Tailwind Traders uses a mixed set of compute workloads running on physical servers, virtual machines (VMs), or containers, distributed across datacenters in Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland. These workloads run on Windows Server and Linux, with Hyper-V as the primary virtualization platform.

Managing this diversity of operating systems is already a challenge for Tailwind Traders. The company is concerned that migrating to a hybrid posture, where workloads run both on-premises and in the cloud, could make it even harder to track server operating systems and their compliance.

For several years, Tailwind Traders has used a Microsoft HPC (High Performance Computing) pack to manage a 16-node compute cluster located in the Sydney datacenter, used for engineering-related design tasks. These computations occur only at certain times of the year, but their growing complexity increases the time required to complete them.

Tailwind Traders plans to use containers as the primary platform for new applications instead of hosting them on virtual machines. The company is looking for a platform capable of orchestrating containers in its hybrid environment.

In this unit, you will learn about different methods to support compute workloads in hybrid environments.

What is Azure Arc-enabled servers?

Azure Arc-enabled servers allow organizations to manage Windows and Linux servers on networks outside Azure. This includes servers hosted on the organization’s internal networks or on third-party IaaS cloud infrastructures.

When you connect a machine to Azure via Azure Arc by installing the Azure Arc-enabled servers agent, the server can be treated as an Azure resource. You can then manage it as part of a resource group in a subscription. You can also apply Azure policies for configuration and management, as well as tags.

Supported operating systems:

• Windows Server: 2008 R2 SP1, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, 2022
  (Desktop and Server Core experiences supported)
• Windows 10, 11, Windows IoT Enterprise
• Azure Stack HCI
• Linux:
  • Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04, 20.04, 22.04 LTS
  • Debian 10 and 11
  • CentOS Linux 7 and 8
  • Rocky Linux 8
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 12 SP3-SP5 and 15
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7, 8, and 9
  • Amazon Linux 2
  • Oracle Linux 7 and 8
    Only x86-64 (64-bit) architectures are supported.

Supported features:

• Azure Policy – Guest Configuration: Validate operating system configuration.
• Azure Monitor Log Analytics – Resource Context: Limit telemetry data access through role-based access control (RBAC).

For Tailwind Traders, having a central management point for Windows Server and Linux workloads across the entire hybrid environment addresses the operations team’s concerns about hybrid cloud complexity.

What is Azure Stack HCI?

Azure Stack HCI is a hyperconverged infrastructure operating system that you can use to host Hyper-V virtual machines running Windows and Linux. Unlike a traditional Hyper-V cluster on Windows Server, Azure Stack HCI is designed to enable VM deployment and management through the Azure portal or Windows Admin Center.

In a traditional deployment, the local team is responsible for managing the host system. With Azure Stack HCI, it is an Azure service. The customer acquires validated hardware from an approved vendor, connects the system to a network with internet access, and the Azure service manages the infrastructure.

Azure hybrid services such as Azure Automation Update Management, Azure Site Recovery, and Azure Backup are automatically integrated.

For Tailwind Traders, Azure Stack HCI represents a future platform to migrate its on-premises VMs, enabling consistent management of all VMs in the hybrid environment.

What is Hybrid High-Performance Computing?

High-performance computing (HPC) uses a large number of CPUs or GPUs to perform complex mathematical tasks, such as certain scientific or engineering calculations. Instead of being attached to a single computer, CPUs/GPUs are distributed across multiple machines. A control computer assigns tasks to separate nodes running Windows or Linux to process specific segments of the computation.

Organizations with an on-premises HPC solution can connect it to Azure. This allows them to “burst into the cloud,” meaning they can add HPC nodes in the cloud to their existing on-premises deployment. These nodes can be instantiated in Azure as needed and then deleted once the computations are complete.

The following image illustrates bursting to the cloud.

Hybrid High-Performance Computing

The ability to “burst into the cloud” for HPC computations allows organizations to maintain a minimum amount of on-premises hardware for routine HPC tasks. They can then deploy additional nodes in the cloud if the benefit of the computation justifies the cost.

Tailwind Traders has an HPC deployment, but its ability to perform complex computations is limited by the compute resources available in its physical and virtual environment. By adopting a hybrid HPC approach, Tailwind Traders can scale its HPC capacity as needed without having to purchase additional hardware for on-premises nodes.

What is Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes?

Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes allows you to connect and configure Kubernetes clusters so they can be managed through the Azure portal. By using Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes, you can:

• Connect Kubernetes clusters running outside Azure and perform inventory, grouping, and tagging tasks.
• Deploy applications and apply configurations to Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters using GitOps-based configuration management.
• Use Azure Monitor for containers to monitor your Kubernetes clusters in a hybrid environment.
• Apply Azure Policy for Kubernetes to clusters in a hybrid environment.

Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes works with any Kubernetes cluster certified by the CNCF (Cloud Native Computing Foundation). It enables your organization to manage Kubernetes clusters on-premises and in the cloud in a hybrid environment, as illustrated in the following image.

Advantage of Hybrid High-Performance Computing for Tailwind Traders

The ability to “burst into the cloud” for HPC computations allows Tailwind Traders to maintain a minimum amount of on-premises hardware for routine HPC tasks. The company can then deploy additional nodes in the cloud when the benefit of the computation justifies the cost.

Tailwind Traders has an HPC deployment, but its ability to perform complex computations is limited by the physical and virtual compute resources it can allocate to these tasks. By adopting a hybrid HPC approach, Tailwind Traders can scale its HPC capacity on demand without having to purchase additional hardware for on-premises nodes.

What is Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes?

Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes allows you to connect and configure Kubernetes clusters so they can be managed through the Azure portal. With this solution, you can:

• Connect Kubernetes clusters running outside Azure and perform inventory, grouping, and tagging tasks.
• Deploy applications and apply configurations to Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters using GitOps-based configuration management.
• Use Azure Monitor for containers to monitor your Kubernetes clusters in a hybrid environment.
• Apply Azure Policy for Kubernetes to clusters in a hybrid environment.

Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes works with any Kubernetes cluster certified by the CNCF (Cloud Native Computing Foundation). It enables your organization to manage Kubernetes clusters on-premises and in the cloud in a hybrid environment, as illustrated in the following image.

Advantage for Tailwind Traders

Using Azure Arc for Kubernetes allows Tailwind Traders to manage its Kubernetes clusters with a single set of tools. It also enables consistent configuration and security across the entire hybrid environment.

What is Azure Arc-enabled Data Services?

Azure Arc-enabled data services allow organizations to manage supported databases, whether they run in Azure or on-premises, using a single set of tools.

Organizations can use Azure Arc-enabled data services to run Azure Database for PostgreSQL servers and managed SQL instances on-premises while administering them through Azure Data Studio, the Azure portal, or Azure CLI.

Once enabled, these services provide:

• Automated update and patch processes for on-premises databases, similar to how Microsoft manages these processes in Azure.
• Application of advanced threat protection available in Microsoft Defender for Cloud to on-premises database server instances.

Azure Arc data services use a container and Kubernetes infrastructure for on-premises services. They also allow integration with Azure services such as Azure Backup.

From Tailwind Traders’ perspective, Azure Arc data services offer an alternative for running certain existing database workloads. The company can migrate some on-premises databases to Azure Arc, which should reduce the operations team’s concerns about managing and securing these instances.

What is Azure Site Recovery?

Azure Site Recovery allows organizations to replace their disaster recovery sites by replicating physical and virtual operating systems, as well as the workloads they host, to the Azure cloud platform.

Azure Site Recovery enables:

• Failover to Azure
• Failback of workloads to an on-premises datacenter from Azure

The following image shows a basic Azure Site Recovery configuration.

Azure Site Recovery

Azure Site Recovery allows Tailwind Traders to replace the use of the Melbourne and Sydney datacenters as disaster recovery sites in its exclusively on-premises infrastructure.

Now, the company can use Azure as a disaster recovery site for a large number of workloads as the deployment becomes hybrid.

The challenge for Tailwind Traders is that some workloads have physical or other dependencies that prevent their migration to Azure. For these workloads, the company cannot use Azure as a disaster recovery site for the same reasons.