Azure Batch Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Batch. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

> 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 file

> IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

• Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
• Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

| Category | Lines | Description | |----------|-------|-------------| | Troubleshooting | L37-L43 | Diagnosing and fixing Azure Batch job, task, pool, and node errors, including failure patterns, error codes, and best practices for handling and recovering from failures. | | Best Practices | L44-L54 | Guidance on tuning Batch performance, scaling large jobs, running concurrent/rendering tasks, securing pools, and using list queries plus job prep/release tasks efficiently. | | Decision Making | L55-L67 | Guidance on choosing Batch VM sizes, images, Spot/ephemeral disks, capacity and quotas, cost planning, and migration decisions for pools, images, and communication models. | | Architecture & Design Patterns | L68-L73 | Architectural guidance for burst rendering with Azure Batch, including choosing batch/topology patterns and designing storage, caching, and data movement for large render workloads. | | Limits & Quotas | L74-L79 | Managing Batch account quotas via .NET and understanding core Azure Batch limits (pools, cores, jobs, tasks) and how to monitor, plan for, and request quota increases. | | Security | L80-L96 | Securing Azure Batch: identity/auth (Entra ID, managed identities, RBAC), keys and encryption, private endpoints/network perimeters, public access, and governance via Azure Policy. | | Configuration | L97-L129 | Configuring Batch pools and tasks: autoscale, OS/cert rotation, networking/endpoints, disks, containers, metrics/logs, diagnostics events, and secure user/task settings. | | Integrations & Coding Patterns | L130-L145 | Client SDK usage, task/node APIs, containers, MPI, output persistence, monitoring, Key Vault access, and mounting storage for integrating Batch into apps and workflows. | | Deployment | L146-L150 | Guides for moving Azure Batch accounts across regions with ARM templates and setting up CI/CD pipelines for Batch HPC workloads using Azure Pipelines. |

Troubleshooting

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Diagnose and handle Azure Batch job and task errors | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-job-task-error-checking | | Troubleshoot Azure Batch pool and node errors | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-node-error-checking | | Diagnose and handle Azure Batch task errors | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/error-handling |

Best Practices

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Design efficient Azure Batch list queries | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-efficient-list-queries | | Use job preparation and release tasks in Azure Batch | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-job-prep-release | | Run concurrent tasks on Azure Batch nodes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-parallel-node-tasks | | Use Azure Batch capabilities for rendering workloads | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-rendering-functionality | | Apply performance best practices for Azure Batch | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/best-practices | | Optimize Azure Batch jobs with large task counts | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/large-number-tasks | | Apply security best practices to Azure Batch | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/security-best-practices |

Decision Making

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Plan Azure Batch capacity and quota strategy | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-capacity-planning | | Migrate Batch custom image pools to Compute Gallery | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-custom-image-pools-to-azure-compute-gallery-migration-guide | | Choose and migrate custom images for Azure Batch pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-custom-images | | Choose compute-intensive VM sizes for Azure Batch workloads | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-compute-intensive-sizes | | Choose Azure Batch VM sizes and images | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-vm-sizes | | Plan and migrate Azure Batch pools to new node communication model | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pools-to-simplified-compute-node-communication-model-migration-guide | | Decide when to run Azure Batch workloads on Spot VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-spot-vms | | Decide when to use ephemeral OS disks in Azure Batch | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/create-pool-ephemeral-os-disk | | Plan and manage Azure Batch workload costs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/plan-to-manage-costs |

Architecture & Design Patterns

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Choose Azure architectures for cloud rendering burst | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-rendering-architectures | | Design storage and data movement for Azure Batch rendering | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-rendering-storage-data-movement |

Limits & Quotas

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Manage Azure Batch accounts and quotas with .NET | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-management-dotnet | | Review Azure Batch service quotas and limits | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-quota-limit |

Security

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Rotate Azure Batch account shared keys securely | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/account-key-rotation | | Authenticate Azure Batch apps with Entra ID | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-aad-auth | | Secure Azure Batch Management with Entra ID | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-aad-auth-management | | Encrypt Azure Batch data with customer-managed keys | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-customer-managed-key | | Configure Azure RBAC roles for Azure Batch accounts | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-role-based-access-control | | Enable disk encryption for Azure Batch pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/disk-encryption | | Manage Azure Batch private endpoint connections securely | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/manage-private-endpoint-connections | | Configure user-assigned managed identities on Azure Batch pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/managed-identity-pools | | Configure Azure Batch with network security perimeters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/network-security-perimeter | | Use built-in Azure Policy definitions for Azure Batch governance | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/policy-reference | | Configure Azure Batch private endpoints with Private Link | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/private-connectivity | | Configure public network access for Azure Batch accounts | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/public-network-access | | Apply Azure Policy compliance controls to Batch | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/security-controls-policy |

Configuration

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Enable automatic certificate rotation in Azure Batch pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/automatic-certificate-rotation | | Reference for Azure Batch analytics events and alerts | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-analytics | | Configure autoscale formulas for Azure Batch pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-automatic-scaling | | Use Azure Batch task runtime environment variables | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-compute-node-environment-variables | | Configure task-level container isolation in Azure Batch | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-container-isolation-task | | Configure and use NVMe temporary disks on Azure Batch nodes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-nvme-temporary | | Understand Azure Batch pool autoscale diagnostic event | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-autoscale-event | | Understand Azure Batch pool create diagnostic event schema | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-create-event | | Understand Azure Batch pool delete complete diagnostic event | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-delete-complete-event | | Understand Azure Batch pool delete start diagnostic event | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-delete-start-event | | Understand Azure Batch pool resize complete diagnostic event | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-resize-complete-event | | Understand Azure Batch pool resize start diagnostic event | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-resize-start-event | | Update configuration properties of Azure Batch pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-update-properties | | Understand Azure Batch task complete diagnostic event | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-task-complete-event | | Understand Azure Batch task fail diagnostic event | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-task-fail-event | | Understand Azure Batch task schedule fail diagnostic event | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-task-schedule-fail-event | | Understand Azure Batch task start diagnostic event | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-task-start-event | | Configure Auto OS Upgrade for Azure Batch pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-upgrade-policy | | Configure Azure Batch task user accounts securely | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-user-accounts | | Configure Azure Batch pools in virtual networks | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-virtual-network | | Configure Azure Batch pools across availability zones | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/create-pool-availability-zones | | Configure and monitor extensions on Azure Batch pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/create-pool-extensions | | Create Azure Batch pools with static public IP addresses | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/create-pool-public-ip | | Configure Azure Batch pool tag to disable hyper-threading | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/how-to-disable-hyper-threading-using-pool-tag | | Reference monitoring metrics and logs for Azure Batch | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/monitor-batch-reference | | Configure external node endpoints for Azure Batch pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/pool-endpoint-configuration | | Configure and use Azure Batch task resource files | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/resource-files | | Configure simplified compute node communication in Azure Batch | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/simplified-compute-node-communication | | Create Azure Batch pools without public IP addresses | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/simplified-node-communication-pool-no-public-ip |

Integrations & Coding Patterns

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Manage Azure Batch with Azure CLI commands | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-cli-get-started | | Run containerized workloads on Azure Batch pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-docker-container-workloads | | Use Azure Batch task and node count APIs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-get-resource-counts | | Build Azure Batch clients with JavaScript SDK | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-js-get-started | | Use Azure Batch Python and .NET clients for Linux pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-linux-nodes | | Run MPI workloads with Azure Batch multi-instance tasks | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-mpi | | Use .NET File Conventions to store Batch output | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-task-output-file-conventions | | Persist Azure Batch task output via service API | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-task-output-files | | Access Azure Key Vault from Batch pools using managed identity | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/credential-access-key-vault | | Instrument Azure Batch apps with Application Insights | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/monitor-application-insights | | Mount Azure Files shares on Azure Batch pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/pool-file-shares | | Mount external file systems on Azure Batch pools | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/virtual-file-mount |

Deployment

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Move Azure Batch accounts between regions with ARM | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/account-move | | Implement CI/CD for Azure Batch HPC with Azure Pipelines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-ci-cd |