Unable to delete account from Azure Managed Redis

Hello Prashanth Talari

It looks like the “stuck” Redis users you’re seeing are coming from the Data Access Policy feature in Azure Managed Redis Enterprise, which is still in preview and currently doesn’t support clean deletion of user-assigned identities once they’re added. At this time:

Recommended next steps:

1. If you absolutely need per-identity access control today, consider using a non-Enterprise Azure Cache for Redis with Azure RBAC (AAD) instead of the Preview Data Access Policy.
2. Bicep template for accessPolicyAssignments: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/templates/microsoft.cache/redisenterprise/databases/accesspolicyassignments?pivots=deployment-language-bicep
   Azure CLI access-policy-assignment ref: https://learn.microsoft.com/cli/azure/redisenterprise/database/access-policy-assignment?view=azure-cli-latest
3. Could you please share the details requested in the private message for further troubleshooting.

This behavior matches known intermittent issues with managed identity assignment and removal in Azure resources, but the context does not document a Redis Enterprise–specific bug or a supported force‑delete mechanism for stuck Redis users.

From the available information:

1. Known issue pattern with managed identities
   Managed identities can occasionally get into a bad assignment state where operations such as assign/unassign fail silently or with confusing errors. The documented guidance for such cases is:
   • For user‑assigned managed identities: remove the identity assignment from the resource and then reassign it.
   • For system‑assigned identities: disable the identity and enable it again.
   This pattern is described as a general managed identity issue, not specific to Redis, but the symptoms (resource thinks an identity is still attached, operations blocked or stuck) are similar to what is being observed with Redis Enterprise users.
2. No documented force‑delete for Redis Enterprise identities
   The context only documents:
   • How to create and manage Azure Managed Redis / Redis Enterprise resources via az redisenterprise.
   • How to remove managed identities from Azure Cache for Redis using az redis identity remove (for the non‑Enterprise Microsoft.Cache/Redis resource).
   There is no documented “force delete” or low‑level cleanup command for stuck Redis Enterprise access policy assignments or users. The only destructive cleanup shown is deleting the cache or resource group itself.
3. What is documented as supported remediation
   Based on the general managed identity guidance, the only supported remediation steps that align with the documented best practices are:
   • For user‑assigned managed identities used as Redis users:
     1. Remove the managed identity assignment from the Redis resource (or database/access policy assignment) using the supported management plane (Bicep/ARM/CLI/Portal).
     2. Reassign the user‑assigned managed identity to the resource.
   • If the identity itself is no longer needed anywhere, delete the user‑assigned managed identity resource and then manually clean up any role assignments that reference it.
   For system‑assigned identities (if used anywhere in the flow):
   • Disable the system‑assigned identity on the resource and then enable it again.
   These steps are the only documented workaround for identity assignment issues; there is no additional Redis‑specific cleanup guidance in the context.
4. Best‑practice considerations
   The documented best practices for managed identities emphasize:
   • Prefer managed identities over keys for authorization where possible.
   • Carefully manage lifecycle: user‑assigned identities outlive resources and must be explicitly deleted; role assignments tied to deleted identities are not automatically removed and must be cleaned up.
   Applied to Redis Enterprise:
   • Design access policy assignments so that user‑assigned identities are reused and not frequently created/deleted per deployment, reducing the chance of hitting rare assignment bugs.
   • Periodically audit role assignments and identity usage, and manually remove role assignments that reference deleted or unknown identities.
5. Answers to the specific questions
   • Is this a known issue or bug in Azure Managed Redis (Redis Enterprise)?
     The context only documents a general “rare” issue with managed identity assignment operations across Azure resources, not a Redis Enterprise–specific bug.
   • Is there a supported way to fully delete stuck Redis users without recreating the Redis instance?
     The context does not document a Redis Enterprise–specific force‑delete or cleanup mechanism. The only documented remediation for identity‑related stuck states is to remove and reassign managed identities (or disable/enable system‑assigned identities) and to manually clean up role assignments.
   • Is there a planned fix or recommended best practice when using managed identities with Redis Enterprise?
     No planned fix is documented in the context. The only relevant best practices are the general managed identity recommendations: manage lifecycle carefully, delete unused user‑assigned identities, and manually remove stale role assignments.

References:

• Managed identity for storage accounts
• Manage an Azure Managed Redis cache using the Azure CLI (azure-managed-redis)
• Manage an Azure Managed Redis cache using the Azure CLI (azure-cache-redis)
• Command
• Manage an Azure Redis cache using the Azure CLI
• Known issues with managed identities for Azure resources
• Managed identity best practice recommendations