Azure Artist Anywhere (AAA) Deployment Framework

Azure Artist Anywhere (AAA) is a modular & flexible Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solution deployment framework for
Azure High-Performance Computing (HPC) workloads. Enable remote user productivity with global Azure scale via AI-
enabled Compute Fleet deployments with up to 10,000 Spot VMs / Standard VMs and up to 15 VM sizes per request.

The following solution design principles and features are implemented throughout the AAA deployment framework.

• Defense-in-depth layered security with integration of core services including Managed Identity, Key Vault,
  Private Link / Endpoints, Network Security Groups, NAT Gateway, Firewall, Bastion, Defender for Cloud, etc
• Any 3^rd-party or custom software (e.g., job scheduler) is supported in a custom image Compute Gallery
• Multi-Region and Extended Zone deployments are supported via a Virtual Network per region / zone
• Clean separation of Terraform configuration files (config.auto.tfvars) and implementation files (*.tf)

Module Name	Module Description	Required for Burst Compute?	Required for Full Solution? (Compute & Storage)
0 Global Foundation	Defines global config (Azure Region) and core services (Terraform Storage, Managed Identity, Key Vault, etc)	Yes	Yes
1 Virtual Network	Deploys Virtual Network with VPN or ExpressRoute gateway services	Yes, if Virtual Network is not yet deployed	Yes, if Virtual Network is not yet deployed
2 Image Builder	Deploys Image Builder and Compute Gallery with image customize scripts	No, use your custom image config here	No, use your custom image config here
3 File Storage	Deploys Blob NFS, Files, NetApp Files, Hammerspace or Lustre storage	No, use your current NAS via 4 File Cache	Yes
4 File Cache	Deploys Hammerspace, HPC Cache or Avere vFXT for scalable caching	Yes	No
5 Job Scheduler	Deploys scheduler Virtual Machines or CycleCloud Workspace for Slurm	No	No
6 Compute Farm	Deploys Compute Fleet or VM Scale Sets for scalable compute farms	Yes	Yes
7 Artist Workstation	Deploys Virtual Machines for remote user workstations with HP Anyware	No	No

Local Installation Process

The following local installation process is required for deployment orchestration.

1. Make sure the Azure CLI is installed locally and accessible in your PATH environment variable.
2. Install Application Insights extension via az extension add --name application-insights.
3. Make sure the Terraform CLI is installed locally and accessible in your PATH environment variable.
4. Clone this GitHub repository to your local workstation for module configuration and deployment.

Module Configuration & Deployment

The following table highlights key AAA module configuration settings and required Terraform deployment commands (terraform init and terraform apply). In each module, review and edit the config.auto.tfvars file for your target Azure deployment as needed.

Module Name	Module Configuration
0 Global Foundation	1. Ensure the current user has the required Key Vault Administrator role assignment 2. Review and edit the following config files. For example, your Azure subscription id must be set in the /config/global.tf file.     * /config/backend - defines Terraform backend state Azure Blob storage account     * /config/global.tf - defines global settings (subscription id, default region, etc)     * /config/file.system.tf - defines the file system for compute farm node mounts 3. Run terraform init in your local directory command shell (append -upgrade as needed if older Terraform providers are detected in your local directory). 4. Run terraform apply in your local directory command shell to generate the Terraform deployment Plan (append -destroy to generate an Azure resource delete plan). 5. Review the displayed Terraform deployment Plan before confirming deployment.
1 Virtual Network	1. Run terraform init -backend-config ../0.Global.Foundation/config/backend in your local directory command shell (append -upgrade as needed). 2. Run terraform apply in your local directory command shell to generate the Terraform deployment Plan (append -destroy to generate an Azure resource delete plan). 3. Review the displayed Terraform deployment Plan before confirming deployment.
2 Image Builder	1. Ensure you have sufficient Standard compute cores quota approved on your Azure subscription for each configured VM type / size in your target region. 2. For Linux images, the following Azure Marketplace Rocky Linux image terms must be accepted on each of your Azure subscriptions as a 1-time setup prerequisite.   az vm image terms accept --publisher RESF --offer RockyLinux-x86_64 --plan 9-Base 3. Run terraform init -backend-config ../0.Global.Foundation/config/backend in your local directory command shell (append -upgrade as needed). 4. Run terraform apply in your local directory command shell to generate the Terraform deployment Plan (append -destroy to generate an Azure resource delete plan). 5. Review the displayed Terraform deployment Plan before confirming deployment. 6. Use the Azure portal or Image Builder CLI to start Image Template build runs.
3 File Storage	1. Run terraform init -backend-config ../0.Global.Foundation/config/backend in your local directory command shell (append -upgrade as needed). 2. Run terraform apply in your local directory command shell to generate the Terraform deployment Plan (append -destroy to generate an Azure resource delete plan). 3. Review the displayed Terraform deployment Plan before confirming deployment.
4 File Cache	1. Run terraform init -backend-config ../0.Global.Foundation/config/backend in your local directory command shell (append -upgrade as needed). 2. Run terraform apply in your local directory command shell to generate the Terraform deployment Plan (append -destroy to generate an Azure resource delete plan). 3. Review the displayed Terraform deployment Plan before confirming deployment.
5 Job Scheduler	1. Ensure you have sufficient Standard compute cores quota approved on your Azure subscription for each configured VM type / size in your target region. 2. Ensure each image reference in config.auto.tfvars points to your Compute Gallery. 3. Run terraform init -backend-config ../0.Global.Foundation/config/backend in your local directory command shell (append -upgrade as needed). 4. Run terraform apply in your local directory command shell to generate the Terraform deployment Plan (append -destroy to generate an Azure resource delete plan). 5. Review the displayed Terraform deployment Plan before confirming deployment.
6 Compute Farm	1. Ensure you have sufficient Standard and/or Spot compute cores quota approved on your Azure subscription for each configured VM type / size in your target region. 2. Ensure each image reference in config.auto.tfvars points to your Compute Gallery. 3. Run terraform init -backend-config ../0.Global.Foundation/config/backend in your local directory command shell (append -upgrade as needed). 4. Run terraform apply in your local directory command shell to generate the Terraform deployment Plan (append -destroy to generate an Azure resource delete plan). 5. Review the displayed Terraform deployment Plan before confirming deployment.
7 Artist Workstation	1. Ensure you have sufficient Standard compute cores quota approved on your Azure subscription for each configured VM type / size in your target region. 2. Ensure each image reference in config.auto.tfvars points to your Compute Gallery. 3. Run terraform init -backend-config ../0.Global.Foundation/config/backend in your local directory command shell (append -upgrade as needed). 4. Run terraform apply in your local directory command shell to generate the Terraform deployment Plan (append -destroy to generate an Azure resource delete plan). 5. Review the displayed Terraform deployment Plan before confirming deployment.

Render Job Samples

The following sample images were rendered on Azure via multiple render farm, engine and job submission options.

Disney Moana Island

The following Disney Moana Island scene was rendered on Azure via the Physically-Based Ray Tracer (PBRT) renderer.

To render the Disney Moana Island scene on an Azure Linux render farm, the following job submission command can be submitted from a Linux or Windows user workstation.

deadlinecommand -SubmitCommandLineJob -name moana-island -executable pbrt -arguments "--outfile /mnt/storage/moana-island.png /mnt/cache/moana/island/pbrt-v4/island.pbrt"

To render the Disney Moana Island scene on an Azure Windows render farm, the following job submission command can be submitted from a Linux or Windows user workstation.

deadlinecommand -SubmitCommandLineJob -name moana-island -executable pbrt.exe -arguments "--outfile X:\moana-island.png Y:\moana\island\pbrt-v4\island.pbrt"

Blender Splash Screen

The following Blender 3.4 Splash screen was rendered on Azure via the Blender renderer.

To render the Blender Splash screen on an Azure Linux render farm, the following job submission command can be submitted from a Linux or Windows user workstation.

deadlinecommand -SubmitCommandLineJob -name blender-splash -executable blender -arguments "--background /mnt/cache/blender/3.4/splash.blend --render-output /mnt/storage/blender/3.4/splash --enable-autoexec --render-frame 1"

To render the Blender Splash screen on an Azure Windows render farm, the following job submission command can be submitted from a Linux or Windows user workstation.

deadlinecommand -SubmitCommandLineJob -name blender-splash -executable blender.exe -arguments "--background Y:\blender\3.4\splash.blend --render-output X:\blender\3.4\splash --enable-autoexec --render-frame 1"

Contributing

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Trademarks

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