Frequently asked questions for Azure Virtual Desktop

Azure Virtual Desktop is a comprehensive desktop and app virtualisation service running in the cloud. It is the only service that delivers simplified management, multi-session Windows 10 optimisation for Office 365 ProPlus, and support for Remote Desktop Services (RDS) environments.

With Azure Virtual Desktop, you can deploy and scale your Windows desktops and apps on Azure in minutes, with built-in security and compliance. 

Learn more about Azure Virtual Desktop, why it matters, if it's right for you, and how your business can take advantage of it in this cheat sheet. 

• Multi-session Windows 11 or 10 that delivers the cost advantages of server-based virtualisation.
• The best service to virtualise Office 365 ProPlus running in multi-user virtual scenarios.
• The only service to provide Windows 7 virtual desktop with free Extended Security Updates, giving you more options to support legacy applications while you transition to Windows 10.
• Bring your existing Remote Desktop Services (RDS) and Windows Server desktops and apps.
• Manage Windows 10, Windows Server, and Windows 7 desktops and apps all with a unified management experience on Azure.
• Seamlessly virtualise both desktops and apps.

A summarised version of the benefits of Azure Virtual Desktop is available in this downloadable infographic. 

Azure Virtual Desktop enables the capability of Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session available only in Azure. This allows full fidelity access to a Windows 10 experience—including the user experience, Office ProPlus support, Microsoft Edge, Cortona, per user search index, and access to the Microsoft store—whilst taking advantage of the cost efficiency of shared compute resources previously only available with server-based virtualisation.

Windows 11 or 10 multi-session, Windows 11 or 10 single-session, Windows 7 single-session, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019.

Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) reduces customer costs by reducing Infrastructure, Licensing, and Labour costs. Multi-session Windows 11 or 10 allows significant savings in compute resources, and AVD service now replaces complex management requirements of RDS/VDI solutions.

AVD is free to use with many existing licenses and you no longer have to pay for RDS CAL licenses.

Finally, labour savings are realised by the shift from IaaS to PaaS, removing the need to manage core services like broker/gateway/web access etc., reducing management overhead.

Please contact us at 1800 126 499 or email us at [email protected] for more information about Azure Virtual Desktop. 

Yes. The best experience of Office is with Office 365 ProPlus, which is supported by Windows 11 or 10 multi-session. Perpetual versions of Office will not be supported by Windows 11 or 10 multi-session, but will be supported on Windows Server operating systems with Azure Virtual Desktop.

Please contact us at 1800 126 499 or email us at [email protected] for more information about Azure Virtual Desktop. 

 Azure Virtual Desktop is available to you at no additional cost if you have an eligible Microsoft 365 license below. All you need is to pay for an Azure tenant and a subscription with enough resource creation permissions. 

To run Windows 11 or 10 multi-session, Windows 11 or 10, or Windows 7, you need one of the following:

• Microsoft 365 F1, E3, E5, A4, A5, or Business.
• Windows 10 Enterprise E3, E5.
• Windows 10 Education A3, A5.
• Windows VDA per user.

To run Windows Server 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, you need: Remote Desktop Services (RDS), Client Access License (CAL) with active Software Assurance (SA). 

For further clarification, please contact us at 1800 126 499 or book your 1-day complimentary Azure Virtual Desktop workshop today.

If you want to use Windows 10 EVD with Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) then you cannot migrate to AVD directly from on-premises. If you want to continue using your existing image (Windows Server or Windows 10), you can migrate your VMs as long as you have the following also migrated/setup: AD with AAD sync, VNET, and user storage (optional if they want everything available in Azure). You can also use Azure Site Recovery for the same.

The other option is to migrate all your on-premises resources using ASR to Azure (inclusive of RDS components) and then once you have a validated environment, you can connect the VMs to AVD. We would recommend this option because many clients get stuck in the AD and VNET creation/sync step and then cannot deploy their AVD setup. A phased migration ensures that you get all of the AVD pre-requirements in place before attempting to use AVD.

Need help planning your move to Azure Virtual Desktop? Book your 1-day complimentary workshop here. 

Yes. Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) will be supported in Azure Virtual Desktop. 

With the acquisition of FSLogix, eligible clients will get access to the following three core pieces of technology.

Profile Container: Replacement for roaming profiles and folder redirection, which dramatically speeds up login and launch times, including Office 365 container, which roams Office cache data.

App Mask Imaging: Minimise the number of gold images creating a single image with all applications. Excellent app compatibility with no packaging, sequencing, backend infrastructure, or virtualisation.

Java Redirection: Helps protect the enterprise from vulnerabilities of multiple installed versions of Java by mapping specific versions to individual apps or websites. 

Learn more about Azure Virtual Desktop, why it matters, if it's right for you, and how your business can take advantage of it in this cheat sheet. 

There are many differences between Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) and Remote Desktop Services (RDS) and the four important ones are:

1. Control plane. The access controls, or things like authentication, authorisation, encryption, resource allocation, happen in the RD Gateway or the connection broker in an RDS deployment. They need to be hosted on some sort of server. However, in an AVD scenario, the control plane is provided by Azure PaaS. 
   
   
2. Session host. In RDS, Windows Server desktop version is the actual host session provided to the end users. In AVD, the session can either be Windows Server desktop or Windows 10 session depending on what configuration you choose. This kind of flexibility in AVD is very useful to give your users the same desktop experience that they are used to on their own home or corporate PC. 
   
   
3. Auto scaling. This really doesn't exist natively in RDS but it can be achieved via comprehensive scripting. In an AVD environment, resources automatically scale up and down on demand. If more users come in and the server struggles with the resources, AVD automatically puts more service at the back end and can shut down afterwards when users log off. This feature significantly reduces the ongoing cost of AVD hosting. 
   
   
4. Office 365 app integration. OneDrive, Teams, Microsoft Office and other Office 365 apps integrates from the beginning with AVD whereas in RDS, you have to achieve that by means of software installations such as FSLogix, containers, and etc.  

Got more questions about Azure Virtual Desktop? Please contact us at 1800 126 499 or email us at [email protected]. 

Watch this 3-minute video as we explain the difference between a Remote and Virtual Desktop. 

Watch this 2-minute video as we explain the pros and cons of Azure Virtual Desktop vs Remote Desktop Services.