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Understanding Azure Subscription Information for Microsoft HPC Pack

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Applies To: Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 R2, Microsoft HPC Pack 2012, Microsoft HPC Pack 2012 R2

To create or edit an Azure node template, you must have an Azure subscription. Minimally, an Azure cloud service and an Azure storage account must be configured in the subscription, and a management certificate must be configured in the Azure subscription and in the on-premises computers, before you can use them in an Azure node template. Depending on your scenario, you may need to configure additional features or services in your Azure subscription and configure additional information in the Azure node template.

Note

The following table summarizes the minimum information from an Azure subscription that is needed in an Azure node template.

Item

Description

Subscription ID

Unique 32-character identifier (containing dashes) for the Azure subscription

Management certificate

Thumbprint of a management certificate that provides the required authentication for HPC clients to connect to the Azure subscription. This is a 40-character hexadecimal string (without spaces). The certificate must be configured in the Azure subscription and on the head node or head nodes of the HPC cluster. For certain scenarios you may need to configure the certificate on a client computer that is used to manage the HPC cluster and needs a connection to Azure.

In the Create Node Template Wizard or in Node Template Editor, you can type, paste, or browse to a thumbprint of a certificate with a private key that is in the appropriate certificates stores on the head node or head nodes.

For more information about the requirements for the management certificate, see Requirements to Add Azure Nodes with Microsoft HPC Pack.

For detailed procedures to configure and troubleshoot the management certificate, see Options to Configure the Azure Management Certificate for Azure Burst Deployments.

Cloud service

The public, globally unique name of an Azure cloud service that is configured in the subscription and that is used to add Azure nodes to the HPC cluster.

The name is the value of <Prefix> that is configured in the public URL of the service (https://<Prefix>.cloudapp.net). For example, if the public URL of the service is https://contoso_service.cloudapp.net, then the service name is contoso_service.

After you specify a Subscription ID and a management certificate in the Create Node Template Wizard or in Node Template Editor, the available Azure cloud services from which you can choose are automatically displayed in a dropdown list.

Storage account

The public, globally unique name (case sensitive) of a storage account that is configured in the subscription and that manages storage operations for Azure nodes in the HPC cluster.

The storage account name is the value of <Prefix> that is configured in the public URLs of the storage accounts (https://<Prefix>.*.core.windows.net). For example, if the blob URL is https://contoso_storage.blob.core.windows.net, then the storage account name is contoso_storage.

After you specify a Subscription ID and a management certificate in the Create Node Template Wizard or in Node Template Editor, the available Azure storage accounts from which you can choose are automatically displayed in a dropdown list.

Additional considerations

  • The network firewall must allow communication between the HPC cluster and Azure. To verify that the firewall is configured properly or to troubleshoot connectivity problems, you can run the Azure Firewall Ports diagnostic test and the Azure Services Connection diagnostic test. Both tests are available in HPC Pack starting with HPC Pack 2008 R2 with Service Pack 2.

  • A given cloud service can be configured in at most one Azure node template.

  • You can use an Azure storage account in more than one Azure node template. For optimal performance, select the same region for the storage account that is used for the cloud service. As a best practice, the storage account that is used for an Azure node deployment should not be used for purposes other than node provisioning. If you plan to use Azure storage to move job and task data to and from the head node or to and from the Azure nodes, configure a separate storage account for that purpose.

Additional information

See Also

Configuring an Azure Node Template for Microsoft HPC Pack Deploying Azure Nodes with Microsoft HPC Pack [RETIRED] Add Azure Nodes to a Windows HPC Cluster