Azure API Limit Booster

Nerdio Manager's operations and activities in the UI operate by issuing requests to Azure API. Azure Resource Manager has limitations on the number of requests available on a subscription and tenant level basis. Additionally, each Azure resource provider also applies individual throttling limits. The topics noted in the Tip above combat that ceiling by optimizing and reducing how many total calls you are attempting to make. Depending on the size of the environment, you may still hit the ceiling. This is expected, since there’s a baseline number of API calls Nerdio Manager must make per VM no matter what.

The Azure API Limit Booster feature allows you to register additional applications in Entra ID that you can use when issuing calls to Azure. So, while the topics noted in the Tip above reduce the number of calls, this new option allows you to grow the total number of API calls by a factor of n, where n is the number of client apps linked for Nerdio Manager to use. We round-robin the applications as Nerdio Manager performs normal operations, distributing the API calls among each application that is linked. In theory, you can use this method to scale the size of your environment indefinitely. That is, as your environment grows and you encounter API limits, you can create additional app registrations for Nerdio Manager to use. In practice, you probably need to add 1-2 extra app registrations to satisfy the API limits. For very large environments, you may need 3 or more extra apps registered, which gives Nerdio Manager 3x the number of API calls available by default.

The first step is to register a new application in Entra ID for Nerdio Manager to use.

To register a new application in Entra ID:

1. Sign in to the Entra ID portal as Subscription Owner into the Azure tenant that contains the subscription that is being linked.

   Note: In some environments, you may need Application Administrator or Global Administrator permissions to register a new application.

2. Navigate to App registrations.

3. Select + New registration.

4. Enter the following information:

   • Name: Type the user-facing display name for the application.

   • Supported Account Types: Select Accounts in this organizational directory only.

   • Redirect URI: No Redirect URI is needed.

5. Once you have entered the desired information, select Register.

6. Copy the Application (client) ID to be used for linking in Nerdio Manager.

7. From the menu, select Certificates & secrets.

8. Select + New client secret.

9. Enter the following information:

   • Description: Type the description.

   • Expires: Set the expiration time.

     Note: It is recommended that the expiration time be greater than 1 year.

10. Once you have entered the desired information, select Add.

11. Copy the Value of the Client App Secret to be used for linking in Nerdio Manager.

Once you have registered the new application in Entra ID, the next step is to add the new application registration to Nerdio Manager.

To add the new application registration to Nerdio Manager:

1. In Nerdio Manager, do the following:

   • Classic UI: Navigate to Settings > Azure environment.

   • New UI: Navigate to Settings > Environment > Azure.

2. Navigate as follows:

   • Classic UI: In the bottom of the Azure subscriptions tile, in the Azure API Limit Booster section, select Manage client apps.

   • New UI: Expand Azure Subscriptions, next to Client Apps select Configure.

3. Enter the following information:

   • Select app identity: From the drop-down list, select Link new app identity.

   • Identity type: From the drop-down list, select the identity type.

   • Identity name: Type the client app name.

   • App ID: Type the client app ID of the service principal with access to the subscription being linked.

   • Azure cloud: From the drop-down list, select the desired Azure cloud.

   • Client app secret: Type the client app secret.

   • Assigned subscriptions: From the drop-down list, select the linked subscription(s) to be managed with this client app registration.

4. Once you have entered the desired information, select Save & close.

   Note: Nerdio Manager attempts to automatically assign permissions for the new application to Azure resources using the currently signed-in user account. which requires Owner or User Access Administrator permissions to complete. If the user adding the application does not have sufficient permissions, you need to manually assign the displayed permissions to each of the listed resources.

   The new app registration is linked to Nerdio Manager.

To manage an existing application in Nerdio Manager:

1. In Nerdio Manager, do the following:

   • Classic UI: Navigate to Settings > Azure environment.

   • New UI: Navigate to Settings > Environment > Azure.

2. Navigate as follows:

   • Classic UI: In the bottom of the Azure subscriptions tile, in the Azure API Limit Booster section, select Manage client apps.

   • New UI: Expand Azure Subscriptions, next to Client Apps select Configure.

3. In Select client app to manage, from the list, locate the app registration you wish to work with.

   • To edit, select the Edit icon, make the desired changes, and select Save & close.

     Note: Administrators can use Edit to update an app secret that is expiring for the corresponding application registration.

   • To unlink, select the Unlink icon.

   • To copy the Subscription ID to the clipboard, select the Copy icon.