Azure CycleCloud Skill

This 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.

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 | L36-L43 | Diagnosing and fixing CycleCloud errors, unhealthy VMs, and cluster/node startup issues, plus finding and using diagnostic logs for deeper troubleshooting. | | Best Practices | L44-L48 | Tuning CycleCloud clusters on HB/HC series: VM sizing, network and storage optimization, MPI/HPC performance tweaks, and cost/performance best practices. | | Decision Making | L49-L58 | Guidance on sizing and planning CycleCloud HPC/Slurm deployments, migration from v7, Spot VM usage, licensing terms, and support/servicing policies. | | Architecture & Design Patterns | L59-L64 | Designing resilient multi‑region CycleCloud HPC clusters and choosing VM placement strategies (single-zone, multi-zone, regional) for performance, availability, and cost optimization. | | Security | L65-L79 | Securing CycleCloud: auth (Entra, service principals, managed identities), SSL, SSH/Bastion access, SELinux, telemetry/data usage, and portal/cluster user authentication setup. | | Configuration | L80-L128 | Designing and configuring CycleCloud clusters: templates, nodes, networking, storage, autoscaling, images, events, monitoring, proxies, security, and deployment/CLI setup. | | Integrations & Coding Patterns | L129-L149 | Integrating CycleCloud with schedulers, APIs, storage, monitoring, and automation tools (Slurm, PBS, HTCondor, REST/CLI/Python, BlobFuse2, Event Grid, Prometheus/Grafana, Chef). | | Deployment | L150-L159 | Deploying and operating CycleCloud: installing via ARM/CLI/ACI, planning production setups, importing templates, moving cluster resources, and safely upgrading or migrating installations. |

Troubleshooting

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Resolve common Azure CycleCloud error messages | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/error-messages?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Use CycleCloud HealthCheck services to manage unhealthy VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/healthcheck?view=cyclecloud-8 | | 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 | | Locate Azure CycleCloud diagnostic log files | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/log-locations?view=cyclecloud-8 |

Best Practices

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Optimize CycleCloud clusters on HB/HC series VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/hb-hc-best-practices?view=cyclecloud-8 |

Decision Making

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Plan and size Azure CycleCloud HPC clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/concepts/plan-and-size-hpc-clusters?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Plan CycleCloud Workspace for Slurm deployment | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/ccws/plan-your-deployment?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Plan migration for Azure CycleCloud 7 retirement | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/cyclecloud7-retirement-guide?view=cyclecloud-8 | | 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 | | Apply Azure CycleCloud licensing and usage terms | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/licensing?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Understand Azure CycleCloud servicing and support policy | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/service-policy?view=cyclecloud-8 |

Architecture & Design Patterns

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | 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 | | Choose VM placement models for CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/availability-sets?view=cyclecloud-8 |

Security

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Apply security best practices for Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/concepts/security-best-practices?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Review CycleCloud telemetry and data usage policy | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/data-policy?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Securely SSH to CycleCloud login nodes via Bastion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/ccws/connect-to-login-node-with-bastion?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Secure CycleCloud portal access through Azure Bastion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/ccws/connect-to-portal-with-bastion?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Create Entra app registration for Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/create-app-registration?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Use managed identities to secure Azure CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/managed-identities?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Run Azure CycleCloud nodes with SELinux enforcing | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/selinux?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure Azure CycleCloud with Microsoft Entra service principals | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/service-principals?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure SSL certificates for secure Azure CycleCloud access | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/ssl-configuration?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure user authentication for Azure CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/user-access?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure user authentication methods for Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/user-authentication?view=cyclecloud-8 |

Configuration

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | 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 | | Configure the cluster section in Azure CycleCloud templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/cluster-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Understand Azure CycleCloud cluster template structure and hierarchy | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/cluster-template-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure Azure CycleCloud cluster configuration objects | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/configuration-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Define environment objects in CycleCloud cluster templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/environment-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 | | 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 | | Configure network-interface objects in Azure CycleCloud templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/network-interface-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure nodes and nodearrays in Azure CycleCloud templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/node-nodearray-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Use NodeRef objects in CycleCloud cluster templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/noderef-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure parameters in Azure CycleCloud cluster templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/parameter-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Apply special parameter parsing in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/special-parsing?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Define and configure volume objects in Azure CycleCloud templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cluster-references/volume-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure Azure CycleCloud service monitoring integrations | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/concepts/monitoring?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure CycleServer via cycle_server.properties | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cycleserver-configuration-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure CycleCloud node events and Event Grid | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/events?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure Azure managed disks in CycleCloud nodes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/add-disk?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure node arrays for Azure CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/add-node-array?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure backup and restore for Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/backup-and-restore?view=cyclecloud-8 | | 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 | | Use cloud-init to customize CycleCloud VMs on boot | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/cloud-init?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Define and customize Azure CycleCloud cluster templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/cluster-templates?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure Azure networking for CycleCloud deployments | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/configuration?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure autoscaling for Azure CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/configure-autoscaling?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Use custom and marketplace images in CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/create-custom-image?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Create and export NFS file shares in CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/create-fileserver?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure Azure CycleCloud environment resources via ARM | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/environments?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure Flex VM scale sets in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/flex-scalesets?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Install and configure the Azure CycleCloud CLI | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/install-cyclecloud-cli?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Manually install Jetpack on CycleCloud-managed VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/install-jetpack?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Manually install and configure Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/install-manual?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure keep-alive settings for Azure CycleCloud nodes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/keep-alive?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure alerts and logging for Azure CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/monitor-clusters?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure volume mountpoints in Azure CycleCloud templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/mount-disk?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure NFS mounts and shares in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/mount-fileserver?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure multiple Azure CycleCloud instances on one host | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/multiple-installs?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Customize network security settings for Azure CycleCloud nodes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/network-security?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Define and use projects and specs in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/projects?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure return proxy nodes for Azure CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/return-proxy?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure web proxy settings for Azure CycleCloud traffic | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/running-behind-proxy?view=cyclecloud-8 | | 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 | | Configure Azure Scheduled Events handling in CycleCloud nodes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/scheduled-events?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure project and user blob storage in Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/storage-blobs?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Use and understand Azure CycleCloud node tagging | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/tag-nodes?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Customize Azure CycleCloud UI theming with CSS | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/theming?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure CycleCloud nodes with Jetpack | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/jetpack?view=cyclecloud-8 |

Integrations & Coding Patterns

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Use Azure CycleCloud REST API endpoints | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/api?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Manage Azure CycleCloud with CLI commands | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cli?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Author Chef cookbooks for CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/cookbook-reference?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure Grid Engine clusters in CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/gridengine?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure Open OnDemand with CycleCloud Slurm clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/ccws/configure-open-ondemand?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Submit and manage Slurm jobs on Azure CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/ccws/submit-job-with-slurm?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Integrate Azure CycleCloud events with Event Grid | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/event-grid?view=cyclecloud-8 | | 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 | | Mount Azure Blob Storage on CycleCloud nodes with BlobFuse2 | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/mount-blob-storage?view=cyclecloud-8 | | 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 | | Configure Microsoft HPC Pack with CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/hpcpack?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Integrate HTCondor scheduler with CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/htcondor?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Connect IBM Spectrum LSF to CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/lsf?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Integrate OpenPBS scheduler with CycleCloud | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/openpbs?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Install and use CycleCloud Python API | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/python-api?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Configure CycleCloud Slurm integration v3.0+ | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/slurm-3?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Enable Slurm scheduler on CycleCloud clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/slurm?view=cyclecloud-8 |

Deployment

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Download and import CycleCloud cluster templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/download-cluster-templates?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Deploy CycleCloud Workspace for Slurm using CLI | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/ccws/deploy-with-cli?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Deploy Azure CycleCloud using ARM templates | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/install-arm?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Move Azure CycleCloud cluster resources between resource groups | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/move-resource-group?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Plan a production-grade Azure CycleCloud deployment | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/plan-prod-deployment?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Run Azure CycleCloud in Azure Container Instances | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/run-in-container?view=cyclecloud-8 | | Upgrade or migrate Azure CycleCloud installations safely | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cyclecloud/how-to/upgrade-and-migrate?view=cyclecloud-8 |