Azure DevTest Labs Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure DevTest Labs. 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-L45	Diagnosing and fixing DevTest Labs VM and environment creation/deployment issues, artifact application failures, connectivity problems, and handling Defender for Cloud security alerts.
Best Practices	L46-L50	Guidance on organizing and collaborating on DevTest Labs infrastructure as code across teams, including branching, environments, and distributed resource development workflows
Decision Making	L51-L59	Guidance on planning PoCs and enterprise-scale deployments, choosing images and Gen1 vs Gen2 VMs, and setting governance for organization-wide DevTest Labs use.
Architecture & Design Patterns	L60-L64	Enterprise-scale DevTest Labs architectures: hub-spoke design, network/security layout, governance, cost management, and best practices for large org lab deployments.
Limits & Quotas	L65-L69	Managing DevTest Labs limits and quotas, viewing current usage, and requesting or configuring quota increases for labs, VMs, and related resources.
Security	L70-L86	Securing DevTest Labs: identities, RBAC and granular policy permissions, secrets/Key Vault, encrypted storage/disks, Trusted Launch, and secure VM access via Bastion, RD Gateway, or browser
Configuration	L87-L111	Configuring DevTest Labs environments and VMs: images, networks, policies, costs, tags, ARM templates, artifacts, activity logs, alerts, IPs, and resource groups.
Integrations & Coding Patterns	L112-L131	Automating DevTest Labs with ARM, PowerShell, CLI, REST, and Functions: user/VM management, VHD/custom image workflows, cross-lab import, reporting, and VM start/stop/start-order control.
Deployment	L132-L139	Guides for deploying and migrating DevTest Labs: ARM templates, CI/CD and Azure Pipelines integration, region moves, and handling Azure Basic Load Balancer retirement.

Troubleshooting

Topic	URL
Fix DevTest Labs VM connectivity by redeploying	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-redeploy-vm
Troubleshoot DevTest Labs artifact application failures	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-troubleshoot-apply-artifacts
Handle Defender for Cloud security alerts in DevTest Labs environments	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/environment-security-alerts
Troubleshoot DevTest Labs VM deployment failures	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/troubleshoot-vm-deployment-failures
Troubleshoot DevTest Labs VM and environment creation failures	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/troubleshoot-vm-environment-creation-failures

Best Practices

Topic	URL
Set up distributed DevTest Labs resource development	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/best-practices-distributive-collaborative-development-environment

Decision Making

Topic	URL
Plan and execute a DevTest Labs proof of concept	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/deliver-proof-concept
Choose between custom images and formulas in DevTest Labs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-comparing-vm-base-image-types
Choose and use Gen1 vs Gen2 VMs in DevTest Labs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-gen2-vm
Govern Azure DevTest Labs resources across an organization	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-guidance-governance-resources
Plan DevTest Labs deployment at enterprise scale	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-guidance-scale

Architecture & Design Patterns

Topic	URL
Enterprise reference architecture for Azure DevTest Labs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-reference-architecture

Limits & Quotas

Topic	URL
View and increase Azure DevTest Labs quotas and limits	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-scale-lab

Security

Topic	URL
Configure managed identity for Azure DevTest Labs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/configure-lab-identity
Secure DevTest Labs access with Remote Desktop Gateway	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/configure-lab-remote-desktop-gateway
Secure DevTest Labs VM access via Azure Bastion	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/connect-virtual-machine-through-browser
Configure DevTest Labs RBAC roles and user access	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-add-devtest-user
Configure DevTest Labs lab-level secrets securely	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-configure-lab-secrets
Grant granular permissions to DevTest Labs policies	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-grant-user-permissions-to-specific-lab-policies
Use Azure Key Vault secrets in DevTest Labs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-store-secrets-in-key-vault
Enable Trusted Launch for DevTest Labs Gen2 VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-trusted-launch
Enable secure browser-based access to DevTest Labs VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/enable-browser-connection-lab-virtual-machines
Enable user-assigned managed identities on DevTest Labs VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/enable-managed-identities-lab-vms
Configure customer-managed key disk encryption in DevTest Labs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/encrypt-disks-customer-managed-keys
Manage DevTest Labs storage accounts and encryption settings	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/encrypt-storage
Use managed identities to deploy DevTest Labs environments	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/use-managed-identities-environments

Configuration

Topic	URL
View and interpret DevTest Labs activity logs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/activity-logs
Add and configure artifacts on DevTest Labs VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/add-artifact-vm
Configure Azure Compute Gallery for DevTest Labs images	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/configure-shared-image-gallery
Connect DevTest Labs environments to lab virtual networks	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/connect-environment-lab-virtual-network
Configure activity log alerts for DevTest Labs events	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/create-alerts
Use nested ARM templates for DevTest Labs environments	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/deploy-nested-template-environments
Add and manage tags on Azure DevTest Labs resources	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-add-tag
Author custom DevTest Labs VM artifact definitions	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-artifact-author
Configure autoshutdown policies for DevTest Labs VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-auto-shutdown
Configure autostart policies for DevTest Labs virtual machines	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-auto-startup-vm
Configure cost tracking for Azure DevTest Labs with tags	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-configure-cost-management
Configure allowed Azure Marketplace images in DevTest Labs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-configure-marketplace-images
Add and configure virtual networks for DevTest Labs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-configure-vnet
Create DevTest Labs environments from ARM templates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-create-environment-from-arm
Enable and manage licensed images in DevTest Labs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-enable-licensed-images
Configure and use formulas for DevTest Labs VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-manage-formulas
Configure Azure DevTest Labs policies for cost control	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-set-lab-policy
Configure shared public IP addresses for DevTest Labs VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-shared-ip
Define DevTest Labs VMs with ARM templates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-use-resource-manager-template
Configure network isolation for Azure DevTest Labs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/network-isolation
Configure resource groups for DevTest Labs virtual machines	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/resource-group-control

Integrations & Coding Patterns

Topic	URL
Automate adding DevTest Labs users via ARM, PowerShell, and CLI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/automate-add-lab-user
Provision Service Fabric cluster environments in DevTest Labs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/create-environment-service-fabric-cluster
Create DevTest Labs custom images from VHD with PowerShell	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-create-custom-image-from-vhd-using-powershell
Upload VHDs to DevTest Labs storage using AzCopy	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-upload-vhd-using-azcopy
Upload VHDs to DevTest Labs with PowerShell	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-upload-vhd-using-powershell
Upload VHDs to DevTest Labs via Storage Explorer	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-upload-vhd-using-storage-explorer
Automate DevTest Labs VM creation with PowerShell	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-vm-powershell
Manage DevTest Labs VMs using Azure CLI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-vmcli
Extend DevTest Labs automation using Azure Functions	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/extend-devtest-labs-azure-functions
Import DevTest Labs VMs between labs via REST/PowerShell	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/import-virtual-machines-from-another-lab
Report DevTest Labs usage across labs and subscriptions	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/report-usage-across-multiple-labs-subscriptions
Automate DevTest Labs with Azure CLI scripts	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/samples-cli
Use Azure PowerShell scripts for DevTest Labs automation	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/samples-powershell
Control DevTest Labs VM start order with Automation	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/start-machines-use-automation-runbooks
Publish Visual Studio apps to DevTest Labs VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/test-app-azure
Script DevTest Labs VM start/stop with CLI and PowerShell	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/use-command-line-start-stop-virtual-machines

Deployment

Topic	URL
Integrate DevTest Labs with enterprise CI/CD pipelines	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-dev-ops
Handle Azure Basic Load Balancer retirement in DevTest Labs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-standard-load-balancer
Deploy DevTest Labs resources with ARM templates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/devtest-lab-use-arm-and-powershell-for-lab-resources
Move Azure DevTest Labs to another region	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/how-to-move-labs
Use DevTest Labs in Azure Pipelines build and release	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devtest-labs/use-devtest-labs-build-release-pipelines