/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](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/mcp/blob/main/README.md)

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=cycle