azure-cyclecloud

name	azure-cyclecloud
description	Expert knowledge for Azure CycleCloud development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when building Azure CycleCloud Slurm/PBS clusters, BlobFuse2 storage, Event Grid alerts, HB/HC tuning, or Spot VMs, and other Azure CycleCloud related development tasks. Not for Azure Batch (use azure-batch), Azure HDInsight (use azure-hdinsight), Azure Databricks (use azure-databricks), Azure Virtual Machines (use azure-virtual-machines).
compatibility	Requires network access. Uses mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch or fetch_webpage to retrieve documentation.
metadata	{"generated_at":"2026-08-09","generator":"docs2skills/1.0.0"}

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

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

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

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