azure-arc

name	azure-arc
description	Expert knowledge for Azure Arc development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when using Arc-enabled Kubernetes, data services, Agentic Retrieval APIs, Edge Volumes, or resource bridge, and other Azure Arc related development tasks. Not for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) (use azure-kubernetes-service), Azure Stack Edge (use azure-stack-edge), Azure Local (use azure-local), Azure Virtual Machines (use azure-virtual-machines).
compatibility	Requires network access. Uses mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch or fetch_webpage to retrieve documentation.
metadata	{"generated_at":"2026-08-31","generator":"docs2skills/1.0.0"}

Azure Arc Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Arc. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

IMPORTANT for Agent: Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., L35-L120), use read_file with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., [security.md](security.md)), use read_file on the linked reference file

IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

• Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
• Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

Category	Lines	Description
Troubleshooting	L37-L75	Diagnosing and fixing Azure Arc issues: onboarding, connectivity, extensions, storage, data services, Kubernetes/GitOps, resource bridge, site manager, VMware, and workload orchestration.
Best Practices	L76-L86	Best practices for Agentic Retrieval (document prep, evaluation, metrics) and Azure Arc storage/volumes (filesystem quirks, out-of-space handling, static retain, namespace validators).
Decision Making	L87-L109	Planning and design guidance for Azure Arc: choosing services, tiers, licensing, connectivity, Kubernetes platforms, and migration strategies for servers, data services, and workloads.
Architecture & Design Patterns	L110-L117	Patterns for Arc data/compute design: container storage data flow, Arc Edge Volumes, HA/DR for Arc SQL MI and failover groups, and advanced Edge RAG data parsing.
Limits & Quotas	L118-L127	Limits, billing rules, prerequisites, and offline behavior for Azure Arc agents and services (Agentic Retrieval, Arc storage, Kubernetes, ESU, PAYG, Connected Machine).
Security	L128-L188	Securing Azure Arc: identity, RBAC, AD/Kerberos, key/cert rotation, network/Private Link, policy/compliance, and protecting data, workloads, and Kubernetes/servers/VMware/SCVMM resources.
Configuration	L189-L298	Configuring Azure Arc environments: networking, security, data services, Kubernetes/AKS, Agentic Retrieval, storage, monitoring, GitOps, VM/server agents, and workload orchestration.
Integrations & Coding Patterns	L299-L329	REST/CLI/Ansible/PowerShell patterns for Arc: agentic retrieval APIs, MCP/RAG tools, VM extensions, onboarding servers at scale, Resource Graph, Sentinel, Event Grid, Terraform, and licensing.
Deployment	L330-L361	Deploying, upgrading, and uninstalling Azure Arc agents, extensions, data controllers, and resource bridges across Kubernetes, multicloud VMs, SCVMM, and VMware, including prerequisites and support matrices.

Troubleshooting

Topic	URL
Reference and troubleshoot NFS with Kerberos for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/connect-file-share-kerberos-reference
Reference and troubleshoot SharePoint S2S auth for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/connect-sharepoint-reference
Fix blob upload and mirroring issues with managed identity	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/container-storage/blobs-not-uploaded
Resolve common issues for Azure Container Storage enabled by Arc	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/container-storage/faq
Troubleshoot Azure Arc container storage deployments	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/container-storage/troubleshooting
Resolve common issues for Azure Arc-enabled data services	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/faq
Troubleshoot failover group connection issues in Arc SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/troubleshoot-managed-instance
Troubleshoot configuration files for Arc SQL Managed Instance	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/troubleshoot-managed-instance-configuration
Collect Azure Arc data controller logs for troubleshooting	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/troubleshooting-get-logs
Monitor and troubleshoot cert-manager for Arc-enabled Kubernetes	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/kubernetes/cert-manager-monitor-troubleshoot

Best Practices

Topic	URL
Optimize documents for advanced data parsing in Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/advanced-data-parsing
Evaluate Agentic Retrieval system, models, and datasets	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/evaluate-solution
Use evaluation metrics for Agentic Retrieval system performance	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/evaluation-metrics
Handle Azure Arc container storage filesystem behaviors	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/container-storage/reference-filesystem-behavior
Design for out-of-space conditions in Azure Arc storage	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/container-storage/reference-filesystem-out-of-space
Use static retain workflows for Azure Arc Edge Volumes	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/container-storage/static-retain
Implement namespace-scoped external validator for Arc solutions	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/workload-orchestration/external-validation-namespace

Decision Making

Topic	URL
Choose an appropriate language model for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/prepare-language-model
Choose search types for Agentic Retrieval deployments	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/search-types
Select the appropriate Azure Arc service for servers	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/choose-service
Choose connectivity modes for Arc data services	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/connectivity
Plan Azure Arc-enabled data services deployments	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/plan-azure-arc-data-services
Plan and purchase Azure Arc SQL reserved capacity	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/reserved-capacity-overview
Choose SQL Managed Instance Azure Arc service tiers	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/service-tiers
Size Azure Arc-enabled data services deployments	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/sizing-guidance
Select validated Kubernetes platforms for Azure Arc data	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/validation-program
Plan and execute migration to Secret Store extension	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/kubernetes/secret-store-extension-migration
Use validated Kubernetes distributions for Arc-enabled Kubernetes	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/kubernetes/validation-program

Architecture & Design Patterns

Topic	URL
Control cloud data flow in Azure Container Storage	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/container-storage/howto-ingest-data-flow
Design data flows using Azure Arc Edge Volumes options	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/container-storage/storage-options
Plan disaster recovery with failover groups for Arc SQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/managed-instance-disaster-recovery
Design high availability for Arc SQL Managed Instance	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/managed-instance-high-availability

Limits & Quotas

Topic	URL
Review known issues and limitations for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/known-issues
Disconnected operation behavior for Arc container storage	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/container-storage/disconnected-operations
Review system requirements and constraints for Arc-enabled Kubernetes	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/kubernetes/system-requirements
Maintain Azure Arc resource bridge health and uptime	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/resource-bridge/maintenance
Understand Azure Arc ESU billing rules and timing	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/servers/billing-extended-security-updates
Billing behavior for Windows Server pay-as-you-go via Arc	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/servers/billing-windows-server-pay-go

Security

Topic	URL
Configure BYOM endpoint API-key authentication for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/configure-endpoint-authentication
Configure NFS with Kerberos authentication for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/connect-file-share-kerberos-overview
Set up SharePoint S2S authentication for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/connect-sharepoint-overview
Configure Entra authentication and roles for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/prepare-authentication
Verify Azure Contributor role for Agentic Retrieval deployment	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/prepare-contributor-permission
Configure OneLake identity for Azure Arc cloud subvolumes	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/container-storage/howto-configure-onelake-identity
Configure workload identity for Arc container subvolumes	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/container-storage/howto-configure-workload-identity
Configure localhost token endpoint for Arc container storage	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/container-storage/howto-enable-local-identity-access
Understand AD authentication modes for Azure Arc data services	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/active-directory-introduction

Configuration

Topic	URL
Add and configure data sources in Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/add-data-source
Complete deployment prerequisites for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/complete-prerequisites
Configure a Windows admin machine for Arc-enabled Kubernetes	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/configure-driver-machine
Configure an NFS server as a data source for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/configure-nfs-server
Configure NFS with Kerberos for Foundry Local ingestion	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/connect-file-share-kerberos-setup
Configure SharePoint S2S auth for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/connect-sharepoint-setup
Deployment parameters and environment variables for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/deploy-reference
Enable GPUs on AKS enabled by Azure Arc for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/enable-gpu-aks
Manage the default knowledge base in Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/knowledge-bases-guide
Configure MCP-based knowledge sources in Agentic Retrieval

Integrations & Coding Patterns

Topic	URL
Use Agents Runtime REST API for Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/reference/agents-runtime-api
Manage collections via Agentic Retrieval REST API	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/reference/collections-api-reference
Query collections and models using Inference REST API	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/reference/inference-api-reference
Manage ingestion jobs with Agentic Retrieval REST API	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/reference/ingestion-api-reference
Manage knowledge bases via REST API in Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/reference/knowledge-base-manager-api
Manage knowledge sources via REST API in Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/reference/knowledge-sources-api-reference
Use MCP Server API to expose RAG tools in Agentic Retrieval	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/reference/mcp-server-api-reference
Azure CLI az arcdata command reference	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/about-arcdata-extension
Run Azure Resource Graph queries for Arc-enabled Kubernetes	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/kubernetes/resource-graph-samples

Deployment

Topic	URL
Deploy the Agentic Retrieval extension on Azure Arc	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/deploy
Install Agentic Retrieval on disconnected Azure Local clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/disconnected-operations/deploy-disconnected
Download and import Agentic Retrieval expansion pack for disconnected Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/disconnected-operations/prepare-disconnected
Uninstall the Agentic Retrieval extension from Azure Arc	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/agents-tools-foundry-local/uninstall-extension
Install Edge Volumes extension for Azure Container Storage	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/container-storage/howto-install-edge-volumes
Deploy Azure Arc data controller via Azure portal	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/create-data-controller-direct-azure-portal
Create Azure Arc data controller using Azure CLI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/create-data-controller-direct-cli
Prepare prerequisites for direct-connect Arc data controller	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/create-data-controller-direct-prerequisites
Configure Arc SQL failover groups with CLI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-arc/data/managed-instance-disaster-recovery-cli
Configure Arc SQL disaster recovery in Azure portal