Installation (Azure)

Deploy Saturn Cloud Enterprise on Microsoft Azure

Saturn Cloud Enterprise delivers a fully managed data science platform directly inside your Microsoft Azure environment. Instead of piecing together multiple services for compute, networking, and authentication, Saturn Cloud gives you a unified platform for scalable AI and machine learning running securely inside your own Azure subscription.

Saturn Cloud is deployed on top of an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster that your organization creates or authorizes. This means you retain full control of infrastructure and billing while Saturn Cloud handles the platform layer.

Key Benefits

  • Enterprise GPU Access: Access NVIDIA A100 (40GB/80GB), V100, and K80 GPUs via Azure NC-series and ND-series virtual machines with flexible scaling
  • Azure Ecosystem Integration: Native connectivity to Azure Machine Learning, Data Factory, Synapse Analytics, and Cognitive Services
  • Global Enterprise Infrastructure: Deploy across 60+ Azure regions with enterprise-grade security, compliance, and 99.95% uptime SLA

How Saturn Cloud Fits into Azure

Saturn Cloud is installed onto an AKS cluster within your tenant. Under the hood, you (or Saturn Cloud with delegated permissions) create an AKS cluster, a dedicated Virtual Network, and GPU-optimized node pools. Saturn Cloud then installs its platform on top of that infrastructure. This keeps compute, networking, and storage fully within your subscription.

Architecture Overview

Three-layer foundation:

  1. Core Services: AKS cluster + Virtual Network + node pools
  2. Enterprise Integration: Azure Active Directory + Private Endpoints + Network Peering
  3. Data Science Acceleration: GPU nodes + Azure Storage integrations + autoscaling
Saturn Cloud on Azure

Core Infrastructure

  • AKS runs containers for notebooks, jobs, and dashboards
  • Dedicated Virtual Network isolates workloads with custom subnets and NSGs
  • Node Pools provide CPU and GPU compute with autoscaling
  • Azure Storage integrates natively for persistent datasets and models
  • Security is built in via Microsoft Entra ID and Azure RBAC

Secure Networking

  • Custom VNet with private subnets for system nodes and services
  • Network Security Groups enforce access policies
  • Private Endpoints keep traffic off the public internet
  • Network Peering and Azure Firewall integration make Saturn Cloud appear as a native workload

Node Pools

  • System Nodes for control plane and Saturn Cloud services
  • CPU Nodes (D-series or E-series VMs) for preprocessing, ETL, and large-memory workloads
  • GPU Nodes (NC or ND-series VMs) configurable for performance and cost

Security and Compliance

Because Saturn Cloud runs inside your Azure tenant, it inherits Azure’s security posture:

  • Centralized identity with Microsoft Entra ID and Conditional Access
  • Role-Based Access Control aligned with your existing Azure RBAC model
  • Azure Key Vault for secrets, certificates, and encryption keys
  • Azure Policy for automated governance and compliance
  • Private networking including Private Endpoints

Storage and Data Access

Saturn Cloud connects natively to:

  • Azure Files for shared datasets
  • Blob Storage for scalable object storage
  • Managed Disks for persistent volumes
  • Azure Data Lake for enterprise-scale analytics

Monitoring and Operations

Saturn Cloud integrates with Azure’s observability stack:

  • Azure Monitor and Log Analytics for health and performance
  • AKS autoscaling for compute elasticity
  • Azure Resource Health for proactive issue detection

Getting Started with Installation

  1. Create or designate an Azure subscription with sufficient quotas.
  2. Create a Resource Group for Saturn Cloud resources.
  3. Provision an AKS cluster, Virtual Network, and node pools (or authorize Saturn Cloud to provision them with a Service Principal).
  4. Provide Saturn Cloud support with your cluster parameters:
# Example Azure configuration
subscription_id = "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
tenant_id       = "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
client_id       = "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
resource_group  = "saturn-cloud-rg"
location        = "East US"

And network details:

# Example network configuration
cluster_name       = "saturn-cluster-azure"
kubernetes_version = "1.29.9"
vnet_cidr          = "10.0.0.0/16"
subnet_cidr        = "10.0.1.0/24"
  1. Saturn Cloud installs its platform onto your AKS cluster and configures GPU nodes.
  2. Receive your Saturn Cloud URL and admin credentials.

Scaling Up from Pilot to Production

  • Start small (single GPU node pool) then expand as needed
  • Integration assessment to map Saturn Cloud to your existing Azure services
  • Architecture design tailored to your workloads
  • Production scale with ongoing cost-performance tuning

Regional Availability and Cost Optimization

Saturn Cloud on Azure is available in GPU-enabled regions such as East US, West US 2, North Europe, Southeast Asia, depending on Azure GPU VM availability.

Cost efficiency options:

  • Reserved Instances for predictable workloads
  • Spot VMs for flexible jobs
  • Autoscaling to match compute to demand
  • Azure Hybrid Benefit to leverage existing licenses

Ongoing Management

Saturn Cloud Enterprise handles:

  • AKS updates and GPU driver patches
  • Security updates and compliance maintenance
  • Backup and disaster recovery integration with Azure
  • Continuous optimization for performance and cost

Saturn Cloud on Azure transforms your Azure infrastructure into a ready-to-use data science platform. It combines enterprise-grade security with cutting-edge AI compute power all without reinventing your Azure setup. Contact our team to start designing your custom deployment today.