Deploying a runner from the Azure Marketplace

CloudRadial AutomationAI runners can be deployed from the Azure Marketplace with a guided wizard, instead of downloading a setup package and running the PowerShell installer. This article covers what the Marketplace path deploys, the values you paste into the wizard, and how it differs from the script installer. It is for the technician performing the install.

We'll follow four main steps:

1. Deciding between the Marketplace and the script installer
2. Registering the runner and collecting your values
3. Completing the deploy wizard
4. Verifying the runner and keeping it updated

Step 1: Deciding Between the Marketplace and the Script Installer

Why are we doing this? Both paths deploy the same runner, but each suits a different situation.

Choose the Azure Marketplace when you want a portal-driven deployment with no local PowerShell, no Az module, and no downloaded package. It deploys one runner instance; you can add more instances afterward from the runner's page in AutomationAI.

Choose the Script installer when you want to deploy several instances at once or need full control over the deployment parameters. See Installing a runner in your Azure subscription.

Either way, you need permission to create resources and role assignments in the target subscription: Owner, or Contributor plus User Access Administrator. See Runner prerequisites and Azure requirements.

The subscription must also have the Microsoft.App resource provider registered. It is the only provider you need to register yourself; the others the runner uses are registered automatically during deployment. Registration is one-time per subscription, and a subscription Owner or Contributor can do it in advance. If it is not registered, the wizard shows a warning on its Runner identity tab. See Fixing the "Register the Azure resource provider" error in a Marketplace deployment.

Step 2: Registering the Runner and Collecting Your Values

Why are we doing this? The wizard needs the runner's identity, which only exists after you register it in AutomationAI.

Open Runners and select Register runner. When registration completes, choose Azure Marketplace as the deployment method. The panel then shows everything the wizard asks for:

• Region, the control-plane region to select in the wizard's dropdown
• Tenant ID, with a copy button
• Runner identity ID, with a copy button
• Runner secret, shown once at registration in the field above the deployment method
• Supervisor secret, shown once beside the runner secret. It belongs to the runner's maintenance app, which applies runner updates and adds or removes instances

REQUIRED: Copy both the runner secret and the supervisor secret before you close the panel. Each is shown only once, AutomationAI stores only a hash, and neither can be retrieved afterward. If you lose one, open the runner from Runners, select Manage secrets, and select Regenerate next to that secret to issue a new one.

Select Open Marketplace offer to launch the offer in the Azure portal.

Step 3: Completing the Deploy Wizard

Why are we doing this? The wizard collects the handful of settings the runner needs, then provisions everything into the resource group you choose.

Work through the wizard tabs:

• Basics, choose the subscription, resource group, and location, then select your control-plane region. The region list defaults to the United States; select the checkbox to reveal the other regions if your workspace is not in the U.S.
• Runner identity, paste the tenant ID, runner identity ID, runner secret, and supervisor secret from the AutomationAI panel. The supervisor secret is required on every deployment; without it, the runner never applies updates or scales. A friendly runner name is optional. If a warning says the Microsoft.App resource provider is not registered, register it before you continue.
• AI provider, keep Azure AI Foundry to deploy the bundled private model, or select one of the other AI providers available and supply your own API key. After deployment, you can switch to other models you have available via the Key Vault. See Choosing the runner AI provider
• Hosting, choose Flex Consumption (scales to zero, pay-per-use) or Premium (always warm, no cold starts), and set the poll interval. See Runner plans: Premium vs. Flex Consumption

Review and create. The deployment provisions the PowerShell, C#, Python, and Agent runner apps together with the network, the runner's Key Vault, and the storage they need, and it publishes the runner code into the apps so they come up ready to take work. See What the runner installer deploys for the full resource list.

If the Microsoft.App resource provider was not registered in advance, the deployment stops within its first few minutes with a DeploymentScriptError that begins:

The provided script failed with the following error: System.Management.Automation.RuntimeException: Register the Azure resource provider(s) Microsoft.App on subscription <subscription-id>

Nothing is misconfigured; the subscription has not enabled that service yet. See Fixing the "Register the Azure resource provider" error in a Marketplace deployment for how to register it and redeploy.

The runner's Key Vault is where your AI provider keys and extension secrets live. The deployment does not give you access to it. You grant that yourself afterward, as covered in Accessing and updating your runner's Key Vault.

Step 4: Verifying the Runner and Keeping It Updated

Why are we doing this? A deployed runner is only useful once it is checking in, and runner code moves forward over time.

Return to Runners in AutomationAI. Within a poll cycle the runner reports in and its status turns healthy. If it does not, see Verifying and troubleshooting runner connectivity.

The runner keeps itself up to date. Its maintenance app, authenticated with the supervisor secret, applies new runner versions on its own, so you do not redeploy from the Marketplace to move to a new version. See Upgrading a runner to a new version.

To add instances, open the runner from Runners; its maintenance app creates the new instances in your subscription. See Scaling runner instances.

Next: With the runner reporting in, grant yourself access to its Key Vault. See Accessing and updating your runner's Key Vault.

If you are still having trouble, we're here to help! Submit a ticket here for assistance, and don't forget to check our status page to ensure there are no outages in your area.