Microsoft Azure Architect Design (AZ-304) Practice Test

Which option provides the least amount of effort and maximizes node use for calculating multiple scenes based on height-map data in Azure?

1. Create a render farm using Azure Batch

2. Use virtual machines for rendering

3. Enable parallel file systems on Azure

4. Utilize virtual machine scale sets

The correct answer is: Create a render farm using Azure Batch

Creating a render farm using Azure Batch is the most efficient approach for calculating multiple scenes based on height-map data. Azure Batch is specifically designed for running large-scale parallel and batch processing jobs, making it well-suited for rendering tasks that require the simultaneous processing of multiple scenes. When using Azure Batch, you can easily manage a pool of virtual machines that can automatically scale based on the workload. This helps to maximize node utilization since Azure Batch will allocate resources according to the demands of your rendering tasks, thus optimizing throughput and cost. Additionally, it abstracts the complexities of managing individual virtual machines, allowing the focus to be on job execution rather than infrastructure management. In contrast, using virtual machines for rendering requires manual setup and management, which can become cumbersome and less efficient in resource utilization. Enabling parallel file systems on Azure, while potentially beneficial for high throughput, does not inherently address the need for maximizing node use in a rendering workload. Virtual machine scale sets do offer a way to manage groups of VMs, but they still require more configuration and do not provide the same level of automation and optimization for batch processing that Azure Batch does. Therefore, Azure Batch stands out as the option that maximizes efficiency and minimizes manual effort in rendering multiple scenes.