Azure Virtual Desktop

Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), formerly known as Windows Virtual Desktop, is a cloud-hosted desktop and application virtualisation service running on Azure. It enables users to access a full Windows desktop experience — or individual published applications — from any device with an internet connection and a browser or RDP client: laptops, tablets, thin clients, or smartphones. The compute runs entirely in Azure; the user's device only handles the display and input, making endpoint management dramatically simpler.

Azure Virtual Desktop consists of several layers: Session hosts are Azure VMs (Windows 10/11 multi-session or Windows Server) that run users' desktop sessions. A host pool is a collection of session hosts of the same configuration. App groups define what users see — either a full desktop or a set of published Remote App applications. Workspaces group app groups for presentation to users. Microsoft manages the control plane (connection broker, gateway, web access) as a fully managed PaaS component, so you only manage the session host VMs.

A unique capability of Azure Virtual Desktop is Windows 10 and Windows 11 multi-session — a special OS variant available exclusively in Azure that allows multiple users to share a single VM simultaneously, each with their own isolated desktop session. This is similar to Windows Server Remote Desktop Services but running on the more familiar Windows 10/11 UI. Multi-session dramatically reduces per-user infrastructure costs because many users share a single large VM rather than each requiring their own dedicated VM.

Azure Virtual Desktop's desktop and app virtualisation service is included at no extra cost for eligible Microsoft 365 and Windows licences, including Microsoft 365 E3/E5, Business Premium, and similar plans. You pay only for the underlying Azure compute (VMs) and storage you consume. This makes AVD significantly more cost-effective than third-party virtual desktop solutions that charge a separate per-user licence fee. Using autoscaling to shut down VMs during off-hours further reduces costs for office-hours-only workloads.

Azure Virtual Desktop is an ideal solution for several enterprise scenarios: Remote and hybrid work — employees working from home access the same desktop environment as in the office. BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) programmes — users use personal devices but access a corporate managed desktop without corporate software being installed on the personal device. Regulated industry access — financial or healthcare workers access sensitive data from a controlled cloud desktop, with data never leaving Azure. Seasonal workforce — quickly provision and deprovision desktops for temporary employees.

In a multi-session or pooled host pool, users may land on a different VM each time they log in. To ensure users always see their own profile, files, and settings, AVD uses FSLogix Profile Containers — a technology Microsoft acquired in 2018. FSLogix stores the entire user profile in a virtual disk (VHD/VHDX file) on a network file share (typically Azure Files or Azure NetApp Files). When a user logs in, the profile container is mounted, presenting the user's profile instantly from any session host in the pool.

AVD supports autoscaling of session host VMs to reduce costs during off-peak hours. You can configure autoscale policies that shut down (deallocate) session hosts when utilisation drops below a threshold and start them up when demand increases. For a company with a 9-to-5 workforce, this means paying for full VM capacity during working hours but minimal capacity overnight and on weekends. The autoscale feature works with both pooled (multi-session) and personal (dedicated) host pool configurations.

AVD's cloud-native architecture provides several security advantages: data never leaves Azure, so there is no risk of data loss from a stolen laptop. Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) integration enables MFA and Conditional Access to protect login. Screen capture protection prevents users from taking screenshots of the remote session. Reverse connect transport means the session host connects outbound to the AVD gateway — you do not need to open inbound RDP ports (port 3389) in your firewall, eliminating a major attack vector.

Traditional Remote Desktop Services (RDS) on Windows Server requires managing a Connection Broker, Gateway, Web Access server, and licensing server — a complex, expensive infrastructure you must run and maintain. Azure Virtual Desktop replaces all of these components with a fully managed Microsoft-operated control plane. You only manage the session host VMs. AVD also supports modern Windows 10/11 multi-session (not available with traditional RDS on Server), provides native integration with Entra ID, and is accessible via modern clients for all major platforms.

Users connect to AVD using the Remote Desktop client, available for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and all major web browsers. No VPN is required because sessions traverse the AVD Gateway using HTTPS (port 443), which is open on almost all corporate and home networks. The web client runs entirely in a browser without any plugin installation. For the best experience — especially multimedia and Teams optimisation — the native desktop client is recommended, as it supports advanced features like multimedia redirection and USB device forwarding.

Running Microsoft Teams in a virtual desktop session traditionally resulted in poor audio and video quality because all media processing was done on the remote server. AVD solves this with Teams Media Optimisation: audio and video processing is offloaded to the user's local device, while screen sharing and control remain on the session host. This delivers near-native Teams call quality even in pooled desktop environments. Teams Media Optimisation is available when using the Windows or macOS native AVD client and requires the latest Teams and AVD client versions.

Test your understanding of Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) concepts from this lesson.

In this lesson you learned: Azure Virtual Desktop delivers cloud-hosted Windows desktops and apps from any device, with Microsoft managing the control plane, Windows 10/11 multi-session allows multiple users to share a single VM, reducing per-user cost significantly, and FSLogix Profile Containers ensure users have a consistent personal profile regardless of which session host they connect to. Next up we compare all Azure compute options to choose the right one for each workload.