[Chris Lee]

Do I need MicroSoft HPC Pack to run in "parallel" mode?

I thought I did, according to the documentation on installing/setting up SU2,
but when trying to set up and test the parallel code, I ran into an issue.

Please note that I am not trying to deal the work out to different machines on a network.
I am simply trying to use multiple cores and/or threads available on my own system.
(2 cores/4 threads in my current system . . . 8 or 10 cores in the one i'm trying to buy)
It might be interesting to farm work out to networked computers in the future, but that is not my focus at the moment.

So, . . .
SU2 install/setup guidelines indicate that Microsoft's HPC Pack 2012 is required.
so, . . . assuming it is required to take advantage of multiple cores . . .
When I tried to download/install the HPC Pack, I ran into an issue where it seemed I needed to have Windows Server. (see "system requirements" under the link above)

I'm not very clear on all the different network nomenclature, so I don't know if my system would be considered a "workstation" or a "head node", . . .
but it looks like one needs at least Windows 7 Premium or Enterprise. (assuming I can operate standalone as a "workstation")

(side question: why wouldn't Windows 7 Ultimate work? I think MS's webpage might be out of date.)

I posted these questions in another thread in the main forum -- I was afraid they would not be seen in this SU2 forum, so I'm copying here again.

Thanks for our help!
-Chris