This version of the server efficiently scales to thousands of cores and 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, and cluster interoperability through standards such as the High Performance Computing Basic Profile (HPCBP) specification produced by the Open Grid Forum (OGF).

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.

In the November 2008 rankings published by Top500.org, a Windows HPC system built by the Shanghai Supercomputer Center achieved 180.6 teraflops, a peak performance that placed the so-called Dawning 500A system at #10 on the list of the world’s fastest supercomputers.

homepage: http://www.microsoft.com/hpc