Templates

This page provides reusable YAML templates for common ACMG AWS workflows.

Template: AMI build configuration (ami-build.yaml)

This configuration is used by:

pcluster build-image -c ami-build.yaml -i <image_id> -r <region>

Example template

# ami-build.yaml
# ParallelCluster Image Build configuration
#
# Usage:
#   pcluster build-image -c ami-build.yaml -i <image_id> -r us-east-1
#
# Notes:
# - SubnetId must be in the same region as the ParentImage
# - Subnet should have internet egress (IGW or NAT) for package installation
# - SecurityGroupIds should allow required outbound access for installation
# - Use the correct Image.Os for your OS version (e.g., ubuntu2404)

Region: us-east-1

Image:
  Name: <your-image-name>            # e.g., gchp-imi-pcluster-base-v202601
  Os: ubuntu2404                     # e.g., ubuntu2204, ubuntu2404, alinux2, etc.

Build:
  ParentImage: <parent-ami-id>       # e.g., ami-0f25a533d0bc938a8
  InstanceType: t3.large
  SubnetId: <subnet-id>              # e.g., subnet-xxxxxxxx
  SecurityGroupIds:
    - <security-group-id>            # e.g., sg-xxxxxxxx
  UpdateOsPackages:
    Enabled: true

Optional: Custom build steps

If you maintain bootstrap scripts or want custom packages installed during image build, you can extend the build process using ParallelCluster-supported custom actions. The exact mechanism varies by ParallelCluster version and your preferred approach (pre-bake in ParentImage vs. install during build).

Template: Cluster configuration (pcluster-create.yml)

This configuration is used by:

pcluster create-cluster -c pcluster-create.yml -n <cluster-name> -r <region>

Example template (Slurm + FSx for Lustre)

# pcluster-create.yml
# ParallelCluster cluster configuration (Slurm)
#
# Usage:
#   pcluster create-cluster -c pcluster-create.yml -n <cluster-name> -r us-east-1
#
# Notes:
# - SubnetId should be in the same VPC as your FSx filesystem if you will mount FSx
# - Security groups must allow Lustre TCP 988 if mounting FSx for Lustre
# - Choose instance types appropriate for your workload and budget

Region: us-east-1

Image:
  Os: ubuntu2404
  CustomAmi: <your-custom-ami-id>          # AMI built by pcluster build-image, or another suitable AMI

HeadNode:
  InstanceType: t3.large
  Networking:
    SubnetId: <subnet-id>                 # e.g., subnet-xxxxxxxx
  Ssh:
    KeyName: <ec2-keypair-name>           # name of the EC2 key pair (not a local filename)

Scheduling:
  Scheduler: slurm
  SlurmSettings:
    QueueUpdateStrategy: DRAIN
  SlurmQueues:
    - Name: compute
      ComputeResources:
        - Name: c6i
          InstanceType: c6i.large
          MinCount: 0
          MaxCount: 10
      Networking:
        SubnetIds:
          - <subnet-id>                   # often same as HeadNode subnet

SharedStorage:
  - Name: fsx                             # Arbitraty, just a logical label for the FSx file system
    StorageType: FsxLustre
    MountDir: /fsx                        # local mounting point
    FsxLustreSettings:
      FileSystemId: <fsx-filesystem-id>   # e.g., fs-0123456789abcdef0

Note

We do not need to specify FSx DNS name and Lustre mount name under SharedStorage in the config file when creating a ParallelCluster. All of that is automatically derived by ParallelCluster from the FSx FileSystemId.

Common placeholders

Replace these placeholders with your values:

<your-custom-ami-id>: AMI ID to use for cluster nodes
<subnet-id>: Subnet ID in the target VPC/region
<ec2-keypair-name>: EC2 key pair name as shown in AWS Console (Key pairs)
<fsx-filesystem-id>: FSx for Lustre filesystem ID

Quick validation commands

Validate config (syntax and some semantics):

pcluster validate-configuration -c pcluster-create.yml -r us-east-1

Check cluster status:

pcluster describe-cluster -n <cluster-name> -r us-east-1