azure-local

name	azure-local
description	Expert knowledge for Azure Local development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when planning Azure Local clusters, SDN networking, Arc‑managed VMs, disconnected racks, or GPU workloads, and other Azure Local related development tasks. Not for Microsoft Foundry Local (use microsoft-foundry-local), Azure Virtual Machines (use azure-virtual-machines), Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) (use azure-kubernetes-service), Azure Container Apps (use azure-container-apps).
compatibility	Requires network access. Uses mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch or fetch_webpage to retrieve documentation.
metadata	{"generated_at":"2026-08-09","generator":"docs2skills/1.0.0"}

Azure Local Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Local. 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-L72	Diagnosing and fixing Azure Local issues: log collection, SDN/network faults, VM/Arc/registration/migration problems, health service errors, updates/upgrades, and known bugs/workarounds.
Best Practices	L73-L83	Guidance on Azure Local operations: SDN performance/availability, drift detection, alerts, supported VM operations (Arc/multi‑rack), Network ATC, and update management best practices.
Decision Making	L84-L97	Guidance on licensing, billing, VM and deployment choices, network patterns, support lifecycle, and selecting orchestrators or architectures when planning Azure Local solutions.
Architecture & Design Patterns	L98-L132	Designing resilient Azure Local architectures: SDN and rack-aware patterns, storage/network topologies, DR/HA strategies, and reference designs for connected and disconnected deployments
Limits & Quotas	L133-L143	Network, hardware, and system requirements for Azure Local disaggregated deployments, including rack-aware clusters, SLB HA ports, and Hyper-V/VMware migration prerequisites.
Security	L144-L191	Securing Azure Local: firewall/NSG rules, private endpoints, identity/RBAC, certificates/PKI, BitLocker, Defender, syslog/SIEM, Trusted launch, and security baselines/updates.
Configuration	L192-L294	Configuring Azure Local infrastructure: networking, storage, GPUs, SDN, monitoring, Arc/CLI/PowerShell, disconnected ops, multi-rack, VM lifecycle, migration, and update behavior.
Integrations & Coding Patterns	L295-L304	Integrating Azure Local with external SAN and Azure Storage, configuring GPUs and storage classes, and creating, downloading, and remotely accessing multi-rack VMs and VM images.
Deployment	L305-L347	Deploying, scaling, updating, and maintaining Azure Local clusters (rack-aware, disaggregated, SFF, disconnected), plus SDN, VM/container migrations, and post-deployment operations.

Troubleshooting

Topic	URL
Troubleshoot simplified machine provisioning for Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/troubleshoot-simplified-machine-provisioning?view=azloc-2607
Resolve known issues and workarounds in Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/known-issues?view=azloc-2607
Collect diagnostic logs for Azure Local Arc VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/collect-log-files-arc-enabled-vms?view=azloc-2607
Collect and upload Azure Local diagnostic logs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/collect-logs?view=azloc-2607
Use fallback log collection for Azure Local VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/disconnected-operations-fallback?view=azloc-2607
Known issues for Azure Local disconnected operations	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/disconnected-operations-known-issues?view=azloc-2607
Collect on-demand Azure Local logs for support	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/disconnected-operations-on-demand-logs?view=azloc-2607
Interpret and resolve Health Service faults in Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/health-service-faults?view=azloc-2607
Use AKS Arc Support Tool to remediate Azure Local infrastructure	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/remediate-support-tool-infrastructure?view=azloc-2607
Use Azure Local Remote Support Arc extension

Best Practices

Topic	URL
Apply Network ATC best practices for Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/network-atc-overview?view=azloc-2607
Use drift detection to maintain Azure Local configuration	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/drift-detection?view=azloc-2607
Optimize Azure Local SDN availability and performance	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/optimize-sdn-availability-performance?view=azloc-2607
Enable recommended Azure Local alert rules	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/set-up-recommended-alert-rules?view=azloc-2607
Use supported operations for Azure Local Arc VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/virtual-machine-operations?view=azloc-2607
Supported operations for Azure Local multi-rack VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/multi-rack/multi-rack-virtual-machine-operations?view=azloc-2607
Best practices for managing Azure Local updates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/update/update-best-practices?view=azloc-2607

Decision Making

Topic	URL
Apply Azure Hybrid Benefit licensing to Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/azure-hybrid-benefit?view=azloc-2607
Understand Azure Local billing and payment behavior	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/billing?view=azloc-2607
Choose Azure Local VM types and management model	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/compare-vm-management-capabilities?view=azloc-2607
Decide between Azure Local and Windows Server	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/compare-windows-server?view=azloc-2607
Plan support lifecycle and updates for Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/get-support?view=azloc-2607
Choose a network reference pattern for Azure Local disaggregated deployments	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/plan/choose-network-pattern-disaggregated?view=azloc-2607
Choose Azure Local network pattern by scenario	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/plan/choose-network-pattern?view=azloc-2607
Plan Azure Local cloud deployment network architecture	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/plan/cloud-deployment-network-considerations?view=azloc-2607
Select Azure Local deployment type and scale	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/scalability-deployments?view=azloc-2607
Choose container orchestrator for small form factor	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/small-form-factor/small-form-factor-container-orchestrators?view=azloc-2607

Architecture & Design Patterns

Topic	URL
Plan external SAN storage integration for Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/external-storage-support?view=azloc-2607
Plan Network Controller deployment topology on Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/plan-network-controller-deployment?view=azloc-2607
Plan SDN infrastructure for Azure Local 23H2	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/plan-software-defined-networking-infrastructure-23h2?view=azloc-2607
Distribute AKS nodes across Azure Local rack aware zones	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/rack-aware-cluster-aks-nodes?view=azloc-2607
Understand Azure Local rack aware clustering concepts	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/rack-aware-cluster-overview?view=azloc-2607
Use network reference patterns for Azure Local rack aware clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/rack-aware-cluster-reference-architecture?view=azloc-2607
Design room-to-room connectivity for Azure Local rack aware clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/rack-aware-cluster-room-to-room-connectivity?view=azloc-2607
Plan SDN Multisite topology and disaster recovery on Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/sdn-multisite-overview?view=azloc-2607
Choose SDN management methods on Azure Local with Azure Arc	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/sdn-overview?view=azloc-2607

Limits & Quotas

Topic	URL
Satisfy host network requirements for Azure Local disaggregated deployments	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/host-network-requirements-disaggregated?view=azloc-2607
Meet physical network requirements for Azure Local disaggregated deployments	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/physical-network-requirements-disaggregated?view=azloc-2607
Review requirements and supported configurations for rack aware clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/rack-aware-cluster-requirements?view=azloc-2607
Evaluate system requirements for Azure Local disaggregated deployments	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/system-requirements-disaggregated?view=azloc-2607
Configure SLB high availability ports on Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/configure-software-load-balancer?view=azloc-2607
Check system requirements for Hyper-V migration to Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/migrate/migrate-hyperv-requirements?view=azloc-2607
Review VMware migration system requirements for Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/migrate/migrate-vmware-requirements?view=azloc-2607

Security

Topic	URL
Configure firewall rules and endpoints for Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/firewall-requirements?view=azloc-2607
Plan Azure Private Endpoint usage with Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/about-private-endpoints?view=azloc-2607
Use private endpoints for Azure Local without proxy or gateway	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deploy-private-endpoints-no-proxy-no-gateway?view=azloc-2607
Use private endpoints for Azure Local with Arc gateway	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deploy-private-endpoints-no-proxy-with-gateway?view=azloc-2607
Use private endpoints for Azure Local with proxy only	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deploy-private-endpoints-with-proxy-no-gateway?view=azloc-2607
Use private endpoints for Azure Local with proxy and gateway	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deploy-private-endpoints-with-proxy-with-gateway?view=azloc-2607
Assign Azure permissions to register Azure Local with Arc	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deployment-arc-register-server-permissions?view=azloc-2607
Prepare Active Directory structure and permissions for Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deployment-prep-active-directory?view=azloc-2607
Assign Azure Local VM RBAC roles for Arc VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/assign-vm-rbac-roles?view=azloc-2607

Configuration

Topic	URL
Configure host networking for Azure Local nodes	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/host-network-requirements?view=azloc-2607
Configure physical network for Azure Local clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/physical-network-requirements?view=azloc-2607
Provision Azure Local VMs in local availability zones	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/rack-aware-cluster-provision-vm-local-availability-zone?view=azloc-2607
Use supported SAN solutions with Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/san-requirements?view=azloc-2607
Meet Azure Local system and hardware requirements	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/system-requirements-23h2?view=azloc-2607
Configure Azure Arc gateway for Azure Local deployments	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deployment-azure-arc-gateway-overview?view=azloc-2607
Configure Azure Local deployment with local identity and Key Vault	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deployment-local-identity-with-key-vault?view=azloc-2607
Configure Azure Arc gateway proxy for Azure Local registration	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deployment-with-azure-arc-gateway?view=azloc-2607
Configure Azure Local Arc registration without Arc gateway	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deployment-without-azure-arc-gateway?view=azloc-2607

Integrations & Coding Patterns

Topic	URL
Integrate external SAN storage with Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/enable-external-storage?view=azloc-2607
Attach and configure GPUs for Linux VMs on Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/attach-gpu-to-linux-vm?view=azloc-2607
Use AKS storage classes for external SAN on Azure Local	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/manage/use-external-storage-for-containerized-workloads?view=azloc-2607
Connect to Azure Local multi-rack VMs via SSH and RDP	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/multi-rack/multi-rack-connect-arc-vm-using-ssh?view=azloc-2607
Download Azure managed disks to Azure Local multi-rack	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/multi-rack/multi-rack-manage-data-disks?view=azloc-2607
Create Azure Local VM images from Azure Storage	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/multi-rack/multi-rack-virtual-machine-image-storage-account?view=azloc-2607

Deployment

Topic	URL
Add or repair nodes in Azure Local rack aware clusters	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/concepts/rack-aware-cluster-add-server?view=azloc-2607
Deploy Azure Local disaggregated instance via Azure portal	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deploy-via-portal-disaggregated?view=azloc-2607
Deploy Azure Local disaggregated instance using ARM templates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deployment-azure-resource-manager-template-disaggregated?view=azloc-2607
Deploy Azure Local at scale using ARM templates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deployment-azure-resource-manager-template?view=azloc-2607
Install Azure Local OS for disaggregated deployments using SConfig	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deployment-install-os-disaggregated?view=azloc-2607
Deploy Azure Local with local identity and Key Vault via ARM	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deployment-local-identity-with-key-vault-template?view=azloc-2607
Review Azure Local deployment prerequisites and requirements	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deployment-prerequisites?view=azloc-2607
Deploy virtualized Azure Local instances on Hyper-V	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/deployment-virtual?view=azloc-2607
Deploy Azure Local rack aware clusters via Azure portal	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/deploy/rack-aware-cluster-deploy-portal?view=azloc-2607