Pre-requisite Knowledge
Before we start with the understanding of what is Microsoft Azure Batch Service, we should have:
- Basic knowledge of cloud computing and its services
- Basic knowledge of Microsoft Azure
- Basic knowledge of Virtual Machine and Azure Storage
Introduction to Microsoft Azure Batch Service
Most of the enterprise and large applications run the lots of automated tasks in the background which can include anything like processing data, bringing new output, calculations, processing billing, testing software etc. In such applications the role and design are equally important for high-performance computing (HPC) and running processes in parallel to get a job DONE.
Azure batch gives you the power to use ‘Azure batch service’ which provides the facility to run large-scale parallel and high-performance computing (HPC) batch jobs efficiently in Azure without capital investment. This service is recommended to use the large-scale execution and run the parallel tasks like image analysis processing, data injection, processing data, software test case execution and much more.
How does it work?
In short, this service creates and manages the pool of virtual machines which are called compute nodes. We will install our application on this node and schedule the jobs to run on the nodes. We can Batch API and tools or command line scripts or azure portal interface to configure, manage and monitor the jobs.
Image Source – Microsoft Docs
You need a Batch account to use the Batch service. Most Batch solutions also use an associated Azure Storage account for file storage and retrieval.
- Upload the input files and applications to process the input file into Azure Storage account. These input files can be anything consisting of data to process it.
- Create of pool of nodes (virtual machines) to execute the processes. This also consists of configuration of machines like O.S., size of nodes etc.
Then, create a job and its associated tasks to perform the actions. Azure batch service automatically schedules the job in the pool of nodes to execute it.
- Before executing the tasks, service will download the files and applications from Azure storage to provide and execute on the node.
- Once the job of execution of tasks is started then application can connect to batch service and monitor the progress of execution over HTTPs.
- As the job completes Azure batch service upload the output to Azure storage. We can also fetch this output file from the node directory file system.
- Then our client application can download the output files from Azure storage.
- Tangible benefits of Azure Batch Service:
- We have a choice of operating system to run the parallel jobs and tasks.
- We can easily integrate the application with Azure batch service, schedule the jobs, make a queue of jobs, distribute the data, monitor the jobs etc.
- Development has a choice of ways to implement the Azure batch service using various ways like Azure CLI, Azure portal, .NET, python etc.
- There is no additional charge for using Batch. It is pay as you use.
- We need to pay only for the underlying resources consumed, such as the virtual machines, storage, and networking etc.
- This is a cost saver approach to run the jobs since we are paying the resource when it is in use rather than whole infrastructure.
- We can implement the batch as platform that can serve as software as service to the users.
- We can control scale to meet deadlines and manage costs.
Reference Links
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-technical-overview
- https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/services/batch/
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/batch/batch-api-basics
Conclusion
In this article, we have learned an overview of Microsoft Azure Batch Service. Keep Learning! :)