Windows Azure PowerShell

Troubleshooting Common Issues in Windows Azure PowerShellWindows Azure PowerShell (often referred to simply as Azure PowerShell) is a powerful set of cmdlets for managing Azure resources from the command line or scripts. Despite its strengths, users frequently encounter issues ranging from installation problems and authentication errors to module/version conflicts and timeout errors. This article outlines common problems, explains their causes, and provides practical, step-by-step troubleshooting techniques and examples to resolve them.

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Table of contents

1. Environment and installation issues
2. Authentication and login failures
3. Module and version conflicts
4. Network and connectivity problems
5. Cmdlet failures and parameter errors
6. Automation, runbook, and scheduled job issues
7. Performance and timeout problems
8. Diagnostic tools and logging
9. Best practices to avoid future issues

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1. Environment and installation issues

Common symptoms:

• Cmdlets not found (e.g., “The term ‘Connect-AzAccount’ is not recognized”)
• Errors during module installation (NuGet or TLS errors)
• Conflicts with Windows PowerShell vs PowerShell Core (pwsh)

Causes:

• Azure PowerShell modules not installed or not imported
• Older AzureRM modules conflicting with newer Az modules
• System using outdated TLS versions, preventing NuGet package downloads
• Execution policy preventing scripts/modules from loading

Fixes:

1. Confirm PowerShell edition and version:

   
   $PSVersionTable 

• Use PowerShell 7.x (PowerShell Core) for cross-platform usage; Windows PowerShell 5.1 remains supported on Windows. If outdated, install latest PowerShell from Microsoft.

1. Install or update the Az modules:

   Install-Module -Name Az -Scope CurrentUser -Repository PSGallery -Force # or update Update-Module -Name Az 

   If you get NuGet provider errors:

   Install-PackageProvider -Name NuGet -MinimumVersion 2.8.5.201 -Force Set-PSRepository -Name "PSGallery" -InstallationPolicy Trusted 

2. Ensure TLS 1.2 (or later) is enabled for older systems:

   [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12 

3. Uninstall conflicting AzureRM modules (if migrating) and then install Az:

   Uninstall-Module AzureRM -AllVersions -Force Install-Module -Name Az -AllowClobber 

4. Check execution policy if scripts/modules are blocked:

   Get-ExecutionPolicy -List Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Force 

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2. Authentication and login failures

Common symptoms:

• Login prompts fail, or token errors
• “Unable to acquire token” or “AADSTS…”
• Unexpected multi-factor authentication (MFA) behavior in automation

Causes:

• Incorrect tenant or subscription context
• Expired or revoked credentials
• Conditional access or MFA requirements blocking headless auth
• Time skew on the client system

Fixes:

1. Basic interactive login:

   
   Connect-AzAccount 

2. Specify tenant or subscription:

   
   Connect-AzAccount -TenantId <tenant-id> Get-AzSubscription Set-AzContext -SubscriptionId <subscription-id> 

3. Service principal / certificate authentication for automation:

   
   $securePwd = ConvertTo-SecureString "<client-secret>" -AsPlainText -Force $cred = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential("<appId>", $securePwd) Connect-AzAccount -ServicePrincipal -Credential $cred -Tenant "<tenant-id>" 

   For certificate-based auth:

   
   Connect-AzAccount -ServicePrincipal -Tenant '<tenant-id>' -ApplicationId '<appId>' -CertificateThumbprint '<thumbprint>' 

4. For Managed Identities (in Azure VMs or App Services):

   
   Connect-AzAccount -Identity 

5. Time sync: ensure system clock is accurate (NTP) — OAuth tokens are time-sensitive.

6. Handle MFA/conditional access in automation by using service principals or managed identities; interactive accounts with MFA cannot be used for unattended scripts.

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3. Module and version conflicts

Common symptoms:

• Multiple versions of Az modules installed
• Cmdlet behavior differing between systems
• “Multiple matching modules” or “command is ambiguous” errors

Causes:

• Partial updates, leftover older versions, modules installed in system vs user scope
• Importing both AzureRM and Az modules simultaneously

Fixes:

1. List installed Az modules:

   
   Get-InstalledModule -Name Az -AllVersions 

2. Remove unwanted versions:

   
   Uninstall-Module -Name Az -RequiredVersion <version> -AllVersions 

3. Reinstall cleanly:

   
   Uninstall-Module Az -AllVersions -Force Install-Module Az -Scope CurrentUser -AllowClobber 

4. Use -Force and -AllowClobber when installing modules that replace existing cmdlets:

   
   Install-Module Az -AllowClobber -Force 

5. Avoid importing both AzureRM and Az in the same session. Migrate AzureRM to Az using the Az Migration guide and the Enable-AzureRmAlias module if necessary for compatibility.

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4. Network and connectivity problems

Common symptoms:

• Cmdlets time out or fail to reach endpoints
• Errors mentioning DNS, proxy, or firewall
• Slow responses from Azure APIs

Causes:

• Corporate proxies or strict firewall rules blocking endpoints
• DNS resolution issues or blocked IP ranges
• Poor internet connectivity or intermittent packet loss
• Regions/endpoints being temporarily degraded

Fixes:

1. Check basic connectivity:

   
   Test-NetConnection -ComputerName management.azure.com -Port 443 

2. Configure proxy settings for PowerShell:

   
   [System.Net.WebRequest]::DefaultWebProxy = New-Object System.Net.WebProxy('<proxy:port>') [System.Net.WebRequest]::DefaultWebProxy.Credentials = [System.Net.CredentialCache]::DefaultNetworkCredentials 

   Or set environment variables:

   
   $env:HTTPS_PROXY = 'http://proxy:port' $env:HTTP_PROXY = 'http://proxy:port' 

3. Ensure firewall allows required Azure endpoints and service tag ranges; consult Azure service tag documentation for IP ranges (use service tags in NSG/firewall rules rather than fixed IPs).
4. If DNS issues suspected, test resolution:

   
   Resolve-DnsName management.azure.com 

5. Retry with increased timeout for scripts that perform many API calls; implement exponential backoff and retry logic in automation.

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5. Cmdlet failures and parameter errors

Common symptoms:

• Parameter binding errors
• 400/403/404/500 HTTP responses from cmdlets
• Unexpected behavior or missing properties in responses

Causes:

• Using wrong parameter names or types
• API or resource schema changes
• Insufficient RBAC permissions for the current principal
• Incorrect resource identifiers (IDs, names, resource group)

Fixes:

1. Use Get-Help and parameter validation:

   
   Get-Help New-AzVM -Full 

2. Verify RBAC permissions:

   
   Get-AzRoleAssignment -ObjectId <objectId> 

   If missing permissions, assign minimum required role:

   
   New-AzRoleAssignment -ObjectId <objectId> -RoleDefinitionName "Contributor" -Scope "/subscriptions/<sub>/resourceGroups/<rg>" 

3. Inspect full error details:

   try { # command } catch { $_ | Format-List * -Force } 

4. Use -Debug and -Verbose switches to get more information:

   New-AzResourceGroup -Name rg1 -Location eastus -Verbose -Debug 

5. Confirm resource identifiers and API versions; when using REST or templates, ensure resource ID format is correct:

• Resource ID example: /subscriptions/{subId}/resourceGroups/{rg}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/{vmName}

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6. Automation, runbook, and scheduled job issues

Common symptoms:

• Runbooks fail in Azure Automation but succeed locally
• Credential or module differences between environments
• Tokens expire in long-running jobs

Causes:

• Automation accounts lacking necessary modules
• Different PowerShell versions between local and cloud runbooks
• Missing connections, credentials, or managed identity configuration

Fixes:

1. Import required modules into Azure Automation account (Modules gallery in Automation blade).
2. Use managed identities for authentication inside Azure Automation or use Run As accounts (note Run As certificates approach is deprecated in favor of managed identities).
3. Pin module versions in Automation to match local environment.
4. For long-running jobs, refresh tokens or use service principals/managed identities that provide continuous auth without interactive re-login.
5. Diagnose runbook job output and streams in the Automation Job logs; include verbose logging in scripts.

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7. Performance and timeout problems

Common symptoms:

• Scripts run slowly or time out
• High API call rate causing throttling (429)

Causes:

• Too many parallel API calls
• Inefficient use of cmdlets (multiple list calls instead of batch queries)
• Azure throttling limits reached

Fixes:

1. Implement exponential backoff and retry logic. Example:

   
   function Invoke-WithRetry { param($ScriptBlock, $MaxAttempts=5) $attempt = 0 while ($attempt -lt $MaxAttempts) { try {   return & $ScriptBlock } catch {   Start-Sleep -Seconds ([math]::Pow(2, $attempt))   $attempt++   if ($attempt -ge $MaxAttempts) { throw $_ } } } } 

2. Reduce parallelism or add throttling to parallel tasks:

• In PowerShell 7, use ForEach-Object -Parallel with a throttle limit.

1. Use more specific queries (filter on server side) rather than retrieving all resources and filtering client-side.
2. Monitor throttling responses (HTTP 429) and honor Retry-After header.

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8. Diagnostic tools and logging

Useful commands and tools:

• Get-AzActivityLog — query subscription-level events
• Get-AzResourceHealth — resource health status
• Azure Monitor and Log Analytics for deeper diagnostics
• Az.Profile and module-specific logging using -Debug and -Verbose

Examples:

Get-AzActivityLog -StartTime (Get-Date).AddHours(-24) -MaxRecord 50 

Enable detailed network tracing for PowerShell:

[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::ServerCertificateValidationCallback = {$true} # or use Fiddler/Wireshark for captured traffic (careful with TLS) 

For persistent script logging, write logs to files or Log Analytics:

Write-Output "my log" | Out-File -FilePath "C:	empzlog.txt" -Append 

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9. Best practices to avoid future issues

• Use the Az module (not AzureRM); keep modules up to date.
• Use service principals or managed identities for automation.
• Lock module versions for production automation environments.
• Implement retry/backoff and idempotent operations in scripts.
• Use role-based access control (RBAC) with least privilege.
• Test scripts in a non-production subscription or resource group.
• Centralize logging (Log Analytics) to capture errors and performance metrics.

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Example troubleshooting checklist (quick)

• Verify PowerShell version: $PSVersionTable
• Ensure Az module is installed and updated: Install-Module Az
• Confirm authentication and context: Connect-AzAccount; Get-AzSubscription; Set-AzContext
• Check network connectivity to management endpoints: Test-NetConnection management.azure.com -Port 443
• Run with -Verbose and -Debug and inspect error objects
• Check RBAC permissions and assign minimum necessary role
• Review Automation account module versions and authentication method

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Troubleshooting Azure PowerShell blends PowerShell debugging skills with knowledge of Azure authentication, networking, and RBAC. Following the steps above will resolve most common issues; when problems persist, capture detailed error output and environment state (PowerShell version, Az module versions, exact cmdlet and parameters used) before escalating to Azure support or community forums.