1---2name: azure-data-explorer3description: Expert knowledge for Azure Data Explorer development including troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. Use when securing ADX (RBAC, managed identities), automating cluster/schema deployment, integrating via ODBC/JDBC, tuning ingestion, or designing DR/multitenant architectures, and other Azure Data Explorer related development tasks. Not for Azure Synapse Analytics (use azure-synapse-analytics), Azure Stream Analytics (use azure-stream-analytics), Azure HDInsight (use azure-hdinsight), Azure Databricks (use azure-databricks).4---5# Azure Data Explorer Skill
6
7This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Data Explorer. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.
8
9## How to Use This Skill
10
11> **IMPORTANT for Agent**: Use the **Category Index** below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., `L35-L120`), use `read_file` with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., `[security.md](security.md)`), use `read_file` on the linked reference file
12
13> **IMPORTANT for Agent**: If `metadata.generated_at` is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If `mcp_microsoftdocs` tools are not available, suggest the user install it: [Installation Guide](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/mcp/blob/main/README.md)
14
15This skill requires **network access** to fetch documentation content:
16- **Preferred**: Use `mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch` with query string `from=learn-agent-skill`. Returns Markdown.
17- **Fallback**: Use `fetch_webpage` with query string `from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown`. Returns Markdown.
18
19## Category Index
20
21| Category | Lines | Description |
22|----------|-------|-------------|
23| Troubleshooting | L37-L49 | Diagnosing and fixing ADX cluster health, creation, connection, private endpoint, ingestion, and DB/table operation errors, including interpreting ingestion error codes and using Resource Health. |
24| Best Practices | L50-L61 | Guidance on optimizing ADX clusters and schemas, handling duplicates and JSON ingestion, tuning for high concurrency, monitoring queued ingestion, using hot windows, and applying Power BI best practices. |
25| Decision Making | L62-L76 | Guidance on ADX capacity planning, SKU and compute choices, scaling, cost optimization, reservations, business continuity, confidential compute, streaming ingestion, and Elasticsearch migration. |
26| Architecture & Design Patterns | L77-L83 | Designing ADX architectures for DR/BCP, cross-cluster access via follower DBs, and multitenant patterns (isolation, scaling, and resource sharing). |
27| Limits & Quotas | L84-L93 | Cluster limits and behaviors: free cluster quotas, auto-stop, safe delete/recover, ingestion file size and invalid data handling, and supported data/compression formats. |
28| Security | L94-L121 | Securing Azure Data Explorer: authn/z (RBAC, principals, Entra apps, Conditional Access), encryption, managed identities, network isolation, policies, data purging, and outbound/public access control. |
29| Configuration | L122-L136 | Configuring ADX environments: database/table policies, retention/cache, cross-tenant Event Hubs, Kusto emulator, plugins, monitoring, schema sync, T-SQL, and web UI settings/shortcuts. |
30| Integrations & Coding Patterns | L137-L171 | Integrating Azure Data Explorer with tools and platforms (SQL, ODBC/JDBC, Power Automate/Apps, Functions, Grafana, Splunk, OpenTelemetry, etc.) and coding patterns for querying, ingestion, and automation. |
31| Deployment | L172-L178 | Automating ADX cluster provisioning and schema deployment, plus guidance for migrating clusters to availability zones and from VNet injection to private endpoints. |
32
33### Troubleshooting
34| Topic | URL |
35|-------|-----|
36| Monitor and troubleshoot Azure Data Explorer cluster health | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/check-cluster-health |
37| Diagnose and fix Azure Data Explorer dashboard tile errors | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/dashboard-troubleshoot-tile-errors |
38| Interpret ADX ingestion error codes and failures | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/error-codes |
39| Resolve common Azure Data Explorer ingestion issues | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/ingestion-faq |
40| Use Resource Health to diagnose ADX issues | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/monitor-with-resource-health |
41| Troubleshoot Azure Data Explorer private endpoint issues | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/security-network-private-endpoint-troubleshoot |
42| Fix Azure Data Explorer cluster connection issues | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/troubleshoot-connect-cluster |
43| Troubleshoot Azure Data Explorer cluster creation failures | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/troubleshoot-create-cluster |
44| Resolve Azure Data Explorer DB and table operation failures | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/troubleshoot-database-table |
45
46### Best Practices
47| Topic | URL |
48|-------|-----|
49| Apply Azure Advisor recommendations to optimize Data Explorer clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/azure-advisor |
50| Handle duplicate data in Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/dealing-with-duplicates |
51| Optimize Azure Data Explorer clusters for high-concurrency workloads | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/high-concurrency |
52| Use hot windows to efficiently query cold data in Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/hot-windows |
53| Ingest JSON into Azure Data Explorer with KQL, C#, and Python | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/ingest-json-formats |
54| Monitor queued ingestion metrics in ADX | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/monitor-queued-ingestion |
55| Apply Power BI best practices for Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/power-bi-best-practices |
56| Optimize Azure Data Explorer table schema design | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/schema-best-practice |
57
58### Decision Making
59| Topic | URL |
60|-------|-----|
61| Choose Azure Data Explorer business continuity options | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/business-continuity-overview |
62| Deploy Azure Data Explorer with confidential compute | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/confidential-compute |
63| Decide when to use streaming ingestion in Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/ingest-data-streaming |
64| Select isolated compute SKUs for Data Explorer clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/isolated-compute |
65| Choose optimal Azure Data Explorer compute SKU | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/manage-cluster-choose-sku |
66| Plan vertical scaling and SKU changes for clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/manage-cluster-vertical-scaling |
67| Migrate Elasticsearch workloads to Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/migrate-elasticsearch-to-azure-data-explorer |
68| Use ADX pricing calculator for cluster planning | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/pricing-calculator |
69| Optimize ADX cost per GB ingested | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/pricing-cost-drivers |
70| Understand ADX reservation discount application | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/pricing-reservation-discount |
71| Choose and purchase Azure Data Explorer reserved capacity | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/pricing-reserved-capacity |
72
73### Architecture & Design Patterns
74| Topic | URL |
75|-------|-----|
76| Design Azure Data Explorer business continuity and DR | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/business-continuity-create-solution |
77| Use follower databases for cross-cluster ADX access | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/follower |
78| Choose multitenant architectures for Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/multi-tenant |
79
80### Limits & Quotas
81| Topic | URL |
82|-------|-----|
83| Understand automatic stop behavior for inactive clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/auto-stop-clusters |
84| Apply Event Grid ingestion file size limits in Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/create-event-grid-connection |
85| Delete and recover Azure Data Explorer clusters safely | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/delete-cluster |
86| Understand invalid data behavior during ADX ingestion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/ingest-invalid-data |
87| Supported data and compression formats for Azure Data Explorer ingestion | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/ingestion-supported-formats |
88| Upgrade free Azure Data Explorer clusters and remove limits | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/start-for-free-upgrade |
89
90### Security
91| Topic | URL |
92|-------|-----|
93| Programmatically add Azure Data Explorer cluster principals | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/add-cluster-principal |
94| Programmatically add Azure Data Explorer database principals | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/add-database-principal |
95| Enable disk encryption for Azure Data Explorer clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/cluster-encryption-disk |
96| Configure encryption options for Azure Data Explorer clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/cluster-encryption-overview |
97| Configure managed identities on Azure Data Explorer clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/configure-managed-identities-cluster |
98| Configure cross-tenant access for Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/cross-tenant-query-and-commands |
99| Configure customer-managed keys for Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/customer-managed-keys |
100| Purge personal data from Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/data-purge-portal |
101| Authenticate Azure Data Explorer external tables with managed identities | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/external-tables-managed-identities |
102| Ingest data using managed identity authentication | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/ingest-data-managed-identity |
103| Configure and manage Azure Data Explorer cluster locks | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/manage-cluster-locks |
104| Configure Azure Data Explorer cluster RBAC permissions | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/manage-cluster-permissions |
105| Configure database RBAC permissions in Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/manage-database-permissions |
106| Use managed identities with Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/managed-identities-overview |
107| Apply built-in Azure Policy definitions to ADX | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/policy-reference |
108| Securely connect private-endpoint clusters to Power BI | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/power-bi-private-endpoint |
109| Create and authorize Microsoft Entra apps for Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/provision-entra-id-app |
110| Configure Conditional Access for Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/security-conditional-access |
111| Apply Azure Policy compliance controls to Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/security-controls-policy |
112| Configure managed private endpoints for Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/security-network-managed-private-endpoint-create |
113| Plan network security for Azure Data Explorer clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/security-network-overview |
114| Secure Azure Data Explorer with private endpoints | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/security-network-private-endpoint |
115| Restrict outbound access from Azure Data Explorer clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/security-network-restrict-outbound-access |
116| Control public network access to Data Explorer clusters | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/security-network-restrict-public-access |
117
118### Configuration
119| Topic | URL |
120|-------|-----|
121| Use KQL database scripts in ARM deployments | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/database-script |
122| Programmatically create Azure Data Explorer database and table policies | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/database-table-policies |
123| Create cross-tenant Event Hubs data connections for Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/ingest-data-cross-tenant |
124| Install and configure Azure Data Explorer Kusto emulator | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/kusto-emulator-install |
125| Manage language extension plugins in Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/language-extensions |
126| Configure Azure Data Explorer monitoring reference settings | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/monitor-data-explorer-reference |
127| Synchronize ADX schema with Sync Kusto tool | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/sync-kusto |
128| Use T-SQL queries against Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/t-sql |
129| Configure Azure Data Explorer table retention and cache | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/table-retention-policy-wizard |
130| Customize Azure Data Explorer web UI environment settings | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/web-customize-settings |
131| Use Azure Data Explorer web UI query keyboard shortcuts | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/web-ui-query-keyboard-shortcuts |
132
133### Integrations & Coding Patterns
134| Topic | URL |
135|-------|-----|
136| Manage ADX with Azure PowerShell Kusto cmdlets | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/azure-powershell |
137| Clone Azure Data Explorer database schema via commands | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/clone-database-schema |
138| Connect common SQL tools to Azure Data Explorer via emulation | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/connect-common-apps |
139| Configure JDBC connectivity to Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/connect-jdbc |
140| Set up ODBC connections to Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/connect-odbc |
141| Query Azure Storage external tables from Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/external-azure-storage-tables-query |
142| Use ADX connector in Power Automate flows | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/flow |
143| Automate ADX queries with Power Automate examples | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/flow-usage |
144| Configure Grafana integration with Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/grafana |
145| Configure Event Grid ingestion from storage to Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/ingest-data-event-grid-overview |
146| Ingest Splunk Enterprise data into Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/ingest-data-splunk |
147| Ingest data from Splunk Universal Forwarder into Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/ingest-data-splunk-uf |
148| Configure Telegraf Azure Data Explorer output plugin | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/ingest-data-telegraf |
149| Use ADX input/output bindings in Azure Functions | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/integrate-azure-functions |
150| Integrate MCP servers with Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/integrate-mcp-servers |
151| Connect Azure Data Explorer to Kibana via K2Bridge | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/k2bridge |
152| Query ADX from Jupyter using Kqlmagic | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/kqlmagic |
153| Query ADX as a linked server from SQL Server | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/linked-server |
154| Run ADX queries via Logic Apps connector | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/logic-apps |
155| Configure OpenTelemetry collector to ingest into Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/open-telemetry-connector |
156| Build Power Apps that query Azure Data Explorer via connector | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/power-apps-connector |
157| Integrate Azure Data Explorer with Microsoft Purview | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/purview |
158| Query Azure Data Explorer using the Python data client library | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/python-query-data |
159| Query Azure Data Explorer from MATLAB using authorization tokens | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/query-matlab |
160| Use Redash native connector with Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/redash |
161| Use Serilog sink to stream logs into Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/serilog-sink |
162| Set up Sisense integration with Azure Data Explorer | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/sisense |
163| Run KQL queries and stored functions over TDS from SQL clients | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/sql-kql-queries-and-stored-functions |
164| Connect to Azure Data Explorer using SQL Server emulation (TDS endpoint) | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/sql-server-emulation-overview |
165| Connect Azure Data Explorer to Tableau via ODBC | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/tableau |
166| Debug KQL inline Python plugin code using Visual Studio Code | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/kusto/debug-inline-python?view=microsoft-fabric |
167
168### Deployment
169| Topic | URL |
170|-------|-----|
171| Automate provisioning of Azure Data Explorer environments | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/automated-deploy-overview |
172| Use Azure DevOps pipelines for Azure Data Explorer schema deployment | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/devops |
173| Migrate Azure Data Explorer clusters to multiple availability zones | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/migrate-cluster-to-multiple-availability-zone |
174| Migrate Azure Data Explorer VNet injection to private endpoints | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-explorer/security-network-migrate-vnet-to-private-endpoint |
microsoftdocs