/azure-update-manager

name: azure-update-manager
description: Expert knowledge for Azure Update Manager development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when onboarding VMs/Arc, configuring update schedules/ESU, automating via SDK/REST, or migrating from ConfigMgr, and other Azure Update Manager related development tasks. Not for Azure Automation (use azure-automation), Azure Monitor (use azure-monitor), Azure Policy (use azure-policy), Azure Site Recovery (use azure-site-recovery).
compatibility: Requires network access. Uses mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch or fetch_webpage to retrieve documentation.
metadata:
  generated_at: "2026-10-25"
  generator: "docs2skills/1.0.0"

Azure Update Manager Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Update Manager. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, 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](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/mcp/blob/main/README.md)

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 | L36-L42 | Diagnosing and fixing onboarding failures, extension issues, and common errors in Azure Update Manager, Automanage, and Change Tracking (including logs, error codes, and remediation steps). | | Best Practices | L43-L53 | Best practices for configuring Automanage and guest patching on Windows/Linux/Arc VMs, handling SQL Server and Ubuntu/Ubuntu Pro updates, and managing SMB over QUIC in Update Manager. | | Decision Making | L54-L59 | Planning patch strategies across subscriptions and guidance for migrating patch management from Configuration Manager to Azure Update Manager | | Limits & Quotas | L60-L67 | OS, region, image, and workload support limits for Update Manager, including supported update sources/types, change tracking matrix, and unsupported scenarios. | | Security | L68-L73 | Configuring disk encryption for Automanaged VMs and setting up RBAC roles/permissions to securely manage and control access to Azure Update Manager. | | Configuration | L74-L93 | Configuring Azure Update Manager: profiles, scopes, schedules, alerts, ESU, client settings, data collection, Resource Graph, policy-based assessments, and pre/post maintenance events. | | Integrations & Coding Patterns | L94-L106 | Using SDKs (Go/Java/JS/Python) and REST APIs to assign Automanage profiles, manage VM/Arc server updates, and implement pre/post maintenance with Functions, webhooks, and runbooks | | Deployment | L107-L120 | Deploying and managing Automanage/Update Manager at scale: onboarding VMs/Arc, moving configs/VMs across regions, upgrading/repairing setups, enabling via Policy, and supported OS/update sources. |

Troubleshooting

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Troubleshoot Azure Automanage onboarding failures and errors | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/common-errors | | Diagnose Azure Change Tracking extension issues | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-change-tracking-inventory/extension-version-details | | Troubleshoot errors and issues in Azure Update Manager | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/troubleshoot |

Best Practices

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Apply Automanage best practices to Azure Arc-enabled servers | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/automanage-arc | | Apply Automanage best practices to Linux VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/automanage-linux | | Manage SMB over QUIC using Automanage best practices | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/automanage-smb-over-quic | | Apply Automanage best practices to Windows Server VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/automanage-windows-server | | Apply patching best practices for SQL Server on Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/guidance-patching-sql-server-azure-vm | | Handle Ubuntu security and Ubuntu Pro in Update Manager | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/security-awareness-ubuntu-support | | Configure automatic guest patching for Azure VMs | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/support-matrix-automatic-guest-patching |

Decision Making

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Plan cross-subscription patching with Update Manager | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/cross-subscription-patching | | Plan migration from Configuration Manager to Azure Update Manager | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/guidance-migration-azure |

Limits & Quotas

| Topic | URL | |-------|-----| | Understand Change Tracking support matrix and limitations | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-change-tracking-inventory/change-tracking-inventory-support-matrix | | Manage customized images in Azure Update Manager | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-updates-custo