How to fix Error: Error creating AKS Cluster: QuotaExceeded in Terraform

In the Azure Portal, navigate to your subscription > Usage + quotas. Search for 'Compute' to view vCPU and managed cluster quotas. Note the current usage and limits for each VM family and region where you're deploying. Use the Azure CLI command:

az vm list-usage --location eastus -o table

Replace 'eastus' with your target region. This shows current usage vs. limits for all compute resources.

Go to Azure Portal > Subscriptions > select your subscription > Usage + quotas. Click 'Request increase' next to the quota that's exceeded (typically 'Total Regional vCPUs' or a specific family like 'Standard DSv3 Family vCPUs'). In the request form:
- Select the VM family or Total Regional vCPUs option
- Enter the new quota limit you need
- Provide a business justification
- Click 'Request' to submit

Quota increase requests are typically approved within 1-2 business days.

While waiting for quota approval, temporarily reduce the cluster size in your main.tf:

resource "azurerm_kubernetes_cluster" "example" {
  default_node_pool {
    vm_size       = "Standard_B2s"  # Use smaller SKU
    node_count    = 1               # Start with 1 node
    max_count     = 5
    min_count     = 1
  }
}

After quota increase is approved, update these values to your desired configuration and run terraform apply again.

If the quota increase is urgent, deploy your AKS cluster in a different Azure region that has available capacity. Update your Terraform provider or variable:

provider "azurerm" {
  features {}
}

variable "location" {
  default = "westus2"  # Different region
}

Run terraform plan to verify the new region has sufficient quota, then apply. Once your primary region quota is increased, migrate your cluster or deploy additional clusters.

After Azure approves your quota increase request (typically 1-2 business days), verify in Azure Portal > Usage + quotas that the new limits are in place. Then update your Terraform configuration back to your desired settings:

terraform plan

If the plan shows no errors, proceed with:

terraform apply

Your AKS cluster should now create successfully.

To free up quota for future deployments, remove unused AKS clusters in your subscription. Check your Terraform state for orphaned or failed clusters:

terraform state list

Delete unused clusters either via:

terraform destroy -target=azurerm_kubernetes_cluster.example

Or manually in Azure Portal > Resource groups > select group > select cluster > Delete. This immediately frees up quota for new deployments.