Azure Quotas

Azure Quotas - Service Limits & Capacity Management

AUTHORITATIVE GUIDANCE — Follow these instructions exactly for quota management and capacity validation.

Overview

What are Azure Quotas?

Azure quotas (also called service limits) are the maximum number of resources you can deploy in a subscription. Quotas:

• Prevent accidental over-provisioning
• Ensure fair resource distribution across Azure
• Represent available capacity in each region
• Can be increased (adjustable quotas) or are fixed (non-adjustable)

Key Concept: Quotas = Resource Availability

If you don't have quota, you cannot deploy resources. Always check quotas when planning deployments or selecting regions.

When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when:

• Planning a new deployment - Validate capacity before deployment
• Selecting an Azure region - Compare quota availability across regions
• Troubleshooting quota exceeded errors - Check current usage vs limits
• Requesting quota increases - Submit increase requests via CLI or Portal
• Comparing regional capacity - Find regions with available quota
• Validating provisioning limits - Ensure deployment won't exceed quotas

Quick Reference

⚠️ ALWAYS USE CLI FIRST

>

REST API and Portal can show misleading "No Limit" values — this does not mean unlimited capacity. It means the quota API doesn't support that resource type. Always start with az quota commands; fall back to Azure service limits docs if CLI returns BadRequest.

>

For complete CLI reference, see commands.md.

Quota Types

Important: Requesting quota increases is free. You only pay for resources you actually use, not for quota allocation.

Understanding Resource Name Mapping

⚠️ CRITICAL: There is NO 1:1 mapping between ARM resource types and quota resource names.

Example Mappings

Discovery Workflow

Never assume the quota resource name from the ARM type. Always use this workflow:

1. List all quotas for the resource provider:

   az quota list --scope /subscriptions/<id>/providers/<ProviderNamespace>/locations/<region>

2. Match by `localizedValue` (human-readable description) to find the relevant quota

3. Use the `name` field (not ARM resource type) in subsequent commands:

   az quota show --resource-name ManagedEnvironmentCount --scope ...
   az quota usage show --resource-name ManagedEnvironmentCount --scope ...

📖 Detailed mapping examples and workflow: See commands.md - Resource Name Mapping

Scripts

Pre-built scripts handle quota extension installation, usage queries, and capacity calculation. Use these instead of constructing commands manually. A single call returns limits, usage, and available capacity.

Core Workflows

Workflow 1: Check Quota for a Specific Resource

Scenario: Verify quota limits and current usage before deployment

Run the script with the resource provider and region. It returns a table of all quotas with their limit, current usage, and available capacity in a single call:

.\scripts\check-quota.ps1 -ResourceProvider <provider> -Region <region>

./scripts/check-quota.sh <provider> <region>

To check a single resource, add the resource name:

.\scripts\check-quota.ps1 -ResourceProvider <provider> -Region <region> -ResourceName <resource-name>

./scripts/check-quota.sh <provider> <region> <resource-name>

Example:

.\scripts\check-quota.ps1 -ResourceProvider Microsoft.Compute -Region eastus

Example Output:

📖 See also: az quota show, az quota usage show

Workflow 2: Compare Quotas Across Regions

Scenario: Find the best region for deployment based on available capacity

# Define candidate regions
REGIONS=("eastus" "eastus2" "westus2" "centralus")
VM_FAMILY="standardDSv3Family"
SUBSCRIPTION_ID="<subscription-id>"

# Check quota availability across regions
for region in "${REGIONS[@]}"; do
  echo "=== Checking $region ==="
  
  # Get limit
  LIMIT=$(az quota show \
    --resource-name $VM_FAMILY \
    --scope "/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION_ID/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/$region" \
    --query "properties.limit.value" -o tsv)
  
  # Get current usage
  USAGE=$(az quota usage show \
    --resource-name $VM_FAMILY \
    --scope "/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION_ID/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/$region" \
    --query "properties.usages.value" -o tsv)
  
  # Calculate available
  AVAILABLE=$((LIMIT - USAGE))
  
  echo "Region: $region | Limit: $LIMIT | Usage: $USAGE | Available: $AVAILABLE"
done

📖 See also: commands.md for full scripted multi-region loop patterns

Workflow 3: Request Quota Increase

Scenario: Current quota is insufficient for deployment

# Request increase for VM quota
az quota update \
  --resource-name standardDSv3Family \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus \
  --limit-object value=500 \
  --resource-type dedicated

# Check request status
az quota request status list \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus

Approval Process:

• Most adjustable quotas are auto-approved within minutes
• Some requests require manual review (hours to days)
• Non-adjustable quotas require Azure Support ticket

📖 See also: az quota update, az quota request status

Workflow 4: List All Quotas for Planning

Scenario: Understand all quotas for a resource provider in a region

# List all compute quotas in East US (table format)
az quota list \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus \
  --output table

# List all network quotas
az quota list \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.Network/locations/eastus \
  --output table

# List all Container Apps quotas
az quota list \
  --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/providers/Microsoft.App/locations/eastus \
  --output table

📖 See also: az quota list

Troubleshooting

Common Errors

Unsupported Resource Providers

Known unsupported providers:

• ❌ Microsoft.DocumentDB (Cosmos DB) - Use Portal or Cosmos DB limits docs

Confirmed working providers:

• ✅ Microsoft.Compute (VMs, disks, cores)
• ✅ Microsoft.Network (VNets, IPs, load balancers)
• ✅ Microsoft.App (Container Apps)
• ✅ Microsoft.Storage (storage accounts)
• ✅ Microsoft.MachineLearningServices (ML compute)

📖 See also: Troubleshooting Guide

Additional Resources

Best Practices

1. ✅ Always check quotas before deployment - Prevent quota exceeded errors 2. ✅ Run `az quota list` first - Discover correct quota resource names 3. ✅ Compare regions - Find regions with available capacity 4. ✅ Account for growth - Request 20% buffer above immediate needs 5. ✅ Use table output for overview - --output table for quick scanning 6. ✅ Monitor usage trends - Set up alerts at 80% threshold (via Portal)

Advanced Azure Quota Commands

Reference for less commonly used Azure quota CLI commands for tracking quota requests and operations.

az quota request status list

Get current quota requests for a one-year period. Use oData filter to select requests.

Syntax:

az quota request status list --scope SCOPE [--filter FILTER] [--max-items N] [--next-token TOKEN] [--skip-token TOKEN] [--top N]

Required:

• --scope - Target Azure resource URI

Optional:

• --filter - Filter by requestSubmitTime (ge/le/eq), provisioningState (eq), resourceName (eq)
• --max-items - Total items to return
• --next-token - Pagination token from previous response
• --skip-token - Skip token for next page
• --top - Number of records to return

Examples:

# List compute quota requests
az quota request status list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus

# List network quota requests
az quota request status list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Network/locations/eastus

az quota request status show

Get quota request details and status by request ID. The ID is returned from az quota update PUT operation.

Syntax:

az quota request status show --id REQUEST_ID --scope SCOPE

Required:

• --id - Quota request ID
• --scope - Target Azure resource URI

Example:

az quota request status show \
  --id 2B5C8515-37D8-4B6A-879B-CD641A2CF605 \
  --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus

az quota operation list

List all operations supported by Microsoft.Quota resource provider.

Syntax:

az quota operation list

Examples:

# List all operations
az quota operation list

# Table format
az quota operation list --output table

Azure Quota CLI Commands Reference

Comprehensive reference for Azure CLI quota commands.

Prerequisites

Install quota extension (required):

az extension add --name quota

⚠️ CRITICAL: ALWAYS USE CLI FIRST

>

Azure CLI is the ONLY reliable method for quota checks. Use `az quota` commands FIRST, always.

>

DO NOT use REST API or Azure Portal as your first approach. They are unreliable.

>

Required workflow:

1. FIRST: Try az quota list / az quota show / az quota usage show

2. If CLI returns `BadRequest`: Resource provider doesn't support quota API → use Azure service limits docs

3. Never start with REST API or Portal - only use as fallback

>

Why REST API/Portal are unreliable:

- REST API returns "No Limit" or "Unlimited" values that are MISLEADING

- "No Limit" DOES NOT mean unlimited capacity - usually means resource doesn't support quota API

- Service-specific limits still apply even when REST API shows "No Limit"

- Portal may show incomplete or cached quota data

- REST API lacks proper error handling for unsupported providers

>

If you see "No Limit" in REST API/Portal:

- ❌ This is NOT unlimited capacity

- ✅ It means quota API doesn't support that resource type

- ✅ Check Azure service limits docs for actual limits

- ✅ Regional capacity constraints may still exist

Resource Name Mapping

⚠️ CRITICAL: No 1:1 mapping exists between ARM resource types and quota names. Always discover via az quota list.

Discovery workflow: 1. List all quotas: az quota list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/{Provider}/locations/{region} 2. Match properties.name.localizedValue to your resource type 3. Use exact name value in subsequent commands

Example mappings:

Command Summary

See advanced-commands.md for request status and operation commands.

---

az quota list

List all quota limits for a scope. Use this first to discover quota resource names.

Syntax:

az quota list --scope SCOPE [--max-items N] [--next-token TOKEN]

Required:

• --scope - Azure resource URI: /subscriptions/{id}/providers/{Provider}/locations/{region}

Examples:

# List compute quotas
az quota list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus

# List network quotas
az quota list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Network/locations/eastus

# Table format
az quota list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus --output table

Key output fields:

• name - Quota resource name (use in other commands)
• properties.name.localizedValue - Human-readable description
• properties.limit.value - Quota limit

---

az quota show

Show quota limit for a specific resource.

Syntax:

az quota show --resource-name NAME --scope SCOPE

Required:

• --resource-name - Quota resource name (from az quota list)
• --scope - Azure resource URI

Example:

# Get DSv3 family vCPU limit
az quota show \
  --resource-name standardDSv3Family \
  --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus

Key output fields:

• properties.limit.value - Quota limit
• properties.name.localizedValue - Human-readable description
• properties.quotaPeriod - Reset period (e.g., P1M = 1 month)

---

az quota update

Request quota increase for a resource.

Syntax:

az quota update --resource-name NAME --scope SCOPE --limit-object value=N [--resource-type TYPE] [--no-wait]

Required:

• --resource-name - Quota resource name
• --scope - Azure resource URI
• --limit-object - New limit value (format: value=N)

Optional:

• --resource-type - Resource type (e.g., dedicated, lowPriority)
• --no-wait - Don't wait for completion (true/false)

Examples:

# Increase FSv2 family vCPUs to 100
az quota update \
  --resource-name standardFSv2Family \
  --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus \
  --limit-object value=100 \
  --resource-type dedicated

# Non-blocking request
az quota update \
  --resource-name standardFSv2Family \
  --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus \
  --limit-object value=100 \
  --no-wait true

---

az quota usage list

List current usage for all resources in a scope.

Syntax:

az quota usage list --scope SCOPE [--max-items N] [--next-token TOKEN]

Required:

• --scope - Azure resource URI

Examples:

# List compute usage
az quota usage list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus

# Table format
az quota usage list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus --output table

Key output:

• properties.usages.value - Current usage count
• Use with az quota show to calculate available capacity

---

az quota usage show

Show current usage for a specific resource.

Syntax:

az quota usage show --resource-name NAME --scope SCOPE

Required:

• --resource-name - Quota resource name
• --scope - Azure resource URI

Example:

az quota usage show \
  --resource-name standardDSv3Family \
  --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/locations/eastus

Calculate available capacity: 1. Get limit: az quota show --resource-name {name} --scope {scope} → limit value 2. Get usage: az quota usage show --resource-name {name} --scope {scope} → current usage 3. Available = Limit - Usage

Example calculation:

• Limit (from az quota show): 350 vCPUs
• Usage (from az quota usage show): 12 vCPUs
• Available: 338 vCPUs

---

az quota create

Create quota limit for a resource. Rarely used - typically use az quota update instead.

Syntax:

az quota create --resource-name NAME --scope SCOPE --limit-object value=N [--resource-type TYPE]

Required:

• --resource-name - Quota resource name
• --scope - Azure resource URI
• --limit-object - Quota limit value

Examples:

# Create network quota
az quota create \
  --resource-name MinPublicIpInterNetworkPrefixLength \
  --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.Network/locations/eastus \
  --limit-object value=10 \
  --resource-type MinPublicIpInterNetworkPrefixLength

# Create ML quota
az quota create \
  --resource-name TotalLowPriorityCores \
  --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.MachineLearningServices/locations/eastus \
  --limit-object value=10 \
  --resource-type lowPriority

---

Troubleshooting

Unsupported Resource Types

Not all Azure resource providers support the quota API. If you receive a BadRequest error when running az quota list, the provider likely doesn't support quota commands.

Example - Microsoft.DocumentDB (Cosmos DB):

az quota list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/Microsoft.DocumentDB/locations/eastus
# Error: (BadRequest) Bad request

Workarounds:

• Check Azure subscription limits documentation
• Use Azure Portal for quota management
• Check service-specific documentation

Testing provider support:

# Try listing quotas
az quota list --scope /subscriptions/{id}/providers/{Provider}/locations/{region}

# BadRequest error → not supported
# List of quotas → supported

REST API "No Limit" Warning

⚠️ CRITICAL WARNING: REST API "No Limit" is MISLEADING

>

If you see "No Limit", "Unlimited", or similar values in REST API or Azure Portal responses:

>

This DOES NOT mean unlimited capacity!

>

It most likely means:

- The resource provider doesn't support the quota API

- Quota information isn't available through this API

- The quota is managed at a different scope

>

DO NOT assume unlimited capacity. Always:

1. Use az quota CLI commands first (preferred method)

2. If CLI returns BadRequest, check Azure service limits documentation

3. Consult service-specific documentation for actual limits

4. Consider regional capacity constraints even without quota enforcement

Common Error Codes

Known Support Status

Unsupported:

• ❌ Microsoft.DocumentDB (Cosmos DB)

Supported:

• ✅ Microsoft.Compute (VMs, disks, cores)
• ✅ Microsoft.Network (VNets, IPs, load balancers)
• ✅ Microsoft.App (Container Apps)
• ✅ Microsoft.Storage (storage accounts)
• ✅ Microsoft.MachineLearningServices
• ✅ Microsoft.ContainerService (AKS)