Microsoftdocs Agent Skills

Included skill

Azure Dedicated Hsm

Expert knowledge for Azure Dedicated HSM development including troubleshooting, decision making, architecture & design patterns, security, and deployment. Use when sizing HSM clusters, configuring VNet/ExpressRoute, migrating ER Basic→Standard, or planning HSM retirement, and other Azure Dedicated HSM related development tasks. Not for Azure Cloud Hsm (use azure-cloud-hsm), Azure Key Vault (use azure-key-vault), Azure Payment Hsm (use azure-payment-hsm).

Source: /skills/azure-dedicated-hsm/SKILL.md

Azure Dedicated HSM Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Dedicated HSM. Covers troubleshooting, decision making, architecture & design patterns, security, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

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

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

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

  • Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
  • Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

Category Lines Description
Troubleshooting L33-L38 Diagnosing and fixing Azure Dedicated HSM deployment, configuration, usage, and support issues, including common errors and steps to resolve failed or misconfigured HSM instances.
Decision Making L39-L44 Guidance on Dedicated HSM retirement, choosing successors (Managed/Cloud HSM), and planning/migrating ExpressRoute IPs and HSM workloads to new SKUs or services.
Architecture & Design Patterns L45-L51 Guidance on designing Dedicated HSM deployments: sizing and topology, high availability and failover patterns, and secure networking (VNet, subnets, routing, and connectivity).
Security L52-L57 Physical security controls for Dedicated HSM devices and recommended security configurations, policies, and operational best practices for protecting keys and access.
Deployment L58-L61 Guidance for migrating Azure Dedicated HSM deployments from ExpressRoute Basic to Standard, including network changes, prerequisites, and step-by-step migration process.

Troubleshooting

Topic URL
Resolve common Azure Dedicated HSM usage and support questions https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dedicated-hsm/faq
Troubleshoot Azure Dedicated HSM deployment and configuration issues https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dedicated-hsm/troubleshoot

Decision Making

Topic URL
Plan migration from Azure Dedicated HSM to Managed or Cloud HSM https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dedicated-hsm/migration-guide
Understand Azure Dedicated HSM retirement and successors https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dedicated-hsm/overview

Architecture & Design Patterns

Topic URL
Design deployment architecture for Azure Dedicated HSM https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dedicated-hsm/deployment-architecture
Design high availability for Azure Dedicated HSM https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dedicated-hsm/high-availability
Plan networking architecture for Azure Dedicated HSM https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dedicated-hsm/networking

Security

Topic URL
Understand physical security of Azure Dedicated HSM devices https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dedicated-hsm/physical-security
Apply security best practices for Azure Dedicated HSM https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dedicated-hsm/secure-dedicated-hsm

Deployment

Topic URL
Migrate Dedicated HSM from ExpressRoute Basic to Standard https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/dedicated-hsm/migration-basic-standard