1---2name: azure-cyclecloud3description: Expert knowledge for Azure CycleCloud development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when automating CycleCloud via REST/CLI, integrating Slurm, tuning HB/HC VMs, securing SSL/auth, or planning Spot VM use, and other Azure CycleCloud related development tasks. Not for Azure Batch (use azure-batch), Azure HPC Cache (use azure-hpc-cache), Azure Virtual Machines (use azure-virtual-machines), Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets (use azure-vm-scalesets).4---5# Azure CycleCloud Skill67This skill provides expert guidance for Azure CycleCloud. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.89## How to Use This Skill1011> **IMPORTANT for Agent**: Use the **Category Index** below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., `L35-L120`), use `read_file` with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., `[security.md](security.md)`), use `read_file` on the linked reference file1213This skill requires **network access** to fetch documentation content:14- **Preferred**: Use `mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch`. Returns Markdown.15- **Fallback**: Use `WebFetch`. Returns Markdown.1617## Category Index1819| Category | Lines | Description |20|----------|-------|-------------|21| Troubleshooting | L32-L38 | Diagnosing and fixing CycleCloud server, cluster, and node startup errors, understanding common error messages, and finding relevant server/node log files for troubleshooting. |22| Best Practices | L39-L43 | Guidance for configuring and tuning Azure HB/HC-series HPC VMs in CycleCloud, including networking, storage, MPI, BIOS, and performance best practices. |23| Decision Making | L44-L51 | Guidance on choosing VM placement and availability sets, using custom images, planning migration from CycleCloud 7, and deciding when/how to use Spot VMs for clusters. |24| Architecture & Design Patterns | L52-L56 | Architectural guidance for designing, deploying, and operating resilient, scalable multi‑region Azure CycleCloud HPC clusters and managing workloads across regions. |25| Security | L57-L70 | Securing CycleCloud: SSL, auth (Entra, service principals, managed identities), SSH/Bastion access, SELinux, and best‑practice hardening for clusters and the web portal. |26| Configuration | L71-L118 | Designing and tuning CycleCloud clusters: template structure, nodes, networking, storage, autoscaling, security, monitoring, and server/CLI installation and configuration |27| Integrations & Coding Patterns | L119-L139 | Using CycleCloud programmatically (REST, CLI, Python), integrating schedulers (Slurm, Grid Engine, HTCondor, OpenPBS, LSF, HPC Pack), and wiring up monitoring, events, and shared storage. |28| Deployment | L140-L150 | Planning, deploying, upgrading, and moving Azure CycleCloud environments and Slurm workspaces, including ARM/CLI setups, container-based runs, and safe migration of cluster resources. |2930### Troubleshooting31| Topic | URL |32|-------|-----|33| Interpret and resolve common Azure CycleCloud error messages | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/error-messages?view=cyclecloud-8 |34| Diagnose and report Azure CycleCloud cluster and node startup issues | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/report-issues?view=cyclecloud-8 |35| Locate Azure CycleCloud server and node log files | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/log-locations?view=cyclecloud-8 |3637### Best Practices38| Topic | URL |39|-------|-----|40| Apply HB/HC VM best practices in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/hb-hc-best-practices?view=cyclecloud-8 |4142### Decision Making43| Topic | URL |44|-------|-----|45| Choose VM placement models and availability sets in CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/availability-sets?view=cyclecloud-8 |46| Select and configure custom images for CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/create-custom-image?view=cyclecloud-8 |47| Plan migration for Azure CycleCloud 7 retirement | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/cyclecloud7-retirement-guide?view=cyclecloud-8 |48| Decide when and how to use Spot VMs in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/use-spot-instances?view=cyclecloud-8 |4950### Architecture & Design Patterns51| Topic | URL |52|-------|-----|53| Design and operate multi‑region Azure CycleCloud HPC clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/concepts/multi-region-cluster-deployment?view=cyclecloud-8 |5455### Security56| Topic | URL |57|-------|-----|58| Apply security best practices for Azure CycleCloud deployments | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/concepts/security-best-practices?view=cyclecloud-8 |59| SSH to CycleCloud login nodes via Azure Bastion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/ccws/connect-to-login-node-with-bastion?view=cyclecloud-8 |60| Access the CycleCloud portal securely through Bastion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/ccws/connect-to-portal-with-bastion?view=cyclecloud-8 |61| Create Entra app registration for Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/create-app-registration?view=cyclecloud-8 |62| Use managed identities to secure Azure CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/managed-identities?view=cyclecloud-8 |63| Run Azure CycleCloud nodes with SELinux enforcing | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/selinux?view=cyclecloud-8 |64| Configure Azure CycleCloud with Microsoft Entra service principals | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/service-principals?view=cyclecloud-8 |65| Configure SSL certificates for secure Azure CycleCloud access | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/ssl-configuration?view=cyclecloud-8 |66| Configure user authentication for Azure CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/user-access?view=cyclecloud-8 |67| Configure user authentication methods for Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/user-authentication?view=cyclecloud-8 |6869### Configuration70| Topic | URL |71|-------|-----|72| Configure cluster-init specs and project sources in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/cluster-init-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 |73| Configure the cluster section in Azure CycleCloud templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/cluster-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 |74| Understand Azure CycleCloud cluster template structure and hierarchy | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/cluster-template-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 |75| Configure Azure CycleCloud cluster configuration objects | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/configuration-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 |76| Define environment objects in CycleCloud cluster templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/environment-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 |77| Configure input endpoints and ports in Azure CycleCloud templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/input-endpoint-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 |78| Configure network-interface objects in Azure CycleCloud templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/network-interface-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 |79| Configure nodes and nodearrays in Azure CycleCloud templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/node-nodearray-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 |80| Use NodeRef objects in CycleCloud cluster templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/noderef-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 |81| Configure parameters in Azure CycleCloud cluster templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/parameter-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 |82| Apply special parameter parsing in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/special-parsing?view=cyclecloud-8 |83| Define and configure volume objects in Azure CycleCloud templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/volume-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 |84| Configure Azure CycleCloud service monitoring integrations | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/concepts/monitoring?view=cyclecloud-8 |85| Configure cycle_server.properties for Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cycleserver-configuration-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 |86| Configure CycleCloud node events and Event Grid routing | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/events?view=cyclecloud-8 |87| Configure Azure CycleCloud managed disk volumes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/add-disk?view=cyclecloud-8 |88| Configure node arrays and scaling behavior in CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/add-node-array?view=cyclecloud-8 |89| Backup and restore Azure CycleCloud application data | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/backup-and-restore?view=cyclecloud-8 |90| Use cloud-init scripts in Azure CycleCloud templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/cloud-init?view=cyclecloud-8 |91| Define and customize Azure CycleCloud cluster templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/cluster-templates?view=cyclecloud-8 |92| Configure Azure networking for CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/configuration?view=cyclecloud-8 |93| Configure autoscaling policies for Azure CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/configure-autoscaling?view=cyclecloud-8 |94| Configure SSH/RDP access to Azure CycleCloud nodes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/connect-to-node?view=cyclecloud-8 |95| Configure environment resources with ARM in CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/environments?view=cyclecloud-8 |96| Configure VMSS Flex orchestration in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/flex-scalesets?view=cyclecloud-8 |97| Configure VM health checks and remediation in CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/healthcheck?view=cyclecloud-8 |98| Install and configure the Azure CycleCloud CLI | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/install-cyclecloud-cli?view=cyclecloud-8 |99| Manually install Jetpack on Azure CycleCloud VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/install-jetpack?view=cyclecloud-8 |100| Manually install and configure Azure CycleCloud server | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/install-manual?view=cyclecloud-8 |101| Configure keep-alive settings for Azure CycleCloud nodes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/keep-alive?view=cyclecloud-8 |102| Configure alerts and logging for Azure CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/monitor-clusters?view=cyclecloud-8 |103| Configure volume mountpoints in Azure CycleCloud templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/mount-disk?view=cyclecloud-8 |104| Configure NFS mounts and shares in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/mount-fileserver?view=cyclecloud-8 |105| Configure multiple Azure CycleCloud instances on one host | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/multiple-installs?view=cyclecloud-8 |106| Customize network security settings for Azure CycleCloud nodes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/network-security?view=cyclecloud-8 |107| Define and use projects and specs in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/projects?view=cyclecloud-8 |108| Configure return proxy nodes for Azure CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/return-proxy?view=cyclecloud-8 |109| Configure web proxy settings for Azure CycleCloud traffic | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/running-behind-proxy?view=cyclecloud-8 |110| Run Azure CycleCloud in locked-down network environments | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/running-in-locked-down-network?view=cyclecloud-8 |111| Configure Azure Scheduled Events handling in CycleCloud nodes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/scheduled-events?view=cyclecloud-8 |112| Configure project and user blob storage in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/storage-blobs?view=cyclecloud-8 |113| Use and understand Azure CycleCloud node tagging | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/tag-nodes?view=cyclecloud-8 |114| Customize Azure CycleCloud UI theming with CSS | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/theming?view=cyclecloud-8 |115| Configure Jetpack for Azure CycleCloud cluster nodes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/jetpack?view=cyclecloud-8 |116117### Integrations & Coding Patterns118| Topic | URL |119|-------|-----|120| Call Azure CycleCloud REST API operations and resources | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/api?view=cyclecloud-8 |121| Manage Azure CycleCloud with the CLI commands | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cli?view=cyclecloud-8 |122| Author and use Chef cookbooks in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cookbook-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 |123| Set up Grid Engine scheduler integration in CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/gridengine?view=cyclecloud-8 |124| Configure Slurm cloud bursting with Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/bursting/slurm-cloud-bursting-setup?view=cyclecloud-8 |125| Configure Open OnDemand for CycleCloud Slurm clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/ccws/configure-open-ondemand?view=cyclecloud-8 |126| Create a simple NFS file server for CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/create-fileserver?view=cyclecloud-8 |127| Integrate Azure CycleCloud events with Event Grid | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/event-grid?view=cyclecloud-8 |128| Integrate Prometheus and Azure Managed Grafana with CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/monitor-cyclecloud-cluster-using-prometheus-grafana?view=cyclecloud-8 |129| Use the Azure CycleCloud REST API for automated cluster management | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/use-rest-api?view=cyclecloud-8 |130| Configure Microsoft HPC Pack integration with CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/hpcpack?view=cyclecloud-8 |131| Configure HTCondor scheduler clusters in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/htcondor?view=cyclecloud-8 |132| Connect IBM Spectrum LSF to Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/lsf?view=cyclecloud-8 |133| Configure OpenPBS scheduler clusters in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/openpbs?view=cyclecloud-8 |134| Use the Azure CycleCloud Python API client | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/python-api?view=cyclecloud-8 |135| Use Slurm 3.0+ features in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/slurm-3?view=cyclecloud-8 |136| Integrate Slurm scheduler with Azure CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/slurm?view=cyclecloud-8 |137138### Deployment139| Topic | URL |140|-------|-----|141| Download and import CycleCloud cluster projects and templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/download-cluster-templates?view=cyclecloud-8 |142| Deploy CycleCloud Workspace for Slurm using Azure CLI | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/ccws/deploy-with-cli?view=cyclecloud-8 |143| Plan CycleCloud Workspace for Slurm deployment | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/ccws/plan-your-deployment?view=cyclecloud-8 |144| Deploy Azure CycleCloud using ARM templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/install-arm?view=cyclecloud-8 |145| Move Azure CycleCloud cluster resources between resource groups | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/move-resource-group?view=cyclecloud-8 |146| Plan a production-grade Azure CycleCloud deployment | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/plan-prod-deployment?view=cyclecloud-8 |147| Run Azure CycleCloud in Azure Container Instances | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/run-in-container?view=cyclecloud-8 |148| Upgrade or migrate Azure CycleCloud installations safely | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/upgrade-and-migrate?view=cyclecloud-8 |
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