Azure OpenAI, vector stores stuck processing files

Question

Azure OpenAI, vector stores stuck processing files

Srdjan Brkic 60

Hello,

I'm experiencing inconsistent vector store processing behaviour with Azure OpenAI integration. Files are getting stuck in a "In progress" state with the following characteristics:

Vector store files remain in "In progress" status for extended periods of time
Some files never complete processing or get completed with status "Failed"
Issue occurs randomly regardless of document size
Same file types process successfully in some attempts but fail in others (files uploaded are pdf/doc(x))

It doesn't really matter if I upload & create vector store through Azure AI Foundry or via API, it's all the same.

My question is did I hit some quota limit that I'm not aware of? I couldn't find anything quota related to the vector stores API and files are well within limits required for it's processing (size, document type, etc.).

Regards

Wen 0 Reputation points

2025-01-17T12:26:10.5966667+00:00

Same issue here.
Using attachments to an assistant thread, which creates a vector_store automatically.
I get the fileid back, file is seen asn "completed" when looking at the data files. But the exact same file with the same fileid within the vector store remains in the state "in progress" for ever, along with the store then getting stuck "in progress".

Already tried removing the file from the store and attaching back but it did not help (and sometimes even the delete of the file from the store fails).

Also was thinking about quotas or so because the issue occured only for a day or two, since I'm using the attachment feature a bit more (but far from an extensive use though).

Thanks
Anonymous

2025-01-17T14:51:11.6166667+00:00

Same issue in Sweden Central
It seems other regions work fine!

Hope we get an answer on this asap

Thanks
Srdjan Brkic 60 Reputation points

2025-01-17T15:11:53.6733333+00:00

We are on Sweden central too.
Wen 0 Reputation points

2025-01-17T15:19:48.1166667+00:00

Sweden central too indeed, haven't tried another region though.

What frightens me is the lack of info and workaround. I'm about to go in production and heavily rely on the assistant file_search feature but if it is that unreliable I'm wondering whether I should prepare a plan B...

Thanks all for the update
Srdjan Brkic 60 Reputation points

2025-01-19T11:17:56.57+00:00

It seems to be working right now. The thing that mostly troubles me right now is that we don't have any kind of insight on status (Azure status page was showing that OpenAI in Sweden central region was working).
Thomas Wink 0 Reputation points

2025-01-31T13:27:36.3566667+00:00

We've been experiencing this issue for a few days now as well. Region West Europe and France Central. Especially with multiple files. 7/10 files will process, but then it gets stuck infinitely.

Implementing a custom timeout is tricky here, as sometimes big files naturally take a long time to process.

One would expect some error message to catch before the fall.

Any feedback from Microsoft (but not it's bot) would be greatly appreciated.
Srdjan Brkic 60 Reputation points

2025-01-31T14:47:00.1633333+00:00

We had issues with file uploads today and connection with OpenAI Azure service. I suspect that OpenAI Azure upgrade had something to do with it, as Sam Altman tweeted this (https://x.com/sama/status/1885191346916356371) around the time we experienced the issues.
Ronkaerts, JHM (Jeroen) 10 Reputation points

2025-03-04T13:46:43.54+00:00

Bumping this up, because this issue has unfortunately resurfaced (region Sweden central, error vector_store_timeout: Failed to process files in vector store). Not sure if others are affected as well.

2 answers

Your answer

Wen 0 Reputation points

2025-01-17T12:26:10.5966667+00:00

Same issue here.
Using attachments to an assistant thread, which creates a vector_store automatically.
I get the fileid back, file is seen asn "completed" when looking at the data files. But the exact same file with the same fileid within the vector store remains in the state "in progress" for ever, along with the store then getting stuck "in progress".

Already tried removing the file from the store and attaching back but it did not help (and sometimes even the delete of the file from the store fails).

Also was thinking about quotas or so because the issue occured only for a day or two, since I'm using the attachment feature a bit more (but far from an extensive use though).

Thanks
Anonymous

2025-01-17T14:51:11.6166667+00:00

Same issue in Sweden Central
It seems other regions work fine!

Hope we get an answer on this asap

Thanks
Srdjan Brkic 60 Reputation points

2025-01-17T15:11:53.6733333+00:00

We are on Sweden central too.
Wen 0 Reputation points

2025-01-17T15:19:48.1166667+00:00

Sweden central too indeed, haven't tried another region though.

What frightens me is the lack of info and workaround. I'm about to go in production and heavily rely on the assistant file_search feature but if it is that unreliable I'm wondering whether I should prepare a plan B...

Thanks all for the update
Srdjan Brkic 60 Reputation points

2025-01-19T11:17:56.57+00:00

It seems to be working right now. The thing that mostly troubles me right now is that we don't have any kind of insight on status (Azure status page was showing that OpenAI in Sweden central region was working).
Thomas Wink 0 Reputation points

2025-01-31T13:27:36.3566667+00:00

We've been experiencing this issue for a few days now as well. Region West Europe and France Central. Especially with multiple files. 7/10 files will process, but then it gets stuck infinitely.

Implementing a custom timeout is tricky here, as sometimes big files naturally take a long time to process.

One would expect some error message to catch before the fall.

Any feedback from Microsoft (but not it's bot) would be greatly appreciated.
Srdjan Brkic 60 Reputation points

2025-01-31T14:47:00.1633333+00:00

We had issues with file uploads today and connection with OpenAI Azure service. I suspect that OpenAI Azure upgrade had something to do with it, as Sam Altman tweeted this (https://x.com/sama/status/1885191346916356371) around the time we experienced the issues.
Ronkaerts, JHM (Jeroen) 10 Reputation points

2025-03-04T13:46:43.54+00:00

Bumping this up, because this issue has unfortunately resurfaced (region Sweden central, error vector_store_timeout: Failed to process files in vector store). Not sure if others are affected as well.

Answer 1

Saideep Anchuri 9,540 Moderator

Hi Srdjan Brkic

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Forum, thank you for posting your query here!

I'm glad that you were able to resolve your issue and thank you for posting your solution so that others experiencing the same thing can easily reference this! Since the Microsoft Q&A community has a policy that "accept-an-answer". I'll repost your solution in case you'd like to accept the answer.

Ask: Azure OpenAI, vector stores stuck processing files.

Solution: Glad to hear that it resolved automatically. Normally, Azure status shows incidents with wide-ranging impact, service health and availability region wise. It should not show intermittent service health issue. Ideally, we should stay tuned on Azure Service health for specific impacted services on subscription level. We should restart the processes or switch to other region if issue is prolonged for longer duration.

If I missed anything please let me know and I'd be happy to add it to my answer, or feel free to comment below with any additional information.

If you have any other questions, please let me know. Thank you again for your time and patience throughout this issue.

Please don’t forget to Accept Answer and Yes for "was this answer helpful" wherever the information provided helps you, this can be beneficial to other community members.

Thank You.

Wen 0 Reputation points

2025-01-20T08:00:50.3+00:00

Well it's not like the concerns are actually gone I think. The issue is that there has been some service issues related to vector stores in Sweden and there has been no info nor explanation so far. So anyone running production load relying on such stores is still pretty worried of the situation happening again randomly/at any time.
Srdjan Brkic 60 Reputation points

2025-01-20T14:01:53.6733333+00:00

Are we going to see post-incident https://azure.status.microsoft/en-us/status/history/ updated with the incident details?

How about Service Health in Azure itself? https://portal.azure.com/#view/Microsoft_Azure_Health/AzureHealthBrowseBlade/~/healthHistory/navigateTo/healthHistory
Saideep Anchuri 9,540 Reputation points Moderator

2025-01-21T00:24:32.9833333+00:00

Hi Srdjan Brkic

Both the Azure Status page and Azure Service Health will have the incident details updated.

The Azure Status page provides real-time updates on the health of Azure services globally, including information on ongoing incidents, maintenance, and service changes.

Azure Service Health offers a personalized view of the health of the services and regions you are using, including alerts for service issues, planned maintenance, and health advisories. It also allows you to set up notifications to be alerted via email, SMS, or push notifications.

Thank You.
Chi Kit Yuen 0 Reputation points

2025-01-21T09:46:18.93+00:00

@Saideep Anchuri - I have also had this issue reported by one of our customers, and this incident isn't reported in Service Health, please advise?
Saideep Anchuri 9,540 Reputation points Moderator

2025-01-22T00:34:30.1366667+00:00

Hi Srdjan Brkic

We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if the give response was helpful.

Thank you.
Srdjan Brkic 60 Reputation points

2025-01-23T10:48:12.22+00:00

Hi @Saideep Anchuri

Once I see PIR & Service health updated, I'll accept the answer.

Regards,

Srdjan

Answer 2

rednax72 0

I have this issue from time to time as well which disappears after acouple of days, unfortunately Helpcenter was not very helpfull on this. They meant it is a quota issue.

I redeployed models, deleted all vector stores and nothing helped.

Also on Health state there seem to be no issue.

How did you sort this out (Sweden Central)

Srdjan Brkic 60 Reputation points

2025-03-05T08:26:50.19+00:00

We did nothing, as assistants are basically only for internal use (with few exceptions). Will probably move away from Azure OAI and Assistants API, as reliability was really put into question past few months.

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Azure OpenAI, vector stores stuck processing files

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