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name: HyperShift Azure Provider description: Use this skill when you need to deploy HyperShift clusters on Microsoft Azure with proper identity configuration and resource management

HyperShift Azure Provider

This skill provides implementation guidance for creating HyperShift clusters on Azure, focusing on self-managed control plane configuration, resource group management, and Azure identity integration.

When to Use This Skill

This skill is automatically invoked by the /hcp:generate azure command to guide the Azure provider cluster creation process.

Prerequisites

• Azure CLI configured with appropriate credentials
• Azure subscription with sufficient quotas
• HyperShift operator installed and configured
• Pull secret for accessing OpenShift images

Azure Provider Overview

Azure Provider Peculiarities

• Self-managed control plane only: For ARO HCP use ARO CLI instead
• Resource groups: Auto-created during cluster creation
• Limited region availability: Not all Azure regions support all features
• Azure identity required: Service principal or managed identity configuration
• Virtual network integration: Requires proper VNet configuration
• Control plane runs on Azure VMs: Managed by HyperShift operator

Identity Configuration Options

Choose one of three identity methods:

1. Managed + Data Plane Identities: Use --managed-identities-file AND --data-plane-identities-file
2. Workload Identities: Use --workload-identities-file
3. OIDC Integration: Use --oidc-issuer-url

Implementation Steps

Step 1: Parse Environment Requirements

Environment Detection:

• Development: "dev", "testing", "demo" → Standard_D4s_v3, SingleReplica
• Production: "prod", "enterprise" → Standard_D8s_v3+, HighlyAvailable

Step 2: Interactive Parameter Collection

Required Parameters:

1. Cluster Name & Location

   🔹 **Cluster Name**: What would you like to name your cluster?
   🔹 **Azure Location**: Which Azure region? [default: eastus]
   

2. Identity Configuration Method

   🔹 **Identity Method**: Choose Azure identity configuration:
      1. Managed + Data Plane Identities (recommended)
      2. Workload Identities
      3. OIDC Integration
   

3. Resource Group Configuration

   🔹 **Resource Group**: Name for the resource group?
      [default: {cluster-name}-rg]
   

Step 3: Generate Command

Development Configuration:

hypershift create cluster azure \
  --name dev-cluster \
  --namespace dev-cluster-ns \
  --location eastus \
  --pull-secret /path/to/pull-secret.json \
  --release-image quay.io/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release:4.18.0-multi \
  --resource-group-name dev-cluster-rg \
  --base-domain example.com \
  --managed-identities-file /path/to/managed-identities.json \
  --data-plane-identities-file /path/to/data-plane-identities.json

Production Configuration:

hypershift create cluster azure \
  --name production-cluster \
  --namespace production-cluster-ns \
  --location eastus \
  --pull-secret /path/to/pull-secret.json \
  --release-image quay.io/openshift-release-dev/ocp-release:4.18.0-multi \
  --resource-group-name production-cluster-rg \
  --base-domain clusters.company.com \
  --managed-identities-file /path/to/managed-identities.json \
  --data-plane-identities-file /path/to/data-plane-identities.json \
  --control-plane-availability-policy HighlyAvailable

Error Handling

Identity Configuration Issues

Azure identity files not found or invalid.

Required files for managed identity method:
1. managed-identities.json
2. data-plane-identities.json

Generate using Azure CLI:
  az identity create --name hypershift-managed-identity

Resource Group Conflicts

Resource group "cluster-rg" already exists.

Options:
1. Use existing resource group (ensure proper permissions)
2. Choose different name
3. Delete existing resource group (if safe)

See Also

• HyperShift Azure Provider Documentation
• Azure Resource Manager Documentation