Cannot update Azure Monitor Windows Agent - Stuck in Creating

Hello Scott Wilson,

Thank you for sharing the logs and details. Based on the gc_ext.log entries, the upgrade is failing due to the 300MB unzip limit of the Azure VM extension:

Failed to download/unzip extension package 'Microsoft.Azure.Monitor.AzureMonitorWindowsAgent' dsc_Error : The total unzipped file exceeded 300MB. quiting unzip.

This is a known limitation of VM extensions and is why the extension stays in the Creating state.

Recommended Workarounds:

1. Use Azure Monitor Agent (AMA) MSI Installer Instead of Extension
   • Download and install AMA directly via script or manually using MSI.
   • This avoids the unzip limit and ensures successful installation.
   • Example PowerShell script:

          $url = "https://aka.ms/InstallAzureMonitorAgentWindows"
          $localPath = "C:\Temp\AzureMonitorAgent.msi"
          Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -OutFile $localPath
          Start-Process msiexec.exe -ArgumentList "/i $localPath /qn" -Wait
          Remove-Item $localPath
     

2. Verify Installation
   • Check the service status on the VM:

          Get-Service -Name AzureMonitorAgent
     

3. Disk Space & Permissions Check
   • Ensure the temp folder C:\ProgramData\GuestConfig\downloads has sufficient free space (>1GB recommended).
   • Confirm no antivirus or system process is deleting files prematurely.

References:

• Install Azure Monitor Agent on Windows
• Azure VM Extensions Overview
• Guest Configuration Extension Troubleshooting

Next Steps:

We recommend switching from the extension deployment to the MSI/script installation for all affected VMs. This will bypass the 300MB limitation and ensure the upgrade succeeds.

Hope this helps. Please let us know if you need further assistance. Thank you!

These instructions did not work. I am getting this error on install of the MSI.

Hello Scott,

Thank you for sharing the screenshot. The error message you’re seeing is expected behavior:

“Installing Azure Monitor Agent using Windows installer is not supported on Windows Server machines. The recommended approach is to use Azure Arc agent/service and VM extension.”

Explanation:

The MSI installer for Azure Monitor Agent is only supported on Windows client operating systems (e.g., Windows 10/11). On Windows Server SKUs, the installation path is intentionally blocked Microsoft requires using either:

• Azure Monitor Agent VM Extension (for Azure VMs)
• Azure Arc + AMA (for hybrid/on-prem servers connected through Arc) This ensures consistency in deployment, updates, and configuration.

Next Steps / Workarounds:

1. For Azure VMs (Windows Server):
   • Please deploy the AzureMonitorWindowsAgent extension instead of MSI.
   • Docs: Install and Manage the Azure Monitor Agent
2. For non-Azure or hybrid servers:
   • Onboard the machines to Azure Arc and then deploy the agent from Arc.
   • Docs: Install AMA on Arc-enabled servers
3. About the 300MB limitation you hit earlier:
   • That is a limitation of the Guest Configuration unzip process when installing extensions.
   • Microsoft’s current guidance is to use the newer AMA extension builds (which are smaller) or Arc-based deployment, both of which avoid this problem.

The MSI path won’t work on Windows Server, but moving to the VM extension or Azure Arc deployment will get you past this limitation. Let us know if this helps or if you any further questions. Thank you!

Anurag,

You have just provided circular reasoning here. My original log came from Azure Arc servers.

The servers I am working with already are Azure Arc enabled servers and I am using Microsoft's Azure Arc DCR and extension panel in Azure. This indicates to me that Microsoft is deploying an extension that beyond their documented limit of 300MB thus this is a bug in Azure. Not a user problem.

I am starting to believe these are just AI generated responses. Please provide some proof this is not AI.

Hello,

Thank you for clarifying that these are Arc-enabled servers and that you are deploying via the Data Collection Rule (DCR) and extension panel in Azure. You’re absolutely correct in this case, you are already following Microsoft’s recommended deployment path.

The error you are hitting:

dsc_Error : The total unzipped file exceeded 300MB. quiting unzip.

is due to a documented Guest Configuration agent limitation. The Guest Configuration agent used by Azure Arc enforces a 300MB limit for extension package extraction. Unfortunately, the current AMA extension package can exceed this size when uncompressed, which leads to the failure you observed.

This is not a misconfiguration on your side it’s a limitation in how the extension is packaged today.

Supporting Evidence:

• Microsoft documentation explicitly calls out the 300MB uncompressed file size limit: Guest Configuration extension troubleshooting – Microsoft Docs
• Azure Monitor documentation also confirms that extensions are the only supported path for Windows Server and Arc-enabled machines: Install the Azure Monitor Agent on Arc-enabled servers

Next Steps

Since this is a product-side limitation, the best course of action is to:

• Open a support ticket
  • This allows the Arc and AMA product teams to investigate and confirm if a fix is in progress for oversized AMA packages. Submit a support request
• Please provide the requested PII details through private message only to troubleshoot further and let me raise this concern internally as well.
  • Contact email address
  • Global admin email address (affected account)
  • Country TimeZone
  • Tenant ID or domain name
  • Affected subscription ID

I’m sorry for the earlier guidance. Thanks for understanding.