Add storage targets

From the Azure portal, open your cache instance and click Storage targets on the left sidebar.

The Storage targets page lists all existing targets and gives a link to add a new one.

Click the Add storage target button.

To define an Azure Blob container, enter this information.

• Storage target name - Set a name that identifies this storage target in the Azure HPC Cache.

• Target type - Choose Blob.

• Storage account - Select the account that you want to use.

  You'll need to authorize the cache instance to access the storage account as described in Add the access roles.

  For information about the kind of storage account you can use, read Blob storage requirements.

• Storage container - Select the Blob container for this target, or click Create new.

  

When finished, click OK to add the storage target.

Add the access control roles to your account

Azure HPC Cache uses Azure role-based access control (Azure RBAC) to authorize the cache service to access your storage account for Azure Blob storage targets.

The storage account owner must explicitly add the roles Storage Account Contributor and Storage Blob Data Contributor for the user "HPC Cache Resource Provider".

You can do this ahead of time, or by clicking a link on the portal page where you add a Blob storage target. Keep in mind that it can take up to five minutes for the role settings to propagate through the Azure environment. Wait a few minutes after adding the roles before creating a storage target.

1. Open Access control (IAM) for your storage account.

2. Select Add > Add role assignment to open the Add role assignment page.

3. Assign the following roles, one at a time. For detailed steps, see Assign Azure roles using the Azure portal.

   Setting	Value
   Roles	Storage Account Contributor Storage Blob Data Contributor
   Assign access to	"HPC Cache Resource Provider" or "StorageCache Resource Provider"

   

Prerequisite: Storage account access

Set up Azure CLI for Azure HPC Cache.

Before you add a blob storage target, check that the cache has the correct roles to access the storage account, and that firewall settings will allow the storage target creation.

Azure HPC Cache uses Azure role-based access control (Azure RBAC) to authorize the cache service to access your storage account for Azure Blob storage targets.

The storage account owner must explicitly add the roles Storage Account Contributor and Storage Blob Data Contributor for the user "HPC Cache Resource Provider".

Storage target creation will fail if the cache doesn't have these roles.

It can take up to five minutes for the role settings to propagate through the Azure environment, so you should wait a few minutes after adding the roles before creating a storage target.

Read Add or remove Azure role assignments using Azure CLI for detailed instructions.

Also check your storage account's firewall settings. If the firewall is set to restrict access to only "selected networks," the storage target creation might fail. Use the workaround documented in Work around Blob storage account firewall settings.

Add a blob storage target with Azure CLI

Use the az hpc-cache blob-storage-target add interface to define an Azure Blob storage target.

In addition to the standard resource group and cache name parameters, you must provide these options for the storage target:

• --name - Set a name that identifies this storage target in the Azure HPC Cache.

• --storage-account - The account identifier, in this form: /subscriptions/<subscription_id>/resourceGroups/<storage_resource_group>/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/<account_name>

  For information about the kind of storage account you can use, read Blob storage requirements.

• --container-name - Specify the name of the container to use for this storage target.

• --virtual-namespace-path - Set the client-facing file path for this storage target. Enclose paths in quotation marks. Read Plan the aggregated namespace to learn more about the virtual namespace feature.

Example command:

az hpc-cache blob-storage-target add --resource-group "hpc-cache-group" \
    --cache-name "cache1" --name "blob-target1" \
    --storage-account "/subscriptions/<subscriptionID>/resourceGroups/myrgname/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/myaccountname" \
    --container-name "container1" --virtual-namespace-path "/blob1"

From the Azure portal, open your cache instance and click Storage targets on the left sidebar.

The Storage targets page lists all existing targets and gives a link to add a new one.

Click the Add storage target button.

Provide this information for an NFS-backed storage target:

• Storage target name - Set a name that identifies this storage target in the Azure HPC Cache.

• Target type - Choose NFS.

• Hostname - Enter the IP address or fully qualified domain name for your NFS storage system. (Use a domain name only if your cache has access to a DNS server that can resolve the name.) You can enter multiple IP addresses if your storage system is referenced by multiple IPs.

• Usage model - Choose one of the data caching profiles based on your workflow, described in Choose a usage model above.

When finished, click OK to add the storage target.

Set up Azure CLI for Azure HPC Cache.

Use the Azure CLI command az hpc-cache nfs-storage-target add to create the storage target.

Supply these values in addition to the cache name and cache resource group:

• --name - Set a name that identifies this storage target in the Azure HPC Cache.

• --nfs3-target - The IP address of your NFS storage system. (You can use a fully qualified domain name here if your cache has access to a DNS server that can resolve the name.)

• --nfs3-usage-model - One of the data caching profiles, described in Choose a usage model, above.

  Verify the names of the usage models with the command az hpc-cache usage-model list.

• --junction - The junction parameter links the client-facing virtual file path with an export path on the storage system.

  An NFS storage target can have multiple virtual paths, as long as each path represents a different export or subdirectory on the same storage system. Create all of the paths for one storage system on one storage target.

  You can add and edit namespace paths on a storage target at any time.

  The --junction parameter uses these values:

  • namespace-path - The client-facing virtual file path
  • nfs-export - The storage system export to associate with the client-facing path
  • target-path (optional) - A subdirectory of the export, if needed

  Example: --junction namespace-path="/nas-1" nfs-export="/datadisk1" target-path="/test"

  Read Configure aggregated namespace to learn more about the virtual namespace feature.

Example command:

az hpc-cache nfs-storage-target add --resource-group "hpc-cache-group" --cache-name "doc-cache0629" \
    --name nfsd1 --nfs3-target 10.0.0.4 --nfs3-usage-model WRITE_WORKLOAD_15 \
    --junction namespace-path="/nfs1/data1" nfs-export="/datadisk1" target-path=""

Output:

{- Finished ..
  "clfs": null,
  "id": "/subscriptions/<subscriptionID>/resourceGroups/hpc-cache-group/providers/Microsoft.StorageCache/caches/doc-cache0629/storageTargets/nfsd1",
  "junctions": [
    {
      "namespacePath": "/nfs1/data1",
      "nfsExport": "/datadisk1",
      "targetPath": ""
    }
  ],
  "location": "eastus",
  "name": "nfsd1",
  "nfs3": {
    "target": "10.0.0.4",
    "usageModel": "WRITE_WORKLOAD_15"
  },
  "provisioningState": "Succeeded",
  "resourceGroup": "hpc-cache-group",
  "targetType": "nfs3",
  "type": "Microsoft.StorageCache/caches/storageTargets",
  "unknown": null
}

From the Azure portal, open your cache instance and click Storage targets, which is under the Settings heading on the left sidebar. The storage targets page lists all existing targets and controls for adding or deleting them.

Click on a storage target's name to open its details page.

Read View and manage storage targets and Edit storage targets to learn more.

Set up Azure CLI for Azure HPC Cache.

Use the az hpc-cache storage-target list option to show the existing storage targets for a cache. Supply the cache name and the resource group (unless you have set it globally).

az hpc-cache storage-target list --resource-group "scgroup" --cache-name "sc1"

Use az hpc-cache storage-target show to see details about a particular storage target. (Specify the storage target by name.)

Example:

$ az hpc-cache storage-target show --cache-name doc-cache0629 --name nfsd1

{
  "clfs": null,
  "id": "/subscriptions/<subscription_ID>/resourceGroups/scgroup/providers/Microsoft.StorageCache/caches/doc-cache0629/storageTargets/nfsd1",
  "junctions": [
    {
      "namespacePath": "/nfs1/data1",
      "nfsExport": "/datadisk1",
      "targetPath": ""
    }
  ],
  "location": "eastus",
  "name": "nfsd1",
  "nfs3": {
    "target": "10.0.0.4",
    "usageModel": "WRITE_WORKLOAD_15"
  },
  "provisioningState": "Succeeded",
  "resourceGroup": "scgroup",
  "targetType": "nfs3",
  "type": "Microsoft.StorageCache/caches/storageTargets",
  "unknown": null
}
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