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

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-L41	Diagnosing and fixing Azure Update Manager and Automanage onboarding issues, including common error codes, connectivity problems, and remediation steps for failed update operations.
Best Practices	L42-L52	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	L53-L58	Planning patch strategies across subscriptions and guidance for migrating patch management from Configuration Manager to Azure Update Manager
Limits & Quotas	L59-L68	OS, region, image, and workload support limits for Update Manager, including supported update sources/types, change tracking matrix, and unsupported scenarios.
Security	L69-L74	Configuring disk encryption for Automanaged VMs and setting up RBAC roles/permissions to securely manage and control access to Azure Update Manager.
Configuration	L75-L95	Configuring Update Manager: update schedules, scopes, alerts, policies, ESU, hotpatching, change tracking, workspaces/DCRs, reports, Resource Graph, and cross-subscription patching.
Integrations & Coding Patterns	L96-L108	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	L109-L121	Deploying and managing Automanage/Update Manager at scale: onboarding VMs/Arc servers, upgrading/moving profiles and VMs across regions/tenants, and using Policy plus extension release/issue tracking.

Troubleshooting

Topic	URL
Troubleshoot Azure Automanage onboarding failures and errors	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/common-errors
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-customized-images
Understand supported update sources and types	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/support-matrix
Review OS support matrix for Azure Update Manager	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/support-matrix-updates
Check supported Azure regions for Update Manager	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/supported-regions
Identify unsupported workloads in Azure Update Manager	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/unsupported-workloads

Security

Topic	URL
Configure Azure disk encryption for Automanaged VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/overview-azure-disk-encryption
Assign RBAC roles for Azure Update Manager	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/roles-permissions

Configuration

Topic	URL
Create and configure custom Automanage profiles for VMs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/virtual-machines-custom-profile
Create data collection rules for Azure Change Tracking	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-change-tracking-inventory/create-data-collection-rule
Configure workspaces and data collection rules for Change Tracking	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-change-tracking-inventory/tutorial-change-workspace-configure-data-collection-rule
Configure Windows Update client for Update Manager	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/configure-wu-agent
Set up cross-subscription patching in Azure	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/enable-cross-subscription-patching
Enroll Windows Server ESU with Update Manager	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/extended-security-updates
Enable and configure alerts in Azure Update Manager	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-alerts
Configure and manage dynamic scopes for patching	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-dynamic-scoping
Configure hotpatching on Azure Arc-enabled machines	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-hot-patching-arc-machines
Manage existing pre and post maintenance events	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-pre-post-events
Manage update configuration settings in Update Manager	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-update-settings
Create custom Update Manager reports with workbooks	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-workbooks
Enable periodic assessment via Azure Policy	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/periodic-assessment-at-scale
Create pre and post maintenance events in Update Manager	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/pre-post-events-schedule-maintenance-configuration
Access Update Manager data via Azure Resource Graph	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/query-logs
Use sample Resource Graph queries for Update Manager	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/sample-query-logs
Configure recurring update schedules in Update Manager	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/scheduled-patching

Integrations & Coding Patterns

Topic	URL
Use Go SDK to assign Automanage configuration profiles	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/quick-go-sdk
Use Java SDK to assign Automanage configuration profiles	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/quick-java-sdk
Use JavaScript SDK to assign Automanage configuration profiles	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/quick-javascript-sdk
Use Python SDK to assign Automanage configuration profiles	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/quick-python-sdk
Choose and use Automanage SDKs across languages	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/reference-sdk
Use REST API for Arc-enabled server updates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-arc-enabled-servers-programmatically
Use Azure REST API to manage VM updates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/manage-vms-programmatically
Implement pre/post maintenance using Azure Functions	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/tutorial-using-functions
Trigger pre/post maintenance via webhooks and runbooks	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/tutorial-webhooks-using-runbooks

Deployment

Topic	URL
Onboard VMs to Automanage with ARM templates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/arm-deploy
Onboard Arc-enabled servers to Automanage with ARM templates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/arm-deploy-arc
Upgrade existing Automanage machines to the latest version	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/automanage-upgrade
Move Automanage configuration profiles between Azure regions	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/move-automanaged-configuration-profile
Move Automanaged virtual machines across Azure regions	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/move-automanaged-vms
Repair Automanage accounts after subscription tenant moves	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/repair-automanage-account
Enable Automanage for VMs using Azure Policy	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automanage/virtual-machines-policy-enable
Deploy Change Tracking at scale using Azure Policy	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-change-tracking-inventory/enable-change-tracking-at-scale-policy
Review Change Tracking extension versions and known issues	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-change-tracking-inventory/extension-version-details
Track Arc-enabled VM extension releases and issues for Update Manager	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-manager/overview-arc-enabled-vm-extensions