Azure Update Management Center - Azure VM based on custom image (Shared Image Gallery)

Question

Hello,

Is it possible to update Azure virtual machine based from a custom image created by Packer in Shared Image Gallery (Linux Machines : Rocky Linux, Ubuntu, RHEL...) ?
I have an error that redirects to https://aka.ms/VMGuestPatchingCompatibility ; I understand that my custom image is not supported and will never be supported as it is a custom image generated by Packer and we change editor name.

I've found (in https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/update-center/overview#vm-images) that you have to install wagent linux to be able to update a Linux Custom image; but i didn't manage to make it work even the service is on/enabled.

Also, i've found that we can force a VM Azure to use the Azure-arc server method, but it is not recommended and it is for testing only. (https://aka.ms/azcmagent-testwarning)...

I've managed to update VMware VM and AWS VM (with Azure-Arc) through Update Center but not Azure VMs.

So, how can i update my custom images based on real linux systems but are not (directly) images from the Azure Marketplace ?

Thank you for your answer !

Answer 1

@Dasilvak , thank you very much for sharing this detailed analysis and findings. Your analysis is correct for the mentioned scenarios.

Regarding the issue where you were unable to get "Azure Update Management" to work with Azure VM running Linux, can you please check the troubleshooting guide in the following link and see if that helps:
Troubleshoot issues with update management center (preview) for Azure VM running Linux

In case the logs are not helpful, please share the snippet of log message containing the context, to help us get additional details of the issue.

Please let me know if you have any questions.