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Use the Shared Image Gallery to create a custom pool
Custom images are an efficient way to configure compute nodes to run your Batch workloads.
conceptual
05/22/2020
tracking-python

Use the Shared Image Gallery to create a custom pool

When you create an Azure Batch pool using the Virtual Machine Configuration, you specify a VM image that provides the operating system for each compute node in the pool. You can create a pool of virtual machines either with a supported Azure Marketplace image or create a custom image with the Shared Image Gallery.

Benefits of the Shared Image Gallery

When you use the Shared Image Gallery for your custom image, you have control over the operating system type and configuration, as well as the type of data disks. Your Shared Image can include applications and reference data that become available on all the Batch pool nodes as soon as they are provisioned.

You can also have multiple versions of an image as needed for your environment. When you use an image version to create a VM, the image version is used to create new disks for the VM.

Using a Shared Image saves time in preparing your pool's compute nodes to run your Batch workload. It's possible to use an Azure Marketplace image and install software on each compute node after provisioning, but using a Shared Image is typically more efficient. Additionally, you can specify multiple replicas for the Shared Image so when you create pools with many VMs (more than 600 VMs), you'll save time on pool creation.

Using a Shared Image configured for your scenario can provide several advantages:

  • Use the same images across the regions. You can create Shared Image replicas across different regions so all your pools utilize the same image.
  • Configure the operating system (OS). You can customize the configuration of the image's operating system disk.
  • Pre-install applications. Pre-installing applications on the OS disk is more efficient and less error-prone than installing applications after provisioning the compute nodes with a start task.
  • Copy large amounts of data once. Make static data part of the managed Shared Image by copying it to a managed image's data disks. This only needs to be done once and makes data available to each node of the pool.
  • Grow pools to larger sizes. With the Shared Image Gallery, you can create larger pools with your customized images along with more Shared Image replicas.
  • Better performance than custom image. Using Shared Images, the time it takes for the pool to reach the steady state is up to 25% faster, and the VM idle latency is up to 30% shorter.
  • Image versioning and grouping for easier management. The image grouping definition contains information about why the image was created, what OS it is for, and information about using the image. Grouping images allows for easier image management. For more information, see Image definitions.

Prerequisites

Note

You need to authenticate using Azure AD. If you use shared-key-auth, you will get an authentication error.

  • An Azure Batch account. To create a Batch account, see the Batch quickstarts using the Azure portal or Azure CLI.

  • A Shared Image Gallery image. To create a Shared Image, you need to have or create a managed image resource. The image should be created from snapshots of the VM's OS disk and optionally its attached data disks.

Note

Your Shared Image must be in the same subscription as the Batch account. The image can be in different regions as long as it has replicas in the same region as your Batch account.

If you use an Azure AD application to create a custom image pool with a Shared Image Gallery image, that application must have been granted an Azure built-in role that gives it access to the the Shared Image. You can grant this access in the Azure portal by navigating to the Shared Image, selecting Access control (IAM) and adding a role assignment for the application.

Prepare a custom image

In Azure, you can prepare a custom image from:

  • Snapshots of an Azure VM's OS and data disks
  • A generalized Azure VM with managed disks
  • A generalized on-premises VHD uploaded to the cloud

Note

Currently, Batch only supports generalized Shared Images. You can't create a custom image pool from a specialized Shared Image at this time.

The following steps show how to prepare a VM, take a snapshot, and create an image from the snapshot.

Prepare a VM

If you are creating a new VM for the image, use a first party Azure Marketplace image supported by Batch as the base image for your managed image. Only first party images can be used as a base image. To get a full list of Azure Marketplace image references supported by Azure Batch, see the List node agent SKUs operation.

Note

You can't use a third-party image that has additional license and purchase terms as your base image. For information about these Marketplace images, see the guidance for Linux or Windows VMs.

  • Ensure the VM is created with a managed disk. This is the default storage setting when you create a VM.
  • Do not install Azure extensions, such as the Custom Script extension, on the VM. If the image contains a pre-installed extension, Azure may encounter problems when deploying the Batch pool.
  • When using attached data disks, you need to mount and format the disks from within a VM to use them.
  • Ensure that the base OS image you provide uses the default temp drive. The Batch node agent currently expects the default temp drive.
  • Once the VM is running, connect to it via RDP (for Windows) or SSH (for Linux). Install any necessary software or copy desired data.

Create a VM snapshot

A snapshot is a full, read-only copy of a VHD. To create a snapshot of a VM's OS or data disks, you can use the Azure portal or command-line tools. For steps and options to create a snapshot, see the guidance for Linux or Windows VMs.

Create an image from one or more snapshots

To create a managed image from a snapshot, use Azure command-line tools such as the az image create command. Create an image by specifying an OS disk snapshot and optionally one or more data disk snapshots.

Create a Shared Image Gallery

Once you have successfully created your managed image, you need to create a Shared Image Gallery to make your custom image available. To learn how to create a Shared Image Gallery for your images, see Create a Shared Image Gallery with Azure CLI or Create a Shared Image Gallery using the Azure portal.

Create a pool from a Shared Image using the Azure CLI

To create a pool from your Shared Image using the Azure CLI, use the az batch pool create command. Specify the Shared Image ID in the --image field. Make sure the OS type and SKU matches the versions specified by --node-agent-sku-id

Note

You need to authenticate using Azure AD. If you use shared-key-auth, you will get an authentication error.

az batch pool create \
    --id mypool --vm-size Standard_A1_v2 \
    --target-dedicated-nodes 2 \
    --image "/subscriptions/{sub id}/resourceGroups/{resource group name}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/galleries/{gallery name}/images/{image definition name}/versions/{version id}" \
    --node-agent-sku-id "batch.node.ubuntu 16.04"

Create a pool from a Shared Image using C#

Alternatively, you can create a pool from a Shared Image using the C# SDK.

private static VirtualMachineConfiguration CreateVirtualMachineConfiguration(ImageReference imageReference)
{
    return new VirtualMachineConfiguration(
        imageReference: imageReference,
        nodeAgentSkuId: "batch.node.windows amd64");
}

private static ImageReference CreateImageReference()
{
    return new ImageReference(
        virtualMachineImageId: "/subscriptions/{sub id}/resourceGroups/{resource group name}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/galleries/{gallery name}/images/{image definition name}/versions/{version id}");
}

private static void CreateBatchPool(BatchClient batchClient, VirtualMachineConfiguration vmConfiguration)
{
    try
    {
        CloudPool pool = batchClient.PoolOperations.CreatePool(
            poolId: PoolId,
            targetDedicatedComputeNodes: PoolNodeCount,
            virtualMachineSize: PoolVMSize,
            virtualMachineConfiguration: vmConfiguration);

        pool.Commit();
    }
    ...
}

Create a pool from a Shared Image using Python

You also can create a pool from a Shared Image by using the Python SDK:

# Import the required modules from the
# Azure Batch Client Library for Python
import azure.batch as batch
import azure.batch.models as batchmodels
from azure.common.credentials import ServicePrincipalCredentials

# Specify Batch account and service principal account credentials
account = "{batch-account-name}"
batch_url = "{batch-account-url}"
ad_client_id = "{sp-client-id}"
ad_tenant = "{tenant-id}"
ad_secret = "{sp-secret}"

# Pool settings
pool_id = "LinuxNodesSamplePoolPython"
vm_size = "STANDARD_D2_V3"
node_count = 1

# Initialize the Batch client with Azure AD authentication
creds = ServicePrincipalCredentials(
    client_id=ad_client_id,
    secret=ad_secret,
    tenant=ad_tenant,
    resource="https://batch.core.windows.net/"
)
client = batch.BatchServiceClient(creds, batch_url)

# Configure the start task for the pool
start_task = batchmodels.StartTask(
    command_line="printenv AZ_BATCH_NODE_STARTUP_DIR"
)
start_task.run_elevated = True

# Create an ImageReference which specifies the image from
# Shared Image Gallery to install on the nodes.
ir = batchmodels.ImageReference(
    virtual_machine_image_id="/subscriptions/{sub id}/resourceGroups/{resource group name}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/galleries/{gallery name}/images/{image definition name}/versions/{version id}"
)

# Create the VirtualMachineConfiguration, specifying
# the VM image reference and the Batch node agent to
# be installed on the node.
vmc = batchmodels.VirtualMachineConfiguration(
    image_reference=ir,
    node_agent_sku_id="batch.node.ubuntu 18.04"
)

# Create the unbound pool
new_pool = batchmodels.PoolAddParameter(
    id=pool_id,
    vm_size=vm_size,
    target_dedicated_nodes=node_count,
    virtual_machine_configuration=vmc,
    start_task=start_task
)

# Create pool in the Batch service
client.pool.add(new_pool)

Create a pool from a Shared Image using the Azure portal

Use the following steps to create a pool from a Shared Image in the Azure portal.

  1. Open the Azure portal.
  2. Go to Batch accounts and select your account.
  3. Select Pools and then Add to create a new pool.
  4. In the Image Type section, select Shared Image Gallery.
  5. Complete the remaining sections with information about your managed image.
  6. Select OK.

Create a pool with from a Shared image with the portal.

Considerations for large pools

If you plan to create a pool with hundreds or thousands of VMs or more using a Shared Image, use the following guidance.

  • Shared Image Gallery replica numbers. For every pool with up to 600 instances, we recommend you keep at least one replica. For example, if you are creating a pool with 3000 VMs, you should keep at least 5 replicas of your image. We always suggest keeping more replicas than minimum requirements for better performance.

  • Resize timeout. If your pool contains a fixed number of nodes (if it doesn't autoscale), increase the resizeTimeout property of the pool depending on the pool size. For every 1000 VMs, the recommended resize timeout is at least 15 minutes. For example, the recommended resize timeout for a pool with 2000 VMs is at least 30 minutes.

Next steps