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| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: Troubleshoot errors when creating or switching to an AKS Automatic cluster |
| 3 | +description: Learn how to resolve errors when creating or switching to an AKS Automatic cluster. |
| 4 | +ms.date: 9/9/2025 |
| 5 | +ms.author: wangamanda |
| 6 | +ms.service: azure-kubernetes-service |
| 7 | +ms.custom: sap:Create, Upgrade, Scale and Delete operations (cluster or nodepool) |
| 8 | +--- |
| 9 | +# Troubleshoot errors when creating or switching to an AKS Automatic cluster |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +This article provides guidance for resolving errors that occur when you create or switch to an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Automatic cluster. |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +## Error 1: AKS Automatic could not find a suitable VM size. |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +### Symptoms |
| 16 | +When you try to create an AKS Automatic cluster, you receive the following error message: |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | +> AKS Automatic could not find a suitable VM size. The subscription may not have the required quota of '16' vCPUs, may have restrictions, or location $location may not support three availability zones for the following VM sizes: 'standard_d4lds_v5,standard_d4ads_v5,standard_d4ds_v5,standard_d4d_v5,standard_d4d_v4,standard_ds3_v2,standard_ds12_v2,standard_d4alds_v6,standard_d4lds_v6,standard_d4alds_v5'. Please request some quota for one of these candidate vm sizes in the target region or explicitly specify a vm-size with sufficient quota via --node-vm-size. |
| 19 | +
|
| 20 | +### Cause |
| 21 | +This error message indicates that any of several problems exists: The subscription doesn't provide a sufficiently large quota of vCPUs assigned to virtual machines (VMs) or the location where the cluster is being created does not support three availability zones. Without a sufficient quota, the system pool for the AKS Automatic cluster can't be created. |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +### Solution |
| 24 | +To resolve this error, try one of the following fixes: |
| 25 | +- [Increase the regional vCPU quota](/azure/quotas/regional-quota-requests#increase-a-regional-vcpu-quota) for one of the listed vm sizes. |
| 26 | +- Deploy the cluster in a different region that has an existing quota that accommodates one of these VM sizes. |
| 27 | +- If you're using Azure CLI, specify the VM size by using `--vm-sizes`. |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +## Error 2: Automatic SKU is not supported in this region. |
| 30 | + |
| 31 | +### Symptoms |
| 32 | +When you try to create an AKS Automatic cluster, you receive the following error message: |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +> Automatic SKU is not supported in this region. |
| 35 | +
|
| 36 | +### Cause |
| 37 | +This error indicates that you can't create AKS Automatic clusters in regions where [API Server VNet Integration](/azure/aks/api-server-vnet-integration#limited-availability) isn't generally available. |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +### Solution |
| 40 | +Create the clusters in regions where [API Server VNet Integration](/azure/aks/api-server-vnet-integration#limited-availability) is generally available. |
| 41 | + |
| 42 | +## Error 3: Managed cluster 'Automatic' SKU should set taint 'CriticalAddonsOnlyNoSchedule' for the system node pool. |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +### Symptoms |
| 45 | +When you remove the 'CriticalAddonsOnlyNoSchedule' taint from the system node pool of an AKS Automatic cluster, you receive the following error message: |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +> Managed cluster 'Automatic' SKU should set taint 'CriticalAddonsOnlyNoSchedule' for the system node pool. |
| 48 | +
|
| 49 | +### Cause |
| 50 | +Removing the 'CriticalAddonsOnlyNoSchedule' taint from the system node pool of an AKS Automatic cluster is not allowed. |
| 51 | + |
| 52 | +### Solution |
| 53 | +This behavior is by design. 'CriticalAddonsOnlyNoSchedule' keeps system add-ons running on the system node pool instead of on the user node pool. |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +## Error 4 - Managed cluster 'Automatic' SKU should enable $feature_name feature with recommended values. |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +### Symptoms |
| 58 | +When you try to update an existing AKS cluster from the "Base" SKU to the "Automatic" SKU, you receive the following error message: |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | +> Managed cluster 'Automatic' SKU should enable $feature_name feature with recommended values. The feature name will vary based on the feature that has not been enabled. |
| 61 | +
|
| 62 | +### Cause |
| 63 | +When you update an existing AKS cluster from "Base" to "Automatic," [all AKS Automatic features](/azure/aks/intro-aks-automatic) must first be enabled on the Base cluster. |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +### Solution |
| 66 | +Enable the specific feature that's mentioned in the error message before you update the cluster to "Automatic." Some of the required features include, but aren't limited to, the following features: |
| 67 | + |
| 68 | +- [Azure Linux OS](/azure/azure-linux/intro-azure-linux) |
| 69 | +- [Availability zones](/azure/reliability/regions-list): AKS Automatic clusters require deployment in Azure regions that support at least three availability zones. |
| 70 | +- [Node auto provisioning](/azure/aks/node-autoprovision) |
| 71 | + |
| 72 | +## Error 5 - Managed cluster 'Automatic' SKU should use Standard tier. |
| 73 | + |
| 74 | +### Symptoms |
| 75 | +When you try to update an existing AKS cluster from the "Base" SKU to the "Automatic" SKU, you receive the following error message: |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +> Managed cluster 'Automatic' SKU should use Standard tier. |
| 78 | +
|
| 79 | +### Cause |
| 80 | +AKS Automatic offers only one tier: Standard. |
| 81 | + |
| 82 | +### Solution |
| 83 | +Before you update an existing AKS cluster from "Base" to "Automatic," make sure that it's [set to the "Standard" tier](/azure/aks/free-standard-pricing-tiers#update-an-existing-cluster-from-the-free-tier-to-the-standard-tier). |
| 84 | + |
| 85 | +[!INCLUDE [Third-party disclaimer](../../../includes/third-party-disclaimer.md)] |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +[!INCLUDE [Azure Help Support](../../../includes/azure-help-support.md)] |
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