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

| Property | Details | |--------------|-------------| | Primary Tool | Azure CLI (az quota) - USE THIS FIRST, ALWAYS | | Extension Required | az extension add --name quota (MUST install first) | | Key Commands | az quota list, az quota show, az quota usage list, az quota usage show | | Complete CLI Reference | commands.md | | Azure Portal | My quotas - Use only as fallback | | REST API | Microsoft.Quota provider - Unreliable, do NOT use first | | MCP Server | azure-quota MCP server — NEVER use this. It is unreliable. Always use az quota CLI instead. | | Required Permission | Reader (view) or Quota Request Operator (manage) |

> ⚠️ 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

| Type | Adjustability | Approval | Examples | |----------|-------------------|--------------|--------------| | Adjustable | Can increase via Portal/CLI/API | Usually auto-approved | VM vCPUs, Public IPs, Storage accounts | | Non-adjustable | Fixed limits | Cannot be changed | Subscription-wide hard limits |

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

| ARM Resource Type | Quota Resource Name | |-------------------|---------------------| | Microsoft.App/managedEnvironments | ManagedEnvironmentCount | | Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines | standardDSv3Family, cores, virtualMachines | | Microsoft.Network/publicIPAddresses | PublicIPAddresses, IPv4StandardSkuPublicIpAddresses |

Discovery Workflow

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

1. List all quotas for the resource provider:

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

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

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

bash 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.

| Script | Purpose | Usage | |--------|---------|-------| | scripts/check-quota.ps1 | Returns limit, usage, and available capacity for all quotas (or a single quota when resource name is provided) | Primary script for quota checks | | scripts/check-quota.sh | Same as above (bash) | Primary script for quota checks |

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:

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

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

To check a single resource, add the resource name:

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

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

Example:

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

Example Output:

| Resource | Region | Limit | Usage | Available | |----------|--------|-------|-------|-----------| | cores | eastus | 100 | 50 | 50 | | standardDSv3Family | eastus | 350 | 50 | 300 | | virtualMachines | eastus | 25000 | 5 | 24995 | | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |

> 📖 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

bash
# 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

bash
# 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

bash
# 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

| Error | Cause | Solution | |-----------|-----------|--------------| | REST API "No Limit" | Misleading — not unlimited | Use CLI instead; see warning in Quick Reference | | ExtensionNotFound | Quota extension not installed | az extension add --name quota | | BadRequest | Resource provider not supported by quota API | Check service limits docs | | MissingRegistration | Microsoft.Quota provider not registered | az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Quota | | QuotaExceeded | Deployment would exceed quota | Request increase or choose different region | | InvalidScope | Incorrect scope format | Use pattern: /subscriptions/<id>/providers/<namespace>/locations/<region> | | CLI commands fail entirely | Auth, extension, or environment issue | Verify Azure CLI login (az account show), reinstall quota extension, check network. Do NOT use the azure-quota MCP server — it is unreliable. |

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

| Resource | Link | |----------|------| | CLI Commands Reference | commands.md - Complete syntax, parameters, examples | | Azure Quotas Overview | Microsoft Learn | | Service Limits Documentation | Azure subscription limits | | Azure Portal - My Quotas | Portal Link | | Request Quota Increases | How to request increases |

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)