Troubleshooting OSProvisioningTimedOut Error in Azure DevOps ARM Template Deployment

Introduction

When deploying resources to Azure using Azure DevOps pipelines, encountering errors during the process can be frustrating, especially when deploying virtual machines (VMs) via an ARM template. One common issue during VM deployment is the OSProvisioningTimedOut error. This error indicates that the operating system provisioning process for the VM did not complete within the expected time.

In this article, we’ll explore the OSProvisioningTimedOut error, why it happens, and steps to troubleshoot and resolve it in your Azure DevOps pipeline.

Error Details

During the execution of an ARM template deployment, you may encounter the following error message in the Azure DevOps pipeline logs:

OSProvisioningTimedOut: OS Provisioning for VM 'lab-011' did not finish in the allotted time. The VM may still finish provisioning successfully. Please check provisioning state later.

This error suggests that the deployment process for the VM timed out while Azure was configuring the operating system. Although the VM might still finish provisioning, the error will cause the pipeline to fail. Let’s break down the error and look at potential causes and solutions.