Overview

Getting started with Azure Arc is deceptively easy — but getting it right takes forethought. This post breaks down essential pre-requisites and the most common traps that derail successful deployments.

1. Network and Connectivity Requirements

Azure Arc requires outbound HTTPS access on port 443 to several Azure endpoints. In restricted environments, this can be a blocker.

• ✅ Tip: Allowlist required FQDNs rather than IPs to stay future-proof.
• ❗ Gotcha: Using a transparent proxy without SSL inspection may break onboarding.

🔗 Microsoft Docs: Required URLs for Arc

2. Identity and Access Management

You’ll need to register the Microsoft.HybridCompute and Microsoft.GuestConfiguration providers and assign roles correctly.

• ✅ Best Practice: Use a dedicated Service Principal for onboarding at scale.
• ❗ Gotcha: RBAC misconfiguration is a top reason onboarding fails silently.

3. OS and Agent Requirements

• Supported OS: Windows Server 2012 R2+, Ubuntu 16.04+, CentOS/RHEL 7+, etc.

• Ensure Connected Machine Agent has local admin privileges to install properly.

• ✅ Best Practice: Bake the agent into base images for auto-onboarded VMs.

• ❗ Gotcha: Server core installations often need additional tweaks or dependencies.

4. Tagging and Naming Standards

Set naming conventions and tags from the start — Arc doesn’t retro-tag easily.

• Example naming format: arc-[hostname]-[location]-[env]
• Use policy to enforce tags on connected machines

5. Region Selection and Resource Organization

• Azure Arc resources are metadata-only — but they’re tied to a region for management.
• Use a dedicated RG per site or environment to simplify governance.

6. Gotchas Summary

Up Next

In the next post, we’ll explore how to onboard resources to Azure Arc at scale, including PowerShell automation, DSC integrations, and template deployments.

Need help setting up Azure Arc for your environment? Reach out or connect with me on LinkedIn or GitHub.