MSDN Community

Understanding Azure Batch

Azure Batch is a managed cloud service that enables you to efficiently run large-scale parallel and high-performance computing (HPC) applications without managing the underlying infrastructure. It allows you to schedule compute-intensive tasks on a pool of virtual machines and manage their execution.

With Azure Batch, you can:

• Provision and scale a pool of virtual machines.
• Schedule jobs and tasks to run on these VMs.
• Monitor job progress and retrieve results.
• Utilize various VM configurations, including specialized HPC images.

Key Concepts in Azure Batch

Getting Started with Azure Batch

Setting up your first Batch service is straightforward. Here’s a high-level overview:

1. Create a Batch Account: Provision a Batch account in the Azure portal.
2. Create a Pool: Define a pool of compute nodes (VMs) with your desired configuration. You can choose VM sizes, operating systems, and scaling settings.
3. Create a Job: Define a job to submit to your pool. Specify the tasks that will run as part of this job.
4. Submit Tasks: Add tasks to your job. Tasks can be command-line executions, script runs, or executable programs.
5. Monitor and Retrieve Results: Track the progress of your job and tasks through the Azure portal or Batch APIs. Download the output files once the tasks are complete.

Example: Submitting a Simple Task

Here's a conceptual example of submitting a task using the Azure CLI (simplified):

# Log in to Azure
az login

# Create a Batch account (if you don't have one)
az batch account create -n mybatchaccount -l westus --resource-group myresourcegroup

# Create a pool of 2 Standard_D2s_v3 VMs
az batch pool create \
    --id mypool \
    --vm-size Standard_D2s_v3 \
    --target-os-disk-size 128 \
    --target-dedicated-nodes 2 \
    --image UbuntuLTS \
    --admin-user-name azureuser \
    --admin-key-value "YOUR_SSH_PUBLIC_KEY" \
    --account-name mybatchaccount \
    --resource-group myresourcegroup

# Create a job
az batch job create \
    --id myjob \
    --pool-id mypool \
    --account-name mybatchaccount \
    --resource-group myresourcegroup

# Add a task to the job that runs a simple command
az batch task create \
    --job-id myjob \
    --id task1 \
    --command-line "echo 'Hello from Azure Batch!'" \
    --account-name mybatchaccount \
    --resource-group myresourcegroup

# Check task status (will be 'completed' after execution)
az batch task show --job-id myjob --task-id task1 --account-name mybatchaccount --resource-group myresourcegroup --query status
                

This example demonstrates creating a pool, a job, and a simple task that prints a message to the console.

Common Use Cases for Azure Batch

Best Practices for Azure Batch

• Use Low-Priority VMs: For cost-sensitive, interruptible workloads, leverage low-priority VMs to significantly reduce compute costs.
• Optimize Pool Configuration: Choose appropriate VM sizes, scale pools dynamically based on workload, and consider using pre-configured application packages.
• Efficient Task Management: Design tasks to be idempotent and handle retries gracefully. Group related tasks logically within jobs.
• Monitor and Logging: Implement robust monitoring for your jobs and tasks. Utilize Batch's diagnostic logging and integrate with Azure Monitor.
• Application Packaging: Use the Batch Application Packages feature to simplify deployment and version management of your executables and scripts.
• Consider Azure File Share: For shared data access among tasks or nodes, integrate with Azure Files or Azure NetApp Files.

Community Resources and Further Learning

Dive deeper into Azure Batch with these community-driven resources:

• Official Azure Batch Documentation
• Azure Batch Samples on GitHub
• Azure Batch Tech Community Forum
• Stack Overflow: azure-batch

Join the conversation, ask questions, and share your experiences with other Azure developers!