Microsoftdocs Agent Skills

Included skill

Azure Batch

Expert knowledge for Azure Batch development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when configuring Batch pools/tasks, autoscale, Spot VM choices, containers/MPI jobs, or large render workloads, and other Azure Batch related development tasks. Not for Azure Container Instances (use azure-container-instances), Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) (use azure-kubernetes-service), Azure Virtual Machines (use azure-virtual-machines), Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets (use azure-vm-scalesets).

Source: /skills/azure-batch/SKILL.md

Azure Batch Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Batch. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, 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 L37-L43 Diagnosing and fixing Azure Batch job, task, pool, and node errors, including failure patterns, error codes, and best practices for handling and recovering from failures.
Best Practices L44-L54 Guidance on tuning Batch performance, scaling large jobs, running concurrent/rendering tasks, securing pools, and using list queries plus job prep/release tasks efficiently.
Decision Making L55-L67 Guidance on choosing Batch VM sizes, images, Spot/ephemeral disks, capacity and quotas, cost planning, and migration decisions for pools, images, and communication models.
Architecture & Design Patterns L68-L73 Architectural guidance for burst rendering with Azure Batch, including choosing batch/topology patterns and designing storage, caching, and data movement for large render workloads.
Limits & Quotas L74-L79 Managing Batch account quotas via .NET and understanding core Azure Batch limits (pools, cores, jobs, tasks) and how to monitor, plan for, and request quota increases.
Security L80-L96 Securing Azure Batch: identity/auth (Entra ID, managed identities, RBAC), keys and encryption, private endpoints/network perimeters, public access, and governance via Azure Policy.
Configuration L97-L129 Configuring Batch pools and tasks: autoscale, OS/cert rotation, networking/endpoints, disks, containers, metrics/logs, diagnostics events, and secure user/task settings.
Integrations & Coding Patterns L130-L145 Client SDK usage, task/node APIs, containers, MPI, output persistence, monitoring, Key Vault access, and mounting storage for integrating Batch into apps and workflows.
Deployment L146-L150 Guides for moving Azure Batch accounts across regions with ARM templates and setting up CI/CD pipelines for Batch HPC workloads using Azure Pipelines.

Troubleshooting

Topic URL
Diagnose and handle Azure Batch job and task errors https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-job-task-error-checking
Troubleshoot Azure Batch pool and node errors https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-node-error-checking
Diagnose and handle Azure Batch task errors https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/error-handling

Best Practices

Topic URL
Design efficient Azure Batch list queries https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-efficient-list-queries
Use job preparation and release tasks in Azure Batch https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-job-prep-release
Run concurrent tasks on Azure Batch nodes https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-parallel-node-tasks
Use Azure Batch capabilities for rendering workloads https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-rendering-functionality
Apply performance best practices for Azure Batch https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/best-practices
Optimize Azure Batch jobs with large task counts https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/large-number-tasks
Apply security best practices to Azure Batch https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/security-best-practices

Decision Making

Topic URL
Plan Azure Batch capacity and quota strategy https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-capacity-planning
Migrate Batch custom image pools to Compute Gallery https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-custom-image-pools-to-azure-compute-gallery-migration-guide
Choose and migrate custom images for Azure Batch pools https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-custom-images
Choose compute-intensive VM sizes for Azure Batch workloads https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-compute-intensive-sizes
Choose Azure Batch VM sizes and images https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-vm-sizes
Plan and migrate Azure Batch pools to new node communication model https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pools-to-simplified-compute-node-communication-model-migration-guide
Decide when to run Azure Batch workloads on Spot VMs https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-spot-vms
Decide when to use ephemeral OS disks in Azure Batch https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/create-pool-ephemeral-os-disk
Plan and manage Azure Batch workload costs https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/plan-to-manage-costs

Architecture & Design Patterns

Topic URL
Choose Azure architectures for cloud rendering burst https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-rendering-architectures
Design storage and data movement for Azure Batch rendering https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-rendering-storage-data-movement

Limits & Quotas

Topic URL
Manage Azure Batch accounts and quotas with .NET https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-management-dotnet
Review Azure Batch service quotas and limits https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-quota-limit

Security

Topic URL
Rotate Azure Batch account shared keys securely https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/account-key-rotation
Authenticate Azure Batch apps with Entra ID https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-aad-auth
Secure Azure Batch Management with Entra ID https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-aad-auth-management
Encrypt Azure Batch data with customer-managed keys https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-customer-managed-key
Configure Azure RBAC roles for Azure Batch accounts https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-role-based-access-control
Enable disk encryption for Azure Batch pools https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/disk-encryption
Manage Azure Batch private endpoint connections securely https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/manage-private-endpoint-connections
Configure user-assigned managed identities on Azure Batch pools https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/managed-identity-pools
Configure Azure Batch with network security perimeters https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/network-security-perimeter
Use built-in Azure Policy definitions for Azure Batch governance https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/policy-reference
Configure Azure Batch private endpoints with Private Link https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/private-connectivity
Configure public network access for Azure Batch accounts https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/public-network-access
Apply Azure Policy compliance controls to Batch https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/security-controls-policy

Configuration

Topic URL
Enable automatic certificate rotation in Azure Batch pools https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/automatic-certificate-rotation
Reference for Azure Batch analytics events and alerts https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-analytics
Configure autoscale formulas for Azure Batch pools https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-automatic-scaling
Use Azure Batch task runtime environment variables https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-compute-node-environment-variables
Configure task-level container isolation in Azure Batch https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-container-isolation-task
Configure and use NVMe temporary disks on Azure Batch nodes https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-nvme-temporary
Understand Azure Batch pool autoscale diagnostic event https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-autoscale-event
Understand Azure Batch pool create diagnostic event schema https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-create-event
Understand Azure Batch pool delete complete diagnostic event https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-delete-complete-event
Understand Azure Batch pool delete start diagnostic event https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-delete-start-event
Understand Azure Batch pool resize complete diagnostic event https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-resize-complete-event
Understand Azure Batch pool resize start diagnostic event https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-resize-start-event
Update configuration properties of Azure Batch pools https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-pool-update-properties
Understand Azure Batch task complete diagnostic event https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-task-complete-event
Understand Azure Batch task fail diagnostic event https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-task-fail-event
Understand Azure Batch task schedule fail diagnostic event https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-task-schedule-fail-event
Understand Azure Batch task start diagnostic event https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-task-start-event
Configure Auto OS Upgrade for Azure Batch pools https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-upgrade-policy
Configure Azure Batch task user accounts securely https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-user-accounts
Configure Azure Batch pools in virtual networks https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-virtual-network
Configure Azure Batch pools across availability zones https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/create-pool-availability-zones
Configure and monitor extensions on Azure Batch pools https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/create-pool-extensions
Create Azure Batch pools with static public IP addresses https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/create-pool-public-ip
Configure Azure Batch pool tag to disable hyper-threading https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/how-to-disable-hyper-threading-using-pool-tag
Reference monitoring metrics and logs for Azure Batch https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/monitor-batch-reference
Configure external node endpoints for Azure Batch pools https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/pool-endpoint-configuration
Configure and use Azure Batch task resource files https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/resource-files
Configure simplified compute node communication in Azure Batch https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/simplified-compute-node-communication
Create Azure Batch pools without public IP addresses https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/simplified-node-communication-pool-no-public-ip

Integrations & Coding Patterns

Topic URL
Manage Azure Batch with Azure CLI commands https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-cli-get-started
Run containerized workloads on Azure Batch pools https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-docker-container-workloads
Use Azure Batch task and node count APIs https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-get-resource-counts
Build Azure Batch clients with JavaScript SDK https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-js-get-started
Use Azure Batch Python and .NET clients for Linux pools https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-linux-nodes
Run MPI workloads with Azure Batch multi-instance tasks https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-mpi
Use .NET File Conventions to store Batch output https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-task-output-file-conventions
Persist Azure Batch task output via service API https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-task-output-files
Access Azure Key Vault from Batch pools using managed identity https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/credential-access-key-vault
Instrument Azure Batch apps with Application Insights https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/monitor-application-insights
Mount Azure Files shares on Azure Batch pools https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/pool-file-shares
Mount external file systems on Azure Batch pools https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/virtual-file-mount

Deployment

Topic URL
Move Azure Batch accounts between regions with ARM https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/account-move
Implement CI/CD for Azure Batch HPC with Azure Pipelines https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-ci-cd