Need some technical answers about AVD

[itzrav]

Greetings. I'm considering using Azure Virtual Desktop but before I jump in too far, or even create a trial account, I'm hoping people here can answer some technical questions.  I'm a total newbie when it comes to AVD, so please bear with me.  One of my most important goals is keeping the total cost down.

Background:  I wrote a very small desktop Windows app for the residents of the retirement community where I live.  It allows them to display and search on resident demographic information.  The app consists of an executable and a few ancillary files.  The entire app takes less than 35MB, and when running uses extremely little CPU.  However, the app only runs on Windows desktops, and some users want to access it with things like iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Android devices.  I want to allow such users to access my app remotely on a "desktop" running in the cloud, which is why I'm considering using AVD.

I contacted MS Sales and unfortunately they weren't able to answer my questions, and I'm unable to contact MS tech support, so I'll ask them here.

1.  If I use multi-session (multiple users using one VM), will each user who logs into that one VM have a separate session?  Or will they all be sharing the same session?  I want to make sure that each user has their own session with their own keyboard input, their own view of the app, etc.  Must I use Single-Session to accomplish that?

2.  Do I have to purchase Client Access Licenses (CLA's), or any other type of licenses, separately, or does the all the pricing (per user charges, CPU usage, storage fees, etc. etc.) include the licensing fees?

3.  Are there charges for inactive VMs, meaning when no one is logged into them?  If you're familiar with Amazons AWS AppStream 2.0, it's what they call "stopped-instance fees."

Questions about the pricing calculator:

4.  Under Per User Access Pricing is an entry called "External Users?"  What are they?  Do I need them or do I enter Not Applicable?  I'm not an "organization."  I just have a bunch of residents who want to log in to AVD and use my app.  I entered 2 for Total Named Users (meaning a maximum of 2 users at a time can log in).

5.  If you click the little arrow next to "Customize the size of the OS," it displays an item called "OS Size"  and the text "amount of core required by the OS."  It defaults to 0.75.  It LOOKs like a percentage.  Changing that percentage drastically changes the monthly cost.  What is that number, and how do I know what to set it to?  By the way, I'm considering using an A0 Instance, which 1 core and 0.75GB of RAM.

6.  Under Connectivity, I don't understand what the "Peak Concurrency" and "Off-Peak Concurrency" percentages are, and how they affect cost.  With my user base there is no "peak" time.  Anyone could access my app at any time of day, but at most times of day no one will be using the app at all.

7.  Further down, I also don't understand the "off-peak concurrency" and "peak concurrency" calculations -- I entered 2 for Total Named Users and 5 for Total Usage Hours -- why then is it calculating off-peak concurrency using 725 hours?  And is Total Usage Hours per user, or for total users?

8.  Under Managed Disks, it says I need two disks.  Why not just one?  One would be more than large enough for my needs.

Thanks to all for any help.

[#2]

Hi @itzrav ! Let’s go through them one by one :

1. Multi-Session VMs: Yes, each user who logs into a multi-session VM will have a separate session. This means each user will have their own keyboard input, view of the app, etc

2. Licensing: You need to provide an eligible license for each user that accesses AVD. If you would move forward with a Windows 11 Multi-session, you could need user licenses, like Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses for each users.

3. Charges for Inactive VMs: Yes, there are charges for inactive (turned off or hibernated) VMs : disk. If your VMs are still active, you will be also charged for compute costs.

4. External Users: External users refer to users who are not part of your organization, such as customers or clients. Azure subscription will be hosted as Microsoft Entra tenant, as considered an organization.

5. OS Size: The “OS Size” refers to the amount of core required by the operating system. It is not a percentage but rather a fraction of the total core capacity. Windows 11 would have a lot of difficulties to run with that small VM size.

6. Peak and Off-Peak Concurrency: These percentages represent the expected maximum and minimum user session concurrency. Peak concurrency is the time when the maximum number of users are expected to be logged in, while off-peak is when the minimum number of users are expected. 

7. Concurrency Calculations: The total usage hours are for all users combined. 

8. Managed Disks: each AVD VM will only needs one disk. How many VMs Azure Calculator estimated into your quote ?

Last but not least, regarding your users needs (iPhones, iPads, Macs, Android devices, ...), why don't you consider to run your application on Azure webapp ?

I hope this helps! 

[#3]

Such a valuable information.

[#4]

@jlou65535   Thanks very much for your response, Jean-Loup.  It's a great start to my understanding of how to set up AVD.  I do have some follow-up questions, though.  I'll put them in blue below each numbered item.

1. Multi-Session VMs: Yes, each user who logs into a multi-session VM will have a separate session. This means each user will have their own keyboard input, view of the app, etc.  That's good news!

2. Licensing: You need to provide an eligible license for each user that accesses AVD. If you would move forward with a Windows 11 Multi-session, you could need user licenses, like Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses for each users.  First, my users only need access to my app, nothing else such as Microsoft 365 apps.  Would a Microsoft VDI license be appropriate?  Second, HOW and WHERE do I buy those licenses?  I have never bought licenses before.

3. Charges for Inactive VMs: Yes, there are charges for inactive (turned off or hibernated) VMs : disk. If your VMs are still active, you will be also charged for compute costs.  If I understand you correctly, you're referring to the monthly disk cost, which is fixed whether the VMs are active or not, right?

4. External Users: External users refer to users who are not part of your organization, such as customers or clients. Azure subscription will be hosted as Microsoft Entra tenant, as considered an organization.  I do not have an "organization."  I am just a resident of a retirement community who wants to provide access to the Windows app I wrote to my fellow residents.  There are no "internal" or "external" users, just users.  So would I leave the "External Users" field as "Not Applicable" or ... ?

5. OS Size: The “OS Size” refers to the amount of core required by the operating system. It is not a percentage but rather a fraction of the total core capacity. Windows 11 would have a lot of difficulties to run with that small VM size.  Yes, I would probably need something larger and more powerful than an A0.  But my question is, why does changing the OS Size fraction change the monthly cost so much?

6. Peak and Off-Peak Concurrency: These percentages represent the expected maximum and minimum user session concurrency. Peak concurrency is the time when the maximum number of users are expected to be logged in, while off-peak is when the minimum number of users are expected.  My "users" will use my app very sporadically.  On most days there might be 0, 1 or 2 people who use the app once for a few minutes, then disconnect.  Given that, what would you suggest I enter for those percentages?

7. Concurrency Calculations: The total usage hours are for all users combined.  OK, thanks.

8. Managed Disks: each AVD VM will only needs one disk. How many VMs Azure Calculator estimated into your quote ?  I will need only one VM.  Depending on which instance type I tried, it estimated either 1 or 2 disks.

Last but not least, regarding your users needs (iPhones, iPads, Macs, Android devices, ...), why don't you consider to run your application on Azure webapp ?  My app is a traditional desktop app (like Word or Excel), with a GUI, using calls to Win32 functions.  It is not a web app (doesn't run in a web page in a browser), and it's not written in any of the languages that web app says it supports (it's written in APL).  I read that Azure webapp (or app service) does not support apps like mine.

[#5]

@itzrav 

Here are answers to your additional questions :

1.  🙂
2. You are right, here is a list of all eligible licenses you could use : https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-desktop/licensing#eligible-licenses-to-use-azure-vir... You can buy those license by a reseller in the CSP chanel. But regarding your project scope, it could add complexity.
3. Correct !
4. Here is the Microsoft definition of AVD external users : https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-desktop/licensing#internal-and-external-commercial-p... : In the context of providing virtualized infrastructure with Azure Virtual Desktop, internal users (for internal commercial purposes) refers to people who are members of your own organization, such as employees of a business or students of a school, including external vendors or contractors. External users (for external commercial purposes) aren't members of your organization, but your customers where you might provide a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application using Azure Virtual Desktop. >> I don't think that match your case.
5. Sorry, my bad, the OS size means the OS disk size in GB, then more bigger it is, more expensive it will be. 
6. I never use the Azure Virtual Desktop item in the Azure Pricing Calculator tool to be honest, I always use VMs and disks and do some maths. In your project, regarding the number of connected users, only one VM should be enough.
7.  🙂
8. 1 VM = 1 disk , 2 VMs ....

Last but not least, Windows 365 Cloud PC, as a easy to purchase licence, could be a easier solution for you ?

[#6]

@jlou65535   Thanks again, Jean-Loup. Unfortunately this is all getting much more complex (and expensive) than I had hoped or imagined it would be. I looked into Windows 365 Cloud PC and spoke with an MS sales person and asked a lot of questions, and it became clear that their pricing was, again, much more complex and expensive than it first seemed. Their pricing doesn't include access to the required Microsoft 365 admin center with global administrator or billing administrator roles, or new tenant creation. That requires that I purchase MS 365 Business Basic at an additional $7.20/month per user. Also, their pricing doesn't include access to the required licensing for Windows 11 Enterprise or Windows 10 EnterPrise, Microsoft Intune, and Microsoft Entra ID. That requires that I purchase MS 365 Business Premium at 19.75/month per user. Even worse, their "cheapest" offering is a so-called 3-user license, but it's for NON-CONCURRENT use. Those 3 users aren't supposed to be logged in at the same time. If they do, while they do have something called a concurrency buffer exception (which gives the first user a little time to log off after a second user logs in), it's riddled with restrictions, including and up to having them remove access to that exception if it's used too often. I'm really afraid that neither Azure nor Cloud PC are going to be appropriate for my needs. I do want to thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, without which I wouldn't have gotten anywhere at all.