Azure Artist Anywhere (AAA) Deployment Framework

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

The following design principles are implemented throughout each AAA solution deployment framework module.

• Defense-in-depth layered security with integration of core services including Managed Identity, Key Vault,
  Private Link / Endpoints, Network Security Groups, NAT Gateway, Bastion, Defender for Cloud, Policy, etc
• Any custom software or 3rd-party software is supported in a Compute Gallery custom image repository
• 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 Render? (Compute Only)	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 native (Blob [NFS], Files, NetApp Files, Qumulo, Lustre) or hosted (Weka) storage services	No, use your current NAS via a cache tier	Yes
4 File Cache	Deploys Hammerspace, HPC Cache or Avere vFXT for scalable caching	Yes	No
5 Render Manager	Deploys Virtual Machines for render job scheduling and management	No	No
6 Render Farm	Deploys Compute Fleet or VM Scale Sets for scalable render compute	Yes	Yes
7 Artist Workstation	Deploys Virtual Machines for remote artist workstations with HP Anyware	No	No

Local Installation Process

The following installation process is required for local deployment orchestration.

1. Make sure the Azure CLI is installed locally and accessible in your PATH environment variable.
2. Make sure the Terraform CLI is installed locally and accessible in your PATH environment variable.
3. Run az login locally to authenticate to your Azure account. This is how Terraform connects to Azure.
4. Clone this GitHub repo to your local workstation for module configuration and deployment orchestration.

Module Configuration & Deployment

For each module, here is the recommended configuration and deployment process.

1. Review and edit the config values in each config.auto.tfvars file for your target deployment.
   • In module 0 Global Foundation, review and edit the following required config files.
     For example, your Azure subscription id must be set in /cfg/global.tf
     • /cfg/global.tf
     • /cfg/file.system.tf
     • /cfg/backend.config
   • In modules 2 Image Builder, 5 Render Manager and 7 Artist Workstation, make sure you have sufficient Standard compute cores quota available on your Azure subscription for each configured virtual machine type / size in your target region.
   • In module 6 Render Farm, make sure you have sufficient Spot compute cores quota available on your Azure subscription for each configured virtual machine type / size in your target region.
   • In modules 5 Render Manager, 6 Render Farm and 7 Artist Workstation, make sure each image config references the correct Compute Gallery custom image in your Azure subscription.
2. In module 0 Global Foundation, run terraform init to initialize the module local directory (append -upgrade if older providers are detected).
3. In all modules except 0 Global Foundation, run terraform init -backend-config ../0.Global.Foundation/cfg/backend.config to initialize the module local directory (append -upgrade if older providers are detected).
4. Run terraform apply to generate the Terraform deployment Plan (append -destroy to delete Azure resources).
5. Review the Terraform deployment Plan before confirming to add, change and/or destroy Azure resources.
   • In module 2 Image Builder,
     • The following Azure Marketplace Rocky Linux image terms must be accepted on your Azure subscription.
       az vm image terms accept --publisher RESF --offer RockyLinux-x86_64 --plan 9-LVM
     • Use the Azure management portal or Image Builder CLI to start image build runs as needed.

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 artist workstation.

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

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

deadlinecommand -SubmitCommandLineJob -name blender-splash -executable blender -arguments "--background /mnt/storage/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 artist workstation.

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

Contributing

This project welcomes contributions and suggestions. Most contributions require you to agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) declaring that you have the right to, and actually do, grant us the rights to use your contribution. For details, visit https://cla.opensource.microsoft.com.

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This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact [email protected] with any additional questions or comments.

Trademarks

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