Zero to Hero with Azure Virtual Desktop AVD

Discover the core Azure Virtual Desktop components—Azure Virtual Desktop service, Windows 10 multi-user, Fslogix, and Msix app attach—and how they enable remote access with portable user profiles.

Understand Azure Virtual Desktop versions and terminology from fall 2019 to spring update, including ARM integration, portal support, host pools, session hosts, and app groups within workspaces.

Review the core Azure Virtual Desktop components, versions, and terms, then explore host pool types and load balancing options, plus prerequisites to deploy a host pool.

Compare Windows eight domain services, Azure AD, and Azure AD Domain Services, outlining features and authentication methods like Kerberos, OAuth, SAML, and OpenID, plus limitations of Azure AD Domain Services.

Explore how Azure lab costs accrue from domain controllers to session hosts and storage, and adopt auto shutdown and conservative VM sizing to minimize charges.

Learn why prerequisites matter in Azure Virtual Desktop deployments and review Microsoft’s three Azure Active Directory services, session host connectivity, and the lab cost.

Set up the optional lab by provisioning an Azure AD tenant and subscription, adding a custom domain, deploying a Windows Server domain controller, and configuring Azure AD Connect and DNS.

Create a VNet to connect the domain controller and session host, acting as a switch, configuring a resource group, region, and an address space like 10.0.0.0/16 with a subnet 10.0.0.0/24.

Launch a Windows Server 2019 VM in Azure within a VNet, configure a domain controller with a B2s size, and enable auto shutdown for cost control in a lab.

Set a static private IP on the server and deploy an Active Directory domain controller with a PowerShell ad dc script. Add domain users via an ad user script.

Extend your Windows domain to Azure AD with Azure AD Connect express install, configure the VNet DNS to point to the domain controller, and verify synchronization in Azure AD Connect.

Organize Azure Virtual Desktop resources in resource groups, create a workspace, and deploy AVD from the portal. Set application group permissions, test user access, and implement budgets and alerts.

Create a workspace in the Azure portal by adding a new resource group, naming the workspace, setting location and tags, then review and create, ensuring the domain controller is online.

Deploy a pooled Azure Virtual Desktop host pool by provisioning two Windows 10 multi-user VMs, joining the domain, and linking to a workspace. Troubleshoot domain join issues if deployment fails.

Create and organize Active Directory groups for Azure Virtual Desktop access, including AVD users, AVD accounting, and AV marketing groups, then assign them to the desktop application group.

test logging into the remote desktop session of the deployed azure virtual desktop host pool using an incognito session, then sign out after exploring.

Learn how to reduce costs in Azure Virtual Desktop by scheduling deallocation, stopping and starting VMs, and setting auto shutdown and budget alerts in the Azure portal.

Set a subscription budget in Azure and configure cost alerts at 50% and 90%, naming the budget, selecting the billing month, and adding recipient emails to monitor spending.

Deploy an Azure virtual desktop by organizing resources into groups, creating a workspace and host pool, configuring desktop group permissions; test with a web client and set budget alerts.

Publish remote applications in Windows Virtual Desktop, configuring application groups, publishing apps from the start menu and file path, and granting access via PowerShell and security groups.

Explore how a host pool houses one desktop application group and multiple remote app groups, with access via a workspace and only one application type at a time.

Create a remote app application group in the portal, assign users, and add two apps: start menu and notepad from a file path, while managing host pool, workspace, and tags.

Install and update the WVD PowerShell module, verify the desktop virtualization modules, sign into Azure, and then set up the application group and applications in PowerShell.

Create a PowerShell application group by locating the host pool, extracting the arm path, configuring remote app paint and perfmon with assigned users and groups; register it to a workspace.

Demonstrate how users access remote apps and desktops via application groups added through the portal or PowerShell, including notepad, wordpad, paint, and performance monitor, for the WVD user group.

Publish remote applications by creating and configuring application groups, publishing start menu and file-based apps, and testing access across multiple users with the AZ desktop virtualization module.

Explore FSLogix profiles as the recommended solution for user profiles in Azure Virtual Desktop. Set up fslogix profile with azure file shares, a group policy object, and the fslogix service.

Explore FS Logics as a profile management solution for Azure Virtual Desktop, enabling portable, network-hosted profile containers that migrate user settings across non-persistent and persistent session hosts.

Discover how Azure file shares enable SMB access and NFS style permissions through Active Directory and Kerberos tokens, with mounting via the storage account key.

Configure Azure files for AVD by creating a storage account and lab file share, enabling large file shares, securing SMB access and domain-joined permissions.

Test FSLogix profiles in an Azure Virtual Desktop lab by logging in, inspecting the profile container and metadata, and validating profile redirection to the network share during drain mode.

Learn how to back up an Azure file share using a Recovery Services vault, configure policies, enable backups, and restore or recover files with snapshots.

Explore FSLogix for user profiles, configure Group Policy and the FSLogix client, test profile handling, and safeguard with Azure Backup, before diving into application masking.

Explore FSLogix application masking to limit app visibility and access by users or groups, IPs, and domains; install FSLogix rule editor, create masking rules, apply to session hosts, and test.

Master FSLogix application masking to hide apps from non-specified users in a Windows Virtual Desktop host pool. Create and test masking rules with source and destination paths and variables.

Create and manage FSLogix rules to hide apps like Paint and Notepad for specific user groups, assign rules, test, and deploy across session hosts using a shared rules repository.

Explore FSLogix masking rules that hide or reveal applications based on groups, and verify access for accounting and marketing users to notepad and paint on Windows Virtual Desktop.

Discover FSLogix application masking to optimize an Azure Virtual Desktop host pool by controlling app visibility; install a rule editor, create rules for Ms. paint and Notepad, apply, and verify.

Remove the host pool by first deleting its application groups, then the host pool to remove Windows virtual desktop objects while preserving session host VMs; clean up VMs and infrastructure.

Delete all application groups attached to the host pool in the portal. Then remove the host pool and its resource group to erase remaining session hosts and vms with PowerShell.

Learn to remove an Azure Virtual Desktop host pool and its application groups with PowerShell in VS Code, verify deletions, and optionally delete the resource group.

Remove unused resources by deleting application groups, host pools, and the VM resource group in the portal and with PowerShell, and understand why deallocated VMs still incur disk charges.

Create a custom image for WVD by deploying a VM, adding applications, converting to a generalized image, and deploying a host pool to test by logging into Windows Virtual Desktop.

Explore image management options for remote desktops, comparing persistent and non-persistent VDI and Windows Virtual Desktop, and how Fslogix profiles and Msix app attach enable portable apps in Azure.

Generalize the base vm with sysprep, shut it down, and capture the state as a custom image for a resource group, then deploy a host pool from that image.

Deploy a host pool in Windows Virtual Desktop using a custom image, join session hosts to the Active Directory OU, and verify Foxit Reader, Chrome, and Notepad++ after login.

Create a custom Azure image, deploy a Windows Virtual Desktop host pool, customize and manage session host applications, generalize with Sysprep, convert to an image, and verify by logging in.