Can not delete empty node pool that is using a VM SKU that has limited availability in my region

Question

Can not delete empty node pool that is using a VM SKU that has limited availability in my region

BrianWrestler-7912 0

The node pool uses Standard_D2ds_v5 which we no longer have quota for in our region. We have emptied the pool but are unable to delete it due to the quota issue. We are also unable to upgrade AKS cluster due to this issue.

Jilakara Hemalatha 5 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-01T10:10:00.8833333+00:00
Hi Brian Wrestler

As part of the troubleshooting process for the AKS node pool deletion issue, could you please assist by confirming the following:

Have you verified whether any resource locks are applied to the AKS resource group or its associated resources that might be preventing deletion?

Are there any existing dependencies linked to the node pool that could be causing it to remain undeletable?

When attempting to execute the delete command, is there any specific error message being returned that could help identify the root cause?

2 answers

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Jilakara Hemalatha 5 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-01T10:10:00.8833333+00:00

Hi Brian Wrestler

As part of the troubleshooting process for the AKS node pool deletion issue, could you please assist by confirming the following:

Have you verified whether any resource locks are applied to the AKS resource group or its associated resources that might be preventing deletion?

Are there any existing dependencies linked to the node pool that could be causing it to remain undeletable?

When attempting to execute the delete command, is there any specific error message being returned that could help identify the root cause?

Answer 1

Jose Benjamin Solis Nolasco 4,986

Hi Brian,

Thanks for reaching out — I understand you're unable to delete an empty node pool in your AKS cluster because it's using a VM SKU (Standard_D2ds_v5) that currently has no quota in your region. This is preventing you from both deleting the node pool and upgrading the cluster.

Even if a node pool is empty, AKS still tries to validate the VM SKU (for quota and availability) during the deletion or upgrade process. If the SKU is no longer available or has zero quota, this operation fails — which is a known limitation.

If possible, request a temporary quota increase for the Standard_D2ds_v5 SKU in that region via the Azure portal:

Go to: Azure Portal > Subscriptions > Usage + quotas

Search for Standard_D2ds_v5 and request quota for your region.

Once granted, delete the node pool and optionally reduce the quota again

Test this script first can help you make a force delete Sometimes using the --no-wait or --force flags via CLI can bypass some validation logic (not always guaranteed). Try:

az aks nodepool delete \
  --resource-group <your-resource-group> \
  --cluster-name <your-aks-cluster-name> \
  --name <nodepool-name> \
  --no-wait

BrianWrestler-7912 0 Reputation points

2025-07-31T15:28:04.3366667+00:00

I have asked for a temporary quota(denied) and I also have ran the delete command with --no-wait to no avail. I am unable to delete the nodepool or get my AKS cluster upgraded. The --force command returns: unrecognized arguments: --force
Jose Benjamin Solis Nolasco 4,986 Reputation points

2025-07-31T15:37:51.9733333+00:00

try this script

az aks nodepool delete \

--resource-group <rg> \

--cluster-name <aks-name> \

--name <nodepool-name> \

--no-wait \

--yes

The --yes flag skips confirmation prompts, but doesn't bypass SKU quota logic. However, you can try again while monitoring via:

az aks show --resource-group <rg> --name <aks-name> --query "agentPoolProfiles"

let me know if it work
BrianWrestler-7912 0 Reputation points

2025-07-31T15:49:30.4766667+00:00

Unneccesary
BrianWrestler-7912 0 Reputation points

2025-07-31T16:48:33.3633333+00:00

Is there a way to elevate this? It does not seem possible to get out of this block without an overrride
BrianWrestler-7912 0 Reputation points

2025-08-01T16:11:22.1433333+00:00

I was able to get a quota increase but am still getting the errors. I also am seeing an incongruity between what is returned by az and what is on the portal. Attached are the images. These are showing 2 different quota values for my Standard DDSv5 in eastus

Answer 2

BrianWrestler-7912 0

The issue ended up being with subnet settings in the nodepool. Thanks.

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Can not delete empty node pool that is using a VM SKU that has limited availability in my region

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