Unable to delete VNet due to serviceAssociationLinks/AppServiceLink

Kien_NDM 136

Hi,

I have deployed an Azure system including virtual networks and app services. Then, when doing virtual network deletion, I had some problems. I got the message and the subnet uses the above vnet. Then I delete the subnet and get the message that there are app services using the above subnet. In fact, there are no app services at all. When using the command below:

az network vnet subnet list --resource-group [...] --vnet-name [...]

As a result, I discovered that 1 [Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets/serviceAssociationLinks] cannot be deleted.

Remove-AzureRmVirtualNetwork : Subnet snet-bo is in use by /subscriptions/[..id...]/resource
Groups/Disabled/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/vnet-drug/subnets/snet-bo/serviceAssociationLinks/AppServic
eLink and cannot be deleted. In order to delete the subnet, delete all the resources within the subnet. See
aka.ms/deletesubnet.
StatusCode: 400
ReasonPhrase: Bad Request
OperationID : 'bbc8987b-ffd1-420e-80c7-5913ef43b069'
At line:1 char:1

Remove-AzureRmVirtualNetwork -Name vnet-drug -ResourceGroupName disab ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CategoryInfo : CloseError: (:) [Remove-AzureRmVirtualNetwork], NetworkCloudException

FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.Azure.Commands.Network.RemoveAzureVirtualNetworkCommand

Please support, thank you.

Jose Wildner 10 Reputation points

2023-03-25T02:59:05.11+00:00

Hello Team

I had the same issue

but I coulnd't apply the workaround and the azure portal dont leave me open a case for this issue, just fowarding me to this post.
Al Iacovella 0 Reputation points

2023-05-19T16:22:24.31+00:00

Just ran into this myself. What gives, this was reported in October 2020 and it is still happening.
Ryan DiFrancesco 0 Reputation points

2023-05-19T17:26:30.84+00:00

If you're able to, open support case in the portal. Once you describe and categorize your issue, it should auto-detect that there is an orphaned AppServiceLink in your subscription and will automatically submit a request to have it removed on the backend. This process worked for me last week.

But, yes, I agree that this should not still be happening.
Dylan Elder 35 Reputation points

2023-06-21T20:13:19.6666667+00:00

I'm experiencing the same issues with a recently created vnet and resource group. Super frustrating.
Carlos Bernardo Jr 30 Reputation points

2023-07-07T11:00:44.7666667+00:00

Same here. Can't delete and the workaround won't work.
Samuel Nihipali 5 Reputation points

2023-07-26T22:21:48.31+00:00

I'm getting this error as well. I had an Web app + Database and didn't realize that I had to disconnect the subnet from the vnet before deleting the resource group. Not I can't delete the subnet or vnet. I've tried recreating but it either fails because the resource already exists or unable to assign the subnet due to it being assigned already. Any chance of getting a one-time support ticket?
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Doug Nelson 10 Reputation points

2023-08-09T12:47:40.4+00:00

I have the same issue. I have deleted all items in the resource group except for the Subnets in the Virtual Network. I am still being charged for an Azure Database for MySQL Flexserver that doesn't exist.

HELP PLEASE!
Medha Bhatt 36 Reputation points

2023-11-20T14:26:09.95+00:00

I am experiencing the same issue and this is such a bad customer experience. Also the error message is not at all user friendly and doesn't even indicate what should be done next.

Even the workaround given below is useless.
Andrew Flierman 0 Reputation points

2024-05-17T11:53:52.9033333+00:00

Hi,

The story continues, so it seems.
I'm facing the same issue, trying to delete a vNet but it can't because it holds an subnet with a associated service link. In my case it seems to be relevant to Cloudshell configuration in a virtual network, which is described here.

The workaround does not work for me, as my resource is never deleted so I can't recreate.

Also found another workaround that might help others, but this one also didn't work for me
Ivan Koshelev 0 Reputation points

2024-08-18T19:39:54.9666667+00:00

I'm having the same issue. 4 years and still not solved?
K N Omkar Nag 0 Reputation points

2024-08-22T12:00:05.55+00:00

It's 2024 and we still haven't evolved.

wow!

Accepted answer

suvasara-MSFT 10,081 Reputation points Moderator

2020-10-28T10:31:48.677+00:00
The steps below outline a workaround you can try to resolve it.

Workaround Steps:

Create an App Service Plan with the same name as the deleted one.

Create an App Service with the same name as the deleted one.

Link the App Service to the VNet subnet.

Disconnect the VNet from the App Service:

Go to Networking > VNet Integration > Disconnect.

Delete the subnet.

Reason for the Issue:

This issue occurs because the new VNet Integration feature (Regional VNet Integration) adds locks to subnets using a structure called a Service Association Link (SAL). These locks, managed by Azure's internal services like Microsoft.Web, occasionally fail to clean up properly. As a result, the subnet remains locked, preventing deletion or reuse.

Next Steps:

If the workaround does not resolve the issue, you will need to contact Azure Support for assistance.

If you do not have a support plan, please email me with your Subscription ID and a link to this post. I will help enable a one-time free support request so that you can proceed with deleting the subnet.

----------

Please do not forget to "Accept the answer" wherever the information provided helps you to help others in the community.
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16 people found this answer helpful.
suvasara-MSFT 10,081 Reputation points Moderator

2020-12-04T09:30:22.573+00:00

@Kien_NDM ,

If you think your question has been answered, click "Mark as Answer" if just helped click "Vote as helpful". This can be beneficial to other community members reading this forum thread.

Best regards
Subhash

Andrew Hunt 46 Reputation points

2021-02-24T19:59:33.99+00:00

Is there any progress on this fix? I did two separate ARM deployments that setup a VNet integration to app service and both hit this issue which makes me think your comment about it sometimes not getting cleaned up should be amended to say always not getting cleaned up. We spin up and down entire resource group deployments which will now include such vnet integrations with app service and having them not delete properly on an ongoing basis is going to cause significant clutter on our subscription.

a4andrew 41 Reputation points

2021-03-09T19:35:48.66+00:00

What happens if you have forgotten the name of the original app service?

Andrew Hunt 46 Reputation points

2021-03-10T14:38:50.6+00:00

Updating to include that more than clutter this now fails our resource group deletions which is a deeply frustrating user experience for the developers, PMs, and QA who rely on these features as part of our development cycle. Please fix this ASAP

Franciosi, Tom 1 Reputation point

2021-07-22T18:51:09.593+00:00

Well, that worked for me and the persistent VNET is gone. Thanks!

Ryan Hill 30,291 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2021-07-26T16:27:17.597+00:00

If you have forgotten the name, you can use Get-AzDeletedWebApp (Az.Websites) | Microsoft Learn to retrieve the app name. For getting the details of the app service plan, you can go to Resource explorer from your portal. After going, you can go to the subnet details and you can get the details of previous app service plan in which previous integrated web app is hosted as shown below.

Jiri Mensik 11 Reputation points

2022-08-08T18:00:06.173+00:00

1) In my case support is claiming that they cannot delete any resource on my behalf.
2) For the workaround. My subnet was delegated to Flexible PostgreSQL server. After adding back the server and trying to remove the delegation to "Microsoft.DBforPostgreSQL/flexibleServers" on given subnet I get

Failed to save subnet 'mysubnet'. Error: 'Subnet mysubnet requires any of the following delegation(s) [Microsoft.DBforPostgreSQL/flexibleServers] to reference service association link /subscriptions/someID/resourceGroups/someName/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/someName/subnets/someName/serviceAssociationLinks/someId-service-association-link.'

What should be my next step?
Thank you
Jiri

Jyothi Chaganty 11 Reputation points

2022-10-10T15:40:09.827+00:00

Steps 1 and 2 are fine, but Step 3 is a problem.
I tried creating app service and subscription plan with the same name. but I couldn't assign the subnet to this new resource. It says it is already allocated.

Jiri Mensik 11 Reputation points

2022-10-11T07:48:49.66+00:00

I got it solved with support who claimed it was a bug (they were not specific) which got fixed afterwards. Additionally they deleted the association link.
So, hopefully 1 less issue.

MaiaV 1 Reputation point

2022-12-21T17:35:00.53+00:00

I had 4 webapps in the subnet, I had to follow do workaround for each of them.
But it solved my issue.

Jacin Labrador 0 Reputation points

2023-04-20T22:38:09+00:00

I am having this problem and I do not have a support plan as far as I can tell. Thanks.

Arkia Consulting 5 Reputation points

2023-05-17T13:33:22.4+00:00

As a side note, you don't have to remember the name of the web app, just create any web app with any name. The goal is only to setup a link to the existing subnet, through the named App Service Plan, then disconnect it. The name of the web app does not have to be the same as the deleted one.

Steven Life 5 Reputation points

2023-07-15T19:47:31.4033333+00:00

We can't allocate the existing subnet we want to delete to the new app service other than creating a new subnet. Please suggest what we could do. It seems like it is costing 2 dollars everyday because of this subnet can't be deleted.

Gennaro Eduardo Tangari 5 Reputation points

2023-08-10T12:08:00.14+00:00

I have this problem too: I can't believe that since so long time this problem has not been fixed.

中垣茂(ESM) 0 Reputation points

2023-09-21T02:02:16.87+00:00

This workaround dose not work for my case.

I can not link App Service with the VNET subnet because I can not select the VNET subnet. The reason which can not be selected is the VNET subnet is already delegated.

I'm waiting for one time free support.

thanks

Kevin Kennedy 1 Reputation point

2023-12-22T00:21:37.4933333+00:00

I have this issue and no service plan. Can you please help me?

Taylor Stooke 0 Reputation points

2024-01-16T21:58:39.4166667+00:00

Not sure if I'm doing something wrong with the Resource Explorer, but I wasn't able to find the linked ASP for my subnet using that tool. Instead, I used this az cli command:

az network vnet subnet list --resource-group [RG-NAME] --vnet-name [VNET-NAME]

The resulting output included a serviceAssociationLinks array for the subnet(s), and that showed the name of the deleted ASP. Since the link is based on the Resource Name rather than the ID, creating a new ASP with the same name allows you to "recreate" the link and then delete it. The name of the App Service (or Function App) didn't matter when I did this.

You'll have to be logged on and have the correct Subscription set as active, of course.

Hubert Mocko 0 Reputation points

2024-01-19T11:44:32.75+00:00

I am experiencing the same issue and this workaround doesn't work. It is January 2024 now. Because of that I can't get rid of vnet nor entire resource groups.

Dennes Torres 11 Reputation points

2024-02-05T13:51:27.2433333+00:00

The step 3 of the work around doesn't work because the app service can only be associated with a subnect which is not delegated yet

mazen keeikati 0 Reputation points

2024-07-23T14:51:59.5+00:00

I have the same problem. I added a new VNET for web service and MySQL server and I then deleted them.

Is there any solution to delete this VNetSubnet?

Egli Becerra 25 Reputation points

2025-03-28T00:38:59.85+00:00

Mine is related to the vnet being delegated to a service that does not exist, its not allowing me to remove it I've tried everything, this vnet is eating around AUD $40 of my credits every month. even though I have full owner rights it says it cannot delete it. even when i try to set the delegation as none it does not allow it, the delegation is against a Microsoft.DBforPostgreSQL/flexibleServers that does not exist anymore

Jared Stevenson 0 Reputation points

2025-08-12T04:39:54.8766667+00:00

Experiencing a similar issue and unable to delete a subnet due to a service association link. I've followed the steps in the workaround and unfortunately had no success.

Is it possible to get assistance in requesting a one-time free support request?

Thanks.
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David Zheng 0 Reputation points

2024-01-10T00:15:20.63+00:00

Therefore, the current problem is that the administrative privileges of serviceAssociationLinks cannot be changed by the delete command.

We can only overwrite the original link by reconnecting the same serviceAssociationLinks type and then delete it.
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Zhen Chen 0 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2025-05-09T15:35:16.6466667+00:00

I'm facing same problem, and I tried to re-create and then delete my AKS. but nothing changes. not able to remove serviceAssociationLinks ...
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Unable to delete VNet due to serviceAssociationLinks/AppServiceLink

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