How to Resolve Azure Quota Exceeded Exception On Databricks Cluster

Hi ,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

Azure Student subscriptions come with:

• Limited vCPU quotas per region (often as low as 4 to 6 vCPUs).

Limited VM SKUs (you may not be allowed to use certain VM types).

When Databricks tries to provision a VM for your driver node (even a small one), it hits a quota limit or SKU unavailability, and Azure silently blocks the provisioning, which causes your cluster creation to hang or fail.

Check Azure Quotas in the Portal

• Go to Azure Portal > Subscriptions > Select your Student Subscription > Click Usage + quotas.

Filter by region and look for quotas like:

Total Regional vCPUs

  Standard D Family vCPUs
  
     Standard DSv2 Family vCPUs
     

Check whether you have any vCPUs remaining.

Reduce Cluster Size Further

Try this minimal configuration for cluster creation:

Single node cluster: Yes.

Driver type: Choose the smallest available (e.g., Standard_DS1_v2 — 1 vCPU, 3.5 GB RAM).

Worker type: Set it to None or same as driver if possible.

Note: Azure Student accounts typically support only small SKUs like Standard_B1s, Standard_DS1_v2, etc.

Try a Different Azure Region

Your selected region (e.g., East US, Central India) may not have capacity for the VM SKU or may have more restrictive quotas.

Try switching the region of your Databricks workspace to:

East US 2

North Europe

West Europe

These regions tend to have better availability for small VM SKUs.

Request a Quota Increase (Limited for Student Subscriptions)

Go to: Azure Portal > Help + Support > New Support Request > Quota > Request Increase

However, for Azure for Students, quota increases are usually not allowed. You may get a rejection.

Delete Stuck Clusters or Resources

Sometimes, failed clusters still reserve quotas:

Terminate all clusters from Databricks UI.

Delete orphaned resources in the Azure Resource Group.

Check if your region quota is released.

Switch to Free-tier or Community Edition (Temporary Option)

If none of this works and you are blocked:

• Try Databricks Community Edition (hosted by Databricks, no Azure VM cost): https://community.cloud.databricks.com/

Please 'Upvote'(Thumbs-up) and 'Accept' as answer if the reply was helpful. This will be benefitting other community members who face the same issue.

Hello Rakhi Walhekar, thanks for raising this issue on Microsoft Q&A and also thank you Vinodh247 for your detailed explanation — that’s absolutely correct. Azure for Students subscriptions come with limited quotas and SKU availability, and this often causes Databricks cluster creation to hang or fail. To validate further and help you resolve:

Why the Issue Happens

1. Quota Limits: Student subscriptions usually provide only a small number of regional vCPUs (4–6). If the VM SKU you selected requires more than your available quota, the cluster provisioning fails silently.
2. SKU Restrictions: Some VM types (e.g., certain D-series or larger SKUs) are not available under Azure for Students, even if you technically have vCPUs left.

Recommended Steps

1. Check Your Quotas
   • Go to Azure Portal → Subscriptions → Select your Student Subscription → Usage + quotas.
   • Look at Total Regional vCPUs and specific VM family quotas (e.g., Standard D Family vCPUs). Docs: View and request quota increases
2. Use a Smaller SKU for the Cluster
   • For a single-node cluster, try using the smallest possible SKU, such as Standard_DS1_v2 (1 vCPU, 3.5 GB RAM).
   • Disable additional workers and stick to single-node where possible. Docs: Azure Databricks cluster sizing
3. Try a Different Region
   • Some regions enforce stricter quotas or may not have capacity for certain SKUs.
   • Recommended regions with better availability: East US 2, North Europe, West Europe.
4. Quota Increase Requests
   • Normally, quota increases can be requested from Help + Support → New Support Request → Quota.
   • However, with Azure for Students, quota increases are usually not granted.
     Docs: Request quota increase
5. Clean Up Stuck Resources

Terminate all stuck clusters from Databricks UI.

• Delete any leftover compute resources in the associated Resource Group to release capacity.

1. Workaround Option
   • If you remain blocked, you can use the Databricks Community Edition (free, cloud-hosted by Databricks) until you upgrade to a full subscription: Databricks Community Edition

Hope this helps! If you have any further questions, let us know. Thank you.