Azure Virtual Desktop Blog articles

Now generally available: Regional resiliency for Azure Virtual Desktop

Vidya_Iyer — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 23:06:57 GMT

Editor’s note (October 1, 2026): This post was updated to clarify the benefits of regional host pools and provide additional context on recent resiliency improvements.

Resiliency improvements are arriving for Azure Virtual Desktop. Regional host pools reduce cross-region metadata dependencies to help improve service resiliency. This provides enhanced resiliency for AVD metadata which in conjunction with all the multiple recent improvements we have made in the RDP multipath brings increased resiliency across your connections and metadata. The same regional resiliency improvements are also coming soon to Windows 365 through a gradual, service-managed rollout while keeping the same customer experience as today.

Azure Virtual Desktop regional host pools

We're excited to announce the general availability of regional host pools for Azure Virtual Desktop, beginning with the East US 2 and Central US regions. For background on how the capability works, read the public preview announcement from earlier this year: Now in public preview: Azure Virtual Desktop regional host pools.

What are regional host pools?

Regional host pools are a new host pool deployment type that stores your host pool metadata in a regional database within the Azure region you choose, removing cross-region dependencies and strengthening the resiliency of your Azure Virtual Desktop deployments.

Historically, Azure Virtual Desktop stored host pool metadata in a geographical database shared across the regions within a geography. While replicated for recovery, this design introduced a cross-region dependency: an issue in the region hosting that geographical database could affect host pools in unrelated regions in the same geography.

Regional host pools remove that dependency. We are deploying dedicated regional Azure Virtual Desktop databases and infrastructure into each supported Azure region. Any issue is now contained in a single region, and your host pool metadata stays in the region you select.

The benefits of regional host pools include:

Increased resiliency: The blast radius of any infrastructure or Azure region issue is contained in that region — an outage elsewhere does not affect admin or end-user experience for your regional host pool.
In-region recovery preserved: We continue to store multiple local replicas across availability zones and replicate metadata to a paired region (where applicable) for cross-region failover.

Where can you use regional host pools?

At general availability, regional host pools are available in East US 2 and Central US. Additional regions will be enabled in phases as the new regional infrastructure is deployed, and we are not holding general availability for full regional parity. Two infrastructures (geographical and regional) will co-exist during the transition.

You can always check which Azure regions support regional host pools on Microsoft Learn, where the list is kept current as new regions come online: Regional host pools - Azure Virtual Desktop.

Getting started

No functional differences exist between existing geographical host pools and regional host pools. However, you must choose from one additional field during creation: the Deployment scope. You can create regional host pools using both the Azure portal and PowerShell.

Create a regional host pool in the Azure portal

In the Azure portal, open Azure Virtual Desktop → Host pools, then select Create.
Under Basics, choose your resource group and enter a host pool name.
Select your Azure region (East US 2 or Central US) for the host pool location field, then set the Deployment scope to Regional. This will store the host pool metadata regionally.
We recommend placing your session host virtual machines in the same region as your Regional metadata.
Complete host pool type (Pooled or Personal), networking, and session host settings as usual.
Select Review + Create to deploy.

Note: In case you select a different Azure region for your host pool location field, you will not see the Deployment scope field; it will automatically default to a geographical host pool.

In case you select East US 2 or Central US for your host pool location field and set the Deployment scope to Geographical, your created host pool will be a geographical host pool as per the previous experience.

Create a regional host pool with PowerShell

When creating the host pool, set the DeploymentScope parameter to Regional so the metadata is written to the regional database. Example:

New-AzWvdHostPool -ResourceGroupName "testrg" -Name "xyz" -Location "centralus" -DeploymentScope "Regional"

Note: In regions where regional host pools are not yet supported, regional-deployment scope calls return a "Not Supported" response.

Regional host pools use regional workspaces, app groups, and App Attach packages

The Deployment scope is also relevant for new workspaces, application groups, and App Attach packages. Regional and geographical objects cannot be mixed: a regional host pool can only be a member of a regional workspace and can only contain regional application groups. A regional host pool cannot join a geographical workspace, and vice versa.

You can use the new Deployment scope column in the host pool view to see the type — regional or geographical — of each of your host pools.

Our recommendation

For any new host pool in a supported region, we strongly recommend creating it as a regional host pool to take full advantage of the added resiliency benefits.

Support for migrating existing geographical host pools to regional is coming in a phased rollout. Stay tuned for future updates.

Next steps

You can always check which Azure regions support regional host pools on Microsoft Learn, where the list is kept current as new regions come online: Regional host pools - Azure Virtual Desktop
Learn more about deploying regional host pools on Microsoft Learn.
Read the Azure Virtual Desktop architecture and reliability guidance on Microsoft Learn.
Learn more about Windows 365 resiliency and Multi-Region on Microsoft Learn.
Explore Windows 365 Flex and Enterprise deployment guidance.
Continue the conversation in the Azure Virtual Desktop Tech Community.
Continue the conversation in the Windows 365 / Windows IT Pro Tech Community.

Stay up to date! Bookmark the Azure Virtual Desktop Tech Community.

Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid is now generally available

Steve_Downs — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 18:14:16 GMT

Extend Azure Virtual Desktop to your on-premises environment. Run desktops where you need them. Manage on-premises session hosts from Azure.

Many organizations want to modernize their virtual desktop infrastructure but face practical constraints that make a full cloud migration difficult in the near term. Whether it's moving beyond the technical and operational limitations of their existing environment or bringing a more modern Windows experience to their users, organizations are looking for solutions that give them options without creating disruptions.

Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid addresses this challenge by enabling customers to bring the cloud-managed benefits of Azure Virtual Desktop to their existing on-premises environments while continuing to use current hardware, hypervisors, and operational processes.

Today, we are announcing the general availability of Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid, bringing the power of Azure Virtual Desktop to on-premises and edge environments.

With Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid, organizations can run session hosts in their own datacenter and on their own hypervisor using Azure Arc, while continuing to leverage the centralized control plane of Azure Virtual Desktop. This enables a consistent management and user experience, without requiring a full migration to the cloud.

Architecture overview

Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid uses the following architecture:

Session hosts run in your datacenter on your hypervisor of choice.
Azure Arc connects those machines to Azure.

The Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid extension configures Azure Arc VMs as Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts.

The Azure Virtual Desktop cloud service provides session brokering and user connectivity.
Users access desktops and apps through Windows App.

All communication is outbound over HTTPS, reducing network complexity and eliminating the need for inbound connectivity.

Pricing model

Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid is designed with a per-user pricing model that requires OS user entitlement licensing. To learn more about pricing and licensing entitlements for Azure Virtual Desktop, please visit: aka.ms/AVDPricingPage.

Infrastructure costs (compute, storage, and networking) remain within the customer’s on-premises environment.

Feedback from customers and partners

Since preview, Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid has generated interest from organizations modernizing legacy VDI and RDS environments. Customers are adopting Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid to:

Extend Azure Virtual Desktop into existing environments using VMware vSphere, Nutanix AHV, and Hyper-V hypervisors
Enable phased cloud migration strategies that can occur on an organizations timetable of choice
Maintain control over infrastructure while adopting cloud services through the security of on-premises hardware

Partners are playing a key role in enabling these scenarios by:

Helping customers confirm application and performance viability on Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts
Delivering solutions that provide VM management and provisioning
Additional session host management functionality (monitoring, performance optimization, etc.) to their Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid estate

Partner perspectives

Login VSI

"Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid reflects where enterprise end-user computing is heading toward models that respect the infrastructure organizations already depend on while opening the door to cloud innovation. From years of working with VDI teams, we know adoption succeeds when it meets organizations where they are, and together Microsoft and Login VSI give them exactly that, with Hydra providing the same consistent management layer across their cloud and on-premises Azure Virtual Desktop all-in-one. We are glad to support Microsoft and our shared customers as more of them make the move." said John Vigeant, CEO, Login VSI

Nerdio

"Many organizations aren't ready to fully move to the cloud today due to compliance requirements, cost constraints, and existing infrastructure investments. Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid gives companies a more flexible path towards Windows 365, while Nerdio provides the desktop orchestration, automation, visibility, and operational controls IT teams need to modernize efficiently," said Scott Manchester, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Nerdio

Nutanix

"The general availability of Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid marks an important milestone for customers seeking greater flexibility where desktops and data reside. Together, Microsoft and Nutanix enable organizations to combine the Azure modern desktop control plane with the performance, compliance, and operational control of Nutanix AHV. As a launch ecosystem partner, Nutanix is proud to help customers modernize VDI with more choice than ever before." said Tarkan Maner, President and CCO, Nutanix

Deploy Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid from the Azure portal

To get started with Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid:

Create your VM using your preferred methods
Install and configure Azure Arc
Install the Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid extension
Select a host pool for the session host

These steps can be completed directly from the Azure portal and allow you to bring existing infrastructure into Azure Virtual Desktop.

Get started today

Sign up for Azure to begin deploying Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid.
Read the Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid documentation to explore architecture and deployment guidance.
Learn more about partner solutions from Login VSI, Nerdio, and Nutanix to accelerate your implementation.

"With Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid, customers can modernize how they deliver Windows experiences without needing to transform everything at once. It provides the flexibility organizations need today and provides a path to Windows 365 tomorrow,” said Bhavya Chopra, Partner Director, Product Management Windows Cloud Experiences

Complement Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid with Windows 365 Reserve

For customers using Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid as part of a phased journey to Windows 365, Windows 365 Reserve provides a way to experience Windows 365 while workloads continue to run on existing on- premises session hosts. A temporary, preconfigured Reserve Cloud PC helps employees remain productive when their primary device or on-premises environment is unavailable, including during outages, ransomware incidents, or planned transitions. Learn more about Windows 365 Reserve.

Enhanced host pool management for Azure Virtual Desktop is now generally available

NeoCai — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 16:00:00 GMT

We’re excited to announce the general availability of enhanced host pool management for Azure Virtual Desktop. Enhanced host pool management includes:

Session host configuration and update
Dynamic autoscale
Ephemeral OS disks

These features make it easier than ever to manage secure, reliable, and efficient virtual environments while saving time and achieving cost-effective scalability.

Session host configuration and update

Traditionally, managing secure and consistent host pools at scale has required custom automation, scripting, or other tools that can increase operational overhead. Session host configuration helps administrators reduce that overhead by creating a single configuration that defines key parameters for all session hosts within the host pool.

To update a session host, administrators can simply modify the configuration and schedule or start an update to automatically propagate the changes throughout the host pool.

Session host configuration and update also improves reliability throughout the management experience. Built-in parameter validation helps catch errors early when admins are creating or modifying the configuration, while test virtual machines (VMs) identify deployment issues before changes are rolled out to the entire host pool.

Ephemeral OS disks

Ephemeral OS disks store the operating system on the VM’s local storage instead of remote Azure Storage, reducing network latency and improving disk performance.

Because the disk is local and non-persistent, VMs with ephemeral OS disks are reimaged or deleted rather than started or deallocated. Each session host can start from, or return to, a clean and consistent state, reducing management overhead for environments that require frequent refresh cycles.

Ephemeral OS disks are best suited for stateless workloads that prioritize speed, scalability, and rapid reimaging over long-term data retention.

Dynamic autoscale

Dynamic autoscale lets administrators create scaling plans that add, start, deallocate, or delete session host VMs based on demand. Administrators can define host pool size limits and capacity thresholds to keep resources available during peak hours and reduce costs when demand is low.

Getting started

How to create a session host configuration

To create a host pool with a session host configuration:

In the Azure portal, open your Azure Virtual Desktop Host Pools and create a host pool.
Under Host pool details, change the host pool type to pooled.
Under Create Session Host Configuration, select yes.

How to update with session host update

To update session hosts in a host pool, the host pool must have a session host configuration.

To update a host pool:

Open the host pool in the Azure portal and select Manage in the navigation menu.
Select Manage session host update and select new update under the dropdown.
Once the form is completed, select Review + Update to initiate an update.

How to configure a session host with an Ephemeral OS disk

Ephemeral OS disks require host pools that use a session host configuration.

To configure a session host with an Ephemeral OS disk:

In the Azure portal, create a host pool and configure it with a session host configuration.
On the Session host tab:
1. Select an image.
2. Choose a VM size that has enough local disk space (either cache or temporary storage) to support your OS image. To find which VM sizes are compatible with your selected image, refer to the PowerShell script mentioned in the FAQ under the question: “Will all VM sizes be supported for ephemeral OS disks?”
3. Check the Ephemeral OS disk box
4. Select disk placement based on your VM type:
  1. OS cache
  2. Temp disk

How to create and configure a scaling plan

Dynamic autoscaling requires host pools that use a session host configuration.

To create and configure a scaling plan:

In the Azure portal open your Scaling plans and select create.
In Basics, select Dynamic autoscaling
In the Host pool assignments tab, select the host pools to enable autoscaling for.

If you already have a scaling plan:

To enable autoscaling on a host pool, go to the Host pool.
Under Settings in the navigation menu, select Scaling plan.
Select Assign and select the scaling plan you created.
Once assigned, select the check box for Enable autoscale.

Next steps

Want to learn more? Click the links below.

Read more about Session host update.
Deploy a host pool with a session host configuration.
Create and assign a scaling plan.
Read more about Ephemeral OS disks.

Stay up to date! Bookmark the Azure Virtual Desktop Tech Community.

Azure Virtual Desktop supports greater application and identity functionality with latest updates

Christian_Montoya — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 19:15:00 GMT

At Microsoft Ignite 2025, we announced both the general availability of external identity support in Azure Virtual Desktop and the public preview support of using FSLogix and Azure Files as a user profile management solution for external identities in Azure Virtual Desktop. These were the foundational building blocks to provide desktop or RemoteApp access to users outside your organization in a seamless manner, without having to create brand new user accounts for them.

To see more technical guidance and details, visit our Learn page for External identity support.

We have heard from application developers that they want to leverage these capabilities and even incorporate their own Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) identity provider (IdP) that their application ecosystem depends on. Since then, we’ve continued listening to feedback and investing in key areas to help you build, deploy, and sell your own application solutions to customers. We’re excited to share the following updates:

Using FSLogix as a user profile management solution for external identities with Azure Virtual Desktop is now generally available.
Configuring a SAML IdP as domainless is now in public preview.
Connecting to Azure Virtual Desktop in Azure for US Government with an external identity is generally available.
Connecting to Azure Virtual Desktop with an external identity in Azure public cloud is in preview on Android and macOS

Updates to configuring FSLogix on Azure Files for external identities (generally available)

To provide a streamlined user experience for external identity users in an Azure Virtual Desktop pooled environment, you can create a file share in Azure Files to store the FSLogix profiles for these identities.

In addition, Azure Virtual Desktop now supports Azure Role-based Access Control (“RBAC”), which is generally available. Instead of using a default share-level permission for access to the file share, you can create custom permissions with Azure RBAC.

The addition of Azure RBAC support does not change the file and directory permissions you assign to users. You must still create the appropriate access control lists (ACLs) such that the Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts can either: (a) attach the user’s existing FSLogix user profile or (b) use the logged-in user’s permissions to create a new FSLogix user profile for the user if it doesn’t exist.

Configure domainless SAML IdP federation (public preview)

With traditional federation in Microsoft Entra, the domain name in a user’s email was required to match the domain name registered and associated with the configured SAML IdP. This works well for External ID in workforce tenants, helping organizations to maintain single sign-on and route users to their home Entra ID tenant for authentication. However, it’s overly restrictive for application developers who require user accounts from their specific IdP.

With the latest changes, you can now configure your SAML IdP to be domainless, such that a user’s email address domain no longer is required to match the IdP domain name.

By selecting Domainless, you can allow customers and users to set up an account with an email address they know, without requiring the email domain to match the IdP domain name.

Expand user access to more platforms and clouds

For commercial cloud Azure Virtual Desktop environments, we expanded external identity sign-in preview support to both:

Windows App Beta on macOS, version 11.2.0 (2898)
Windows App on Android, version 11.0.0.94 or later

You can also deploy your application for customers in US Government, with external identity support provided in the Windows App (Windows), version 2.0.964.0 or later.

Resources to get started

To learn more about External identity support, visit our Learn page.
To learn more about the Azure Files support of external identity and cloud-only identities, visit Azure Files Entra-Only identities: Advancing cloud-native identity and security.
To learn more about Azure Virtual Desktop, check out http://aka.ms/avdlearn
To join our Azure Virtual Desktop Tech community, visit Azure Virtual Desktop | Microsoft Community Hub

Stay up to date! Bookmark the Azure Virtual Desktop Tech Community.

Announcing public preview of redundant TCP support for RDP Multipath for Azure Virtual Desktop

Rinku_Dalwani — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 16:00:28 GMT

Reliable connectivity is essential for ensuring consistent productivity in Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) environments. Network variability—whether due to packet loss, NAT misconfiguration, UDP‑restricted networks, or restrictive enterprise network policies—continues to be one of the most common causes of session interruptions across enterprise virtual desktop deployments.

To improve connection resiliency across a broader set of network conditions, we’re excited to introduce redundant TCP transport paths for RDP Multipath, now available in public preview for Azure Virtual Desktop.

This builds upon the existing RDP Multipath capability that continuously evaluates multiple network paths and dynamically switches to the most reliable path at runtime—without requiring changes from IT administrators or users.

How does this feature work

RDP Multipath establishes multiple network paths between the client and session host based on available network routes and real-time network conditions. This allows Azure Virtual Desktop to continuously evaluate path health and dynamically select the most reliable transport during a session.

In its initial phase, RDP Multipath focused on UDP-based RDP Shortpath connections using STUN (Simple Traversal Underneath NAT) and TURN (Traversal Using Relays around NAT). This enabled sessions to transition between redundant UDP paths if degradation or failure was detected, improving reliability and performance.

When UDP-based connectivity is available, it remains the preferred transport due to its performance and reliability advantages. Multipath continues to maintain multiple UDP paths as the primary active transport, enabling efficient failover across available routes.

Enhanced resiliency with redundant UDP and TCP paths

With this update, Azure Virtual Desktop expands Multipath capabilities by introducing support for redundant TCP standby transport paths alongside existing UDP paths.

For customers already using Multipath over UDP, this adds an additional layer of resiliency through alternate TCP paths. For environments that previously relied on a single TCP connection, this update enables multiple TCP paths—helping reduce the impact of transient network issues and path instability.

If the active transport path becomes unavailable or degraded, Azure Virtual Desktop automatically switches to the next best available UDP or TCP path. This helps maintain session continuity without requiring user reconnection.

If all transport paths are temporarily disrupted — such as during a local network failure or ISP outage—the session automatically reconnects once connectivity is restored.

Improved reliability for TCP-only (UDP-restricted) environments

In environments where UDP connectivity is unavailable or restricted, sessions rely entirely on TCP-based Reverse Connect transport. Previously, these environments typically operated with a single active TCP connection between the client and session host, making them more susceptible to transient network degradation.

With this update, Azure Virtual Desktop can now establish multiple standby TCP transport paths—even in TCP-only scenarios. This allows sessions to dynamically transition between available TCP routes if the active path becomes degraded or fails.

As a result, customers benefit from improved session continuity and more consistent connectivity, even in environments with restrictive network configurations or where UDP traffic is blocked.

How to enable this feature

For public preview, you can test the feature by tagging your host pool to the validation ring. By default, this feature is enabled for everyone in the validation pool, providing seamless integration and enhanced connectivity without requiring any changes from IT departments or end users. Redundant TCP transport paths are currently supported only on Windows devices using Windows App on Windows client, version 2.0.1069.0 or later.

How to opt-out from this feature

If you wish to disable the feature, you can opt out the host pool from the validation ring. This self-help option allows you to revert to the previous configuration if necessary.

Learn more

To learn more about the feature please check here 

Stay up to date! Bookmark the Azure Virtual Desktop Tech Community.

App attach in Azure Virtual Desktop now supports Windows Server 2025 and Windows Server 2022

Michelle_Moya — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:00:12 GMT

Managing applications in virtualized desktop and server environments has traditionally required IT teams to bake apps directly into base images, driving image sprawl, slower updates, and higher operational overhead. App attach in Azure Virtual Desktop changes that model by enabling applications to be delivered dynamically to user sessions, without installing them on the session host.

Since we announced general availability for App attach, support from customers and partners has grown significantly, especially among customers affected by the impending end of support for Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) Server components in April 2026.

App attach continues to expand support for dynamic application delivery across a broader range of deployment scenarios. We’re excited to share that App attach now supports Windows Server 2025 and Windows Server 2022 session hosts in Azure Virtual Desktop.

Benefits of App attach support for Windows Server

With App attach now supported on the two most recent versions of Windows Server, organizations can dynamically deliver MSIX, AppX, and App‑V packaged applications to server‑based multi‑session environments using the same deployment workflows they use today. This means customers can:

Deploy applications to Windows Server 2025 and Windows Server 2022 session hosts
Apps no longer have to be baked into the base image.
Maintain a single golden image
Reduce image sprawl by managing applications independently from the operating system.
Bring their existing App‑V packages to Azure Virtual Desktop
Continue deploying previously packaged applications using the same App attach workflows without repackaging and without App-V Server infrastructure which reached end of support on April 14.
Accelerate application onboarding for pooled host pools
Assign and update applications independently of infrastructure lifecycle events such as scaling, reimaging, or host replacement.
Enable Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid customers to benefit from dynamic app delivery
Organizations migrating to Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid can leverage App attach to dynamically deliver applications to their session hosts without a complicated application migration.

Get started using App attach for dynamic application delivery on session hosts running Windows Server 2025 and Windows Server 2022—visit our App attach documentation to learn more.

Stay up to date! Bookmark the Azure Virtual Desktop Tech Community.

RDP Shortpath (UDP) over Private Link is now generally available

Rinku_Dalwani — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 17:00:00 GMT

UDP support over Private Link for Azure Virtual Desktop is now generally available. This release enables a direct, high‑performance, UDP‑based RDP connection between AVD session hosts and clients over Azure Private Link using RDP Shortpath for managed networks.

This capability complements the existing TCP-based RDP connectivity over Private Link. Together, these options support customers with strict private network boundaries by allowing RDP traffic over both TCP and UDP transports, using defined private IPs when Private Link is in use.‑based RDP connectivity over Private Link. Together, these options support customers with strict private network boundaries by allowing RDP traffic over both TCP and UDP transports.

Standard AVD RDP connectivity connectivity already provides high resiliency and strong security with lower operational complexity and reduced risk of misconfiguration. It also supports private network options for UDP without requiring Private Link, making it the recommended connectivity model for the majority of deployments.

The addition of UDP support over Private Link is primarily intended for customers who already rely on Private Link and need tighter control over the IP addresses used for RDP traffic. This allows more precise routing and policy enforcement in highly restricted or regulated network environments.

To use UDP transport over Private Link, administrators must explicitly enable UDP in the updated Networking settings in the Azure portal. Until this setting is enabled, AVD connections over Private Link will continue to use the existing WebSocket‑based TCP transport, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity.

This opt-in model provides predictable and secure transport behaviour, giving administrators full control over when and how UDP is introduced into managed or constrained network environments.‑in model provides predictable and secure transport

How to enable UDP over Private Link

To use UDP-based transports such as RDP Shortpath for managed networks over Azure Virtual Desktop Private Link, you must explicitly enable UDP on the workspace or host pool and ensure that public Shortpath options are disabled.

To enable UDP:

In the Azure portal, open your Azure Virtual Desktop Host pools or Workspaces resource.
Go to Networking → Public access.
Under Public access, choose one of the following:

o Enable public access for end users, use private access for session hosts, or

o Disable public access and use private access
When either of these options is selected, the portal displays an additional opt in checkbox:

4. Turn on Allow Direct UDP network path over Private Link to allow UDP‑based transports (for example, RDP Shortpath for managed networks).

5. Go to the RDP Shortpath tab and disable the public Shortpath options:

o RDP Shortpath for public networks (via STUN)

o RDP Shortpath for public networks (via TURN) The portal will block Save and show a Configuration Error if these public options are still enabled.

6. Select Save.

Important Note:

The UDP opt‑in checkbox is mandatory for enabling RDP Shortpath over Private Link.
If this checkbox is not selected, RDP Shortpath will be blocked for all Private Link connections, and sessions will continue using the WebSocket‑based TCP transport.

Also note that opting in for UDP does not automatically complete the end‑to‑end Shortpath setup. You must still configure the required Shortpath settings on your session hosts and network. For full configuration steps, see the official guidance for RDP Shortpath for Azure Virtual Desktop in the Azure Virtual Desktop documentation.

Learn more

For more information about Private Link, check out the following articles on Microsoft Learn:

Private Link for Azure Virtual Desktop – Overview
Learn how Private Link secures feed discovery, feed download, and host pool connections.
Configure Private Link with Azure Virtual Desktop
Step by step guidance for creating private endpoints for workspaces, host pools, and initial feed discovery.
Learn more details about RDP Shortpath for Azure Virtual Desktop.

Stay up to date! Bookmark the Azure Virtual Desktop Tech Community.

Azure Virtual Desktop is now available in US Gov Texas in Azure Government

Ron_Coleman — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Today Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) is now available in the USGov Texas region of Azure Government, providing customers with an additional region for deploying secure and flexible virtual desktop environments that support a broad range of mission needs.

Key benefits

With this regional expansion, customers can now:

Create host pool objects directly in the USGov Texas region.
Benefit from improved connection performance through reduced latency.
Leverage an additional Azure Government region to support mission needs.

Azure Virtual Desktop is continually improving to offer secure, dependable, and high-quality experiences on Azure Government. With USGov Texas now available, customers have an additional region to set up host pool objects, which can help lower connection latency and enhance user responsiveness.

Availability in multiple Azure Government regions gives customers the flexibility to design virtual desktop environments that align with mission priorities, geographic distribution, and regulatory requirements. The addition of USGov Texas expands these choices while maintaining Azure Government’s strong compliance and security commitments.

Creating host pools in USGov Texas

Customers can now create host pools in the USGov Texas region, helping reduce connection latency and improving how quickly users can access and interact with their Azure Virtual Desktop environments.

Get started

Begin deploying Azure Virtual Desktop in the USGov Texas region today to take advantage of improved performance, reduced latency, and mission‑aligned regional placement. Learn more in the Azure Government documentation.

Now in public preview: Azure Virtual Desktop regional host pools

TomHickling — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:19:27 GMT

Editor's Note: August 2026 | This post has been updated to reflect changes since its original publication in January 2026. Opting in to the preview through a feature flag is no longer required, and the Azure portal is now supported for creating regional host pools. Session host update, dynamic autoscaling, Private Link, App attach packages and automated host pools are all supported on regional host pools. See Regional host pools on Microsoft Learn for current guidance.

At Microsoft, we understand customers need a desktop service that is reliable and resilient. That’s why we’ve made service resilience a core architectural design principle within the Azure Virtual Desktop connectivity platform — so your employees stay connected and productive. To deliver enhanced resiliency, we are announcing regional host pools, a new host pool deployment type that is now in public preview.

What are regional host pools?

Today, Azure Virtual Desktop uses a geographical model for all host pools, where the metadata is stored in a geographical database within each of the Azure geographies around the globe. For resiliency purposes, these geographical databases store multiple replicas within the same region as well as in a separate, paired region. This enables local and cross-region recovery. However, having only one database within a geography serving multiple regions introduces a cross-region dependency, where any issue within the region hosting the Azure Virtual Desktop metadata database or with the database itself could impact users connected or trying to connect to host pools in un-related Azure regions.

To reduce the impact of these types of issues and remove the cross-region dependency, we are deploying new Azure Virtual Desktop databases and infrastructure into every Azure region that Azure Virtual Desktop supports. This means any issue will only impact host pools in the same region. These service enhancements will ultimately result in approximately 40 regional databases across Azure. This also significantly improves your ability to meet any data sovereignty requirements your organization may have, as the metadata associated with your host pools is stored within the Azure region you select. In the event of a local database issue, we still store multiple local replicas across availability zones within the region as well as replicate the metadata to a secondary region where there is an Azure paired region for cross-region failover. This paired region is typically within the same country or at least the same Azure geography.

There are no functional differences between existing geographical host pools and the new regional host pools, aside from one additional field to complete within the deployment process. The only differences are the type of database they are stored in, and the supporting infrastructure, the regional location of each database, and the enhanced resiliency they provide.

What are the benefits of regional host pools?

The main benefit of the new regional host pools is the increased resiliency inherent in the underlying database and infrastructure architecture. They will also give you more control to define your data sovereignty requirements by aligning your host pool metadata with each of the Azure regions supported. When this service becomes generally available, we strongly recommend that you create all new host pools as regional host pools to take full advantage of these benefits and consider transitioning your existing geographical host pools over to regional.

Where can you use regional host pools?

Two infrastructures will co-exist until after we have completed deploying all of the new regional infrastructure in all regions that Azure Virtual Desktop supports.

Future changes:

A date will be announced when creating new geographical host pools will no longer be allowed.
A later date will be announced for retiring geographical infrastructure entirely.

During this transition you can still create geographical host pools, but they won’t offer the improved resiliency of regional host pools. We recommend creating all new host pools as regional host pools to take advantage of improved resiliency and data sovereignty. Begin planning your transition from geographical host pools early — Microsoft will provide tools to help move metadata, or you can manually deploy new regional host pools with the same configuration and transition users. Watch for upcoming communications on timelines to ensure a smooth migration

During the public preview, we are supporting two new “regional” regions, East US 2 and Central US. Additional regions will be added individually once these two regions enter general availability. This rollout will enable you to deploy new regional host pools in an ever-increasing number of Azure regions over time.

Getting started

There are no functional differences between existing geographical host pools and regional host pools. However, you will need to choose from one additional field during creation — the Deployment scope. You can create regional host pools using both the Azure portal and PowerShell. 

Create a regional host pool in the Azure portal (available 8/31/2026 onwards)

In the Azure portal, open Azure Virtual Desktop → Host pools, then select Create. 
Under Basics, choose your resource group and enter a host pool name. 
Select your Azure region (East US2 or Central US) for the host pool location field, then set the Deployment scope to Regional. This will store the host pool metadata regionally. 
Complete host pool type (Pooled or Personal), networking, and session host settings as usual. 
Select Review + Create to deploy.

Note: In case you select a different Azure region for your host pool location field, you will not see the Deployment scope field; it will automatically default to a geographical host pool.

In case you select East US2 or Central US for your host pool location field and set the Deployment scope to Geographical, your created host pool will be a geographical host pool as per the previous experience. 

Create a regional host pool with PowerShell 

When creating the host pool, set the DeploymentScope parameter to Regional so the metadata is written to the regional database. Example: 

New-AzWvdHostPool -ResourceGroupName "testrg" -Name "xyz" -Location "centralus" -DeploymentScope "Regional" 

Note: In regions where regional host pools are not yet supported, regional-deployment scope calls return a "Not Supported" response. 

Regional host pools use regional workspaces, app groups, and App Attach packages 

The Deployment scope is also relevant for new Workspaces, Application Groups, and App Attach packages. Regional and geographical objects cannot be mixed: a regional host pool can only be a member of a regional workspace and can only contain regional application groups. A regional host pool cannot join a geographical workspace, and vice versa. 

You can use the new Deployment scope column in the host pool view to see the type — regional or geographical — of each of your host pools. 

Public preview limitations

During public preview the following features are not supported:

Errors and checkpoints will not be reported into Log Analytics for regional session hosts.

Now supported in public preview

Session host update
Dynamic autoscaling
Private Link
App attach packages and
Automated host pool creation

App attach packages carry a deployment scope and follow the same association rule as workspaces and application groups: a regional host pool uses regional App attach packages, and regional and geographical objects cannot be mixed

Migration

We are working on a future service that will enable the migration between existing geographical objects to new regional objects.

Global availability

New “regional” infrastructure is slowly being enabled globally, and individual or small numbers of regions will become available periodically over time.

Click here for further detailed instructions: Regional Host Pools

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Announcing new hybrid deployment options for Azure Virtual Desktop

Steve_Downs — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:13:46 GMT

Azure Virtual Desktop is a secured, cloud-based virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) service that enables organizations to deliver Windows desktops and applications to users. Originally launched in 2019, Azure Virtual Desktop has evolved rapidly to meet the changing needs of modern workplaces, especially as remote and distributed work became the norm.

Two years ago, we launched Azure Virtual Desktop for Azure Local to provide an option for customers to bring Azure Virtual Desktop functionality on-premises running on Azure Local. Many organizations face ongoing challenges in modernizing their IT environments without major investments in new infrastructure or changes to key software infrastructure such as virtualization hypervisors.

Today, we’re excited to announce Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments, a new capability for bringing the power of cloud-native desktop virtualization to existing on-premises infrastructure. With this update, on-premises Arc-Enabled Servers can be configured as AVD session hosts. This expands Azure Virtual Desktop’s hybrid capabilities beyond Azure Local to Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, VMware vSphere, physical Windows Servers, or anywhere Arc-Enabled Servers can be deployed on-premises.

This milestone reflects the ongoing Microsoft commitment to delivering flexible, secured, and scalable solutions that meet customers where they are — whether in the cloud, on-premises, or across both. Many organizations are seeking ways to extend the benefits of Azure Virtual Desktop to workloads that must remain on-premises due to performance, data residency, or compliance requirements, while also providing a shorter path for cloud migration.

Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments enables customers to run virtual desktops and applications in their own datacenters through the integration of Azure Arc and Azure Virtual Desktop. The virtual machines (VMs) function as session hosts that connect directly to the Azure Virtual Desktop service in the Microsoft Cloud.

Azure Virtual Desktop for Azure Local has seen widespread adoption and remains available for customers that want an end-to-end Microsoft Cloud native solution that includes VM provisioning and management to support their edge scenarios. Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments allows organizations to leverage existing hardware investments and preferred hypervisors, while benefiting from unified identity, policy, and VM management. VM provisioning and management for Azure Virtual Desktop can be delivered through alternative means, including partner solutions.

Partner support for Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments

Partner solutions that integrate with Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments will provide a valuable option for customers that need additional VM management capabilities — and we’re excited to announce this preview with support from key partners including ControlUp, LoginVSI, Nerdio, and Nutanix. These partners are building integrations and services to help customers deploy and manage Azure Virtual Desktop hybrid solutions.

Each partner brings deep expertise in virtualization, and their support means that customers can confidently adopt hybrid Azure Virtual Desktop with the tools and guidance they need. Some of the partner feedback we’ve received:

“ControlUp is proud to support Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments. By integrating our real-time monitoring and analytics solutions, we empower organizations to optimize performance and user experience across both on-premises and cloud-hosted desktops.” — Jed Ayres, CEO, ControlUp

“Login VSI is excited to support Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments. Our automated testing solution with Login Enterprise and our Azure Virtual Desktop management solution with Hydra will ensure customers have cost-effective and reliable solutions to extend Azure Virtual Desktop to their on-premises environment." — John Vigeant, CEO, Login VSI

“Nerdio is committed to helping our customers modernize their legacy VDI solutions at the pace that’s right for them. By working with Microsoft as an Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments partner, we will be extending the benefits of Nerdio Manager to a broader range of on-premises platforms, giving IT teams the flexibility to manage all their virtual desktops — cloud, on-premises, or both — through a single, automated platform. This is a major step forward for organizations that want to innovate without disruption.”
— Vadim Vladimirskiy, CEO, Nerdio

“Customers with end-user compute deployments ranging from hundreds to 100,000+ seats, run on Nutanix — on-prem as well as on Azure, using our Nutanix Cloud Clusters solution. We're excited that Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments will allow customers to run Azure Virtual Desktop on Nutanix. This is a combination that customers have long requested and is another example of the need for hybrid cloud solutions.” — Tarkan Maner, Chief Commercial Officer, Nutanix

Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments - benefits

Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments brings Azure Arc, Azure Virtual Desktop, and partner solutions together to create a flexible VDI environment that extends cloud functionality to on-premises infrastructure. By bringing these components together customers can optimize their environments to make the best use of the management service, hypervisor, or lifecycle management approach they choose without sacrificing their ability to migrate to cloud solutions when ready.

“Customers want the flexibility to create a virtualization environment that maximizes the value of their existing infrastructure while providing a clear migration path to the cloud,” said Scott Manchester, VP of Product for Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop. “Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments provides a great foundation for customers to run Azure Virtual Desktop on-premises, and when combined with partner solutions, gives customers new options for optimizing their VDI estate.”

Get started

If you're interested in learning more about Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments or want to explore how it can support your organization’s hybrid strategy, public preview is planned for the first half of 2026. To learn more about our launch partner solutions you can reach out them directly (ControlUp, LoginVSI, Nerdio, and Nutanix).

You can also reach out to your Microsoft account team, who can provide additional details, help assess your readiness, and guide you through the preview enrollment process.

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Now in public preview: Ephemeral OS disk support on Azure Virtual Desktop

Ron_Coleman — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 20:03:45 GMT

Azure Virtual Desktop continues to evolve with features that simplify deployment and management of session hosts for our customers. Today, we’re excited to announce the public preview of Ephemeral OS disk support, the latest milestone in our Enhanced Host Pool Management initiative. Designed for stateless workloads, Ephemeral OS disk stores the operating system on the virtual machine’s local storage, rather than remote storage. This enables a faster session host creation experience and improved performance, while maintaining a consistent and responsive user experience.

Key benefits

Ephemeral OS disk offers:

Faster provisioning and reimaging: Session hosts can be created or reset.

Improved Performance: By keeping read/write operations local, users experience faster access times and reduced latency.
Optimized for stateless workloads: Ideal for environments that do not need to retain session host state information between uses.

What is Ephemeral OS disk?

Ephemeral OS disk stores the operating system on the virtual machine’s local storage, within the same physical server where the VM runs. This design eliminates the need to connect to remote Azure Storage, helping reduce network latency and deliver faster disk performance (IOPS).

Virtual machines that use ephemeral OS disks operate a bit differently. They can’t be started or deallocated. Instead, they can only be reimaged or deleted. This ensures each session host begins or is reset to a clean, consistent state, reducing management overhead and simplifying operations for environments that require frequent refresh cycles.

Because the disk is local and non-persistent, any changes made during a session are lost when the VM is reimaged or deleted. As a result, ephemeral OS disks are an excellent fit for stateless workloads that value speed, scalability, and rapid reimaging over long-term data retention.

Getting Started

To use ephemeral OS disks, a pooled host pool with a session host configuration (public preview) enabled is required. Ephemeral OS disks are not available for personal host pools or for host pools without a session host configuration.

You can configure a session host with Ephemeral OS disk for your pooled host pools using Azure Portal.

To configure a session host with an Ephemeral OS disk

From the Azure Portal, on the Azure Virtual Desktop blade create a new pooled host pool configured with a session host configuration.
On the session host tab:
- Select an image of your choice.
- Choose a VM size that has enough local disk space (either cache or temporary storage) to support your OS image. To find which VM sizes are compatible with your selected image, refer to the PowerShell script mentioned in the FAQ under the question: “Will all VM sizes be supported for ephemeral OS disks?”.
- Check the Ephemeral OS disk box.
- Select disk placement based on your VM type:
  - OS cache
  - Temp disk
Complete the remaining fields to create your host pool and session host.

Using Dynamic Autoscaling plans with Ephemeral OS Disks

Ephemeral OS disks are designed for stateless workloads and don’t support traditional start or deallocate operations. To ensure reliable scaling and lifecycle management, we recommend using Dynamic Autoscaling plans when deploying session hosts with ephemeral OS disks.

With this setup, session hosts are created and deleted according to the rules defined in your scaling plan, ensuring efficient resource use while aligning with the stateless design of ephemeral OS disks.

Learn more about Dynamic Autoscaling plans.

Next steps

We’re excited for you to begin exploring Ephemeral OS disk on Azure Virtual Desktop. We encourage you to check out our documents that include setup guidance, prerequisites, and much more to help you get started.

Want to learn more?

Read the Ephemeral OS disks on Azure Virtual Desktop documentation

Read the session host update for Azure Virtual Desktop documentation

Read the create and assign a scaling plan documentation

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Windows 10 Extended Security Updates for Azure Virtual Desktop

ivaylo_ivanov — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 16:19:35 GMT

Windows 10 reaches end of support on October 14, 2025. A great place to learn about all the Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) options is in our blog post, When to use Windows 10 Extended Security Updates.

In this article, I will describe the Windows 10 lifecycle for Azure Virtual Desktop across the following scenarios:

Existing session hosts running Windows 10

Creating new session hosts with Windows 10

Microsoft 365 Apps support for Windows 10

Windows 10 ESU support

Existing session hosts running Windows 10

All existing Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts running Windows 10, version 22H2 are entitled to Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) at no additional cost—read about the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for Windows 10 for more information. The ESU program enables PCs to continue to receive critical and important security updates. ESUs will be offered on all existing session hosts running Windows 10, version 22H2, when a Windows Update scan or Autopatch is run, without requiring any admin action. ESUs will be installed based on the Windows Update configurations of each session host and are applied automatically after a session host is deployed.

Creating new session hosts with Windows 10

There are two Windows 10, version 22H2 client multi-session images in Azure Marketplace: one with Microsoft 365 Apps and one without. The image with Microsoft 365 Apps will be retired and removed from Azure Marketplace on April 14, 2026, while the image without Microsoft 365 Apps will remain until 2028.

The image without Microsoft 365 Apps will receive the last service update in October 2025. Between October 2025 and April 2026, newly-deployed session hosts will need to install ESUs to be current. Microsoft recommends switching to Windows 11 for a more secure Windows experience.

For more information on ESU availability and end dates, please see Product Lifecycle FAQ - Extended Security Updates.

Microsoft 365 Apps support for Windows 10

Read Windows 10 end of support and Microsoft 365 Apps to learn more.

Windows 10 ESU support

We will determine if the issue pertains to Azure Virtual Desktop or with Windows 10. If the issue is determined to be with Azure Virtual Desktop, we will support as expected and work towards a resolution to your reported issue. If the issue is determined to pertain to the operating system, we will request/require an attempt to reproduce the same issue on a currently supported version of Windows 11. If that issue is able to be reproduced on Windows 11, we will work that issue as it is supported. Once resolved, and if applicable, we can attempt to apply that same solution to the originally reported Windows 10 system. If the Windows 11 solution does not resolve the issue on Windows 10, we would recommend upgrading to Windows 11 as Windows 10 is no longer supported.

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Azure Virtual Desktop metadata database now available in Korea Central

Ron_Coleman — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 17:00:22 GMT

We’re pleased to announce that the Azure Virtual Desktop metadata database is now available in the Korea Central region. This release is part of our ongoing global expansion, following our rollout earlier this year in Southeast Asia. By extending regional availability, we continue to enhance Azure Virtual Desktop’s performance, support data residency, and meet compliance requirements across more markets.

The metadata database is a critical service component that stores configuration and operational data such as host pool settings, user assignments, and session host details. With this expansion, the metadata service infrastructure is now closer to more users, helping reduce latency and improve responsiveness.

Benefits of Korea Central Availability

With the addition of Korea Central, customers will now benefit from:

Improved performance: Reduced latency for service operations by keeping metadata closer to your workloads.
Enhanced compliance: Support for data residency and regulatory requirements in Korea.
Enriched user experience: Faster connection times and more responsive session management.

When deploying Azure Virtual Desktop, you now have the option to configure your environment to utilize the Korea Central metadata database. This configuration helps ensure that your service metadata remains within the region, thereby supporting your compliance and performance objectives.

The addition of the Korea Central metadata database is part of our broader commitment to bring Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 closer to our customers around the world. As we continue to expand regional availability, we’re focused on helping organizations build secure, resilient, and high-performing digital workplaces, wherever they are. We encourage you to take advantage of this regional expansion to optimize your Azure Virtual Desktop deployments. Get started with configuring your Azure Virtual Desktop environment in Korea Central, visit the Data Locations for Azure Virtual Desktop documentation to learn more.

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App-V support and partner integration now available in App attach

JimMoyle — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 17:56:14 GMT

We're excited to announce the general availability of two enhancements to App attach in Azure Virtual Desktop: Support for Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) packages, and integration with leading third-party application delivery platforms Liquidware, Numecent, and Omnissa.

App attach is a modern application delivery solution that separates apps from the base virtual machine image, allowing IT admins to manage and deploy applications dynamically without modifying the core desktop image. This reduces maintenance complexity and speeds up deployment. For end users, it means quicker, more consistent access to the apps they rely on across sessions, locations, and devices—resulting in a smoother, more flexible virtual desktop experience.

These updates give IT admins more control as they modernize application delivery strategies. By enabling the reuse of existing App-V packages and offering integration with a wider ecosystem of deployment tools, organizations can simplify management, reduce repackaging overhead, and move to the cloud at their own pace.

App-V support in App attach simplifies migration

With the general availability of App-V support, organizations can now incorporate existing App-V packages into the App attach framework without repackaging. This streamlines the transition to Azure Virtual Desktop by preserving investments in legacy applications while enabling more modern and scalable delivery.

This update comes at a critical time, as App-V enters extended support. By bridging the gap between legacy application virtualization and modern desktop infrastructure, App attach offers a path forward that combines continuity with innovation, helping IT teams maintain supportability while evolving their cloud strategy.

App-V package integrated with App attach, showing package properties and deployment details in the Microsoft Azure portal

New partner support expands application delivery options

App attach supports integration with key partners, expanding flexibility and giving organizations a broader set of tools for application management. Solution integration with App attach delivers two key benefits:

It simplifies application delivery management by providing a centralized console for tracking and deploying apps across environments.
It increases application mobility by streamlining the migration of on-premises apps to Azure while maintaining security, compliance, and performance.

At general availability, the launch includes support for Liquidware, Numecent, and Omnissa. This collaboration brings real-world solutions to life, with each partner offering distinct capabilities that enhance and extend the value of App attach.

Liquidware FlexApp enables rapid deployment by containerizing applications into self-sufficient executables. These can be distributed through multiple methods, including popular cloud file-sharing services, and are designed to work across any Windows desktop, including those hosted in the cloud.

"We're thrilled that App attach has reached these important milestones. FlexApp integration with App attach will help our joint customers modernize their application management strategies as they move beyond legacy delivery models."

--Jason E. Smith, Vice President, Alliances and Marketing, Liquidware

Numecent Cloudpager delivers a fully managed Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for creating, automating, and managing desktop application configurations. It helps organizations take advantage of the latest Windows technologies with simplified, cloud-based application delivery.

"As an App attach integration launch partner, we're excited to help customers bring Cloudpager with App attach integration into production environments. Cloudpager's support for App attach will help our joint customers seamlessly provision new and existing application containers across modern, cloud, or hybrid environments."

--Arthur Hitomi, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Numecent

Omnissa App Volumes (formerly VMware App Volumes) offers real-time application delivery and lifecycle management via virtual disks, allowing enterprises to centrally manage and quickly deploy apps across desktops with unified app and user management.

"The integration of Omnissa App Volumes with App attach reflects our strategic alignment with Microsoft. Joint customers benefit from Apps on Demand delivery, granular control with markers and stages, rapid rollback, tailored app experiences per Windows session, and the ability to update a single app package across multiple Azure Virtual Desktop host pools, tenants, and hybrid deployments—all from a single console."

--Jeff Ulatoski, Director of Product Management, Omnissa

Moving forward with App attach

As application delivery continues to evolve, App attach provides a scalable, modern approach that reduces complexity for IT admins while enabling secure, dynamic application delivery in Azure Virtual Desktop. With support for App-V and expanded partner integration now generally available, it's easier than ever to align your existing infrastructure with your cloud goals.

Ready to modernize your application delivery?

Start using App attach today and streamline your path to the cloud. Learn more about how to get started with App attach in Azure Virtual Desktop and explore the latest partner integrations:

App attach documentation
Learn more about App-V support
Partner integration details: Liquidware, Numecent, Omnissa

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Now in public preview: RDP Multipath for reliable connectivity

Rinku_Dalwani — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 03:06:54 GMT

We are excited to announce the public preview of Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) Multipath for Azure Virtual Desktop. This new feature is designed to enhance remote desktop connectivity and reliability without requiring configuration changes from IT admins and users. By continuously evaluating multiple network paths and dynamically switching to the most reliable one behind the scenes, this feature helps reduce the risk of disconnections and provides a more consistent user experience.

Key features

Key features of RDP Multipath include:

Seamless integration: RDP Multipath doesn’t require changes from IT admins or users. This seamless integration means that everyone can benefit from enhanced connectivity without additional effort.
Dynamic path management: RDP Multipath operates by evaluating multiple User Datagram Protocol (UDP) network paths simultaneously and dynamically switching the active path at runtime behind the scenes. This approach avoids single points of failure, helping to ensure that if one path fails only that path is affected while others remain operational. This helps users stay productive longer without disconnecting, and it significantly reduces the occurrence of dropouts, resulting in a more consistent and productive experience. Additionally, when multiple paths are available, the algorithm proactively selects the best-performing path even in the absence of a connection drop. This ensures consistently optimized user experience by minimizing latency and maximizing reliability.
Insights and monitoring: When RDP Multipath is active, Azure Virtual Desktop Insights will display both the feature and the current active transport used to connect to your Cloud PC. Users will be able to see that the feature is enabled for them if they see Multipath along with the transport type currently used to connect to their Cloud PC as shown in the screenshot below. Administrators will start seeing connections with the new transport type labeled as Multipath in Azure Virtual Desktop Insights.

How does this work?

RDP Multipath finds multiple available paths using Interactive Connectivity Establishment (ICE) to create redundant connections. The active and redundant paths may consist of combinations such as UDP over Simple Traversal Underneath NAT (STUN), UDP over Relay, or multiple UDP over Relay. If one active path breaks, the system will move to the next optimized redundant path.

However, in situations where all network paths are broken, such as a host router failure or network flap within the user's network setup, users will be disconnected and then auto reconnected once network paths are available. Users relying solely on WebSocket (TCP-based) connections will not benefit from this version of RDP Multipath. Support for TCP-based connectivity scenarios will be available in future updates.

In the scenario shown in the diagram below, the primary active connection is established using UDP via STUN, ensuring low-latency communication. To enhance reliability, this connection is supplemented by two redundant UDP paths routed through a Traversal Using Relays around NAT (TURN) server. This setup provides performance and failover support, especially in constrained network environments.

How to enable this feature?

During the public preview, you can test the feature by tagging your host pool to the validation ring. By default, this feature is enabled for everyone in the validation pool, providing seamless integration and enhanced connectivity without requiring any changes from IT admins or users.

Please note RDP Multipath is rolling out in phases, available first for session hosts using UDP as the primary connection path. Currently, this feature is only available on Windows devices and Windows App and Microsoft Remote Desktop Client (MSRDC) on Windows with the latest version. Support for other platforms will follow.

To help with compatibility and optimal performance, users must be on the following minimum supported client versions:

MSRDC: Version 1.2.6074 or later
Windows App: Version 2.0.366.0 or later

Please update your physical endpoint to at least these versions to maintain access to all features and receive ongoing support.

Looking ahead, future updates will introduce support for multiple WebSocket connections. Additionally, users with access to UDP will be supported by both TCP and UDP paths simultaneously through RDP Multipath.

How to opt out of this feature?

If you experience any challenges such as regression from your previous connection experience, you may decide to disable the feature. To do so, you can opt out of the host pool from the validation ring. This self-help option allows you to revert to the previous configuration if necessary. For more information, see Configure a host pool as a validation environment.

Learn more

Review the documentation to learn more about RDP Multipath.

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Multiple personal desktop assignment now generally available

femi_adebayo — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 16:00:00 GMT

We are thrilled to announce the general availability of a new Azure Virtual Desktop capability that allows multiple personal desktops to be assigned to a single user within one host pool. This update, previously in public preview, improves upon the limit of one desktop per user.

Setting up this feature used to require multiple host pools, which was time consuming and resource intensive. The ability to assign more than one personal desktop in a single host pool reduces management overhead and consolidates resources for a more efficient virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environment.

This feature also significantly improves user experience. IT administrators can use the feature in conjunction with friendly names for session hosts, which makes it easier for users to distinguish among their assigned desktops, and to navigate more efficiently among different desktops. The learning curve associated with new technology adoption is reduced.

Enable multiple personal desktops to be assigned to a single user in the Microsoft Azure portal when you deploy a personal host pool.

This feature is available for the Microsoft Azure portal, REST API, and PowerShell.

For more about this feature and how to use it step-by-step, see Configure personal desktop assignment in Azure Virtual Desktop.

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Host pool redirection defaults changing in Azure Virtual Desktop

Derek_Su — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 16:00:00 GMT

As part of the Microsoft Secure Future Initiative (SFI), Azure Virtual Desktop is enhancing its default security by disabling clipboard, drive, USB, and printer redirections for all newly created host pools. This change minimizes the risk of data exfiltration and malware injections, making it easier to have a more secure experience by default. IT admins can enable these redirections as needed using the host pool Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) properties in the Microsoft Azure portal or by using other methods such as Microsoft Intune or Group Policy.

Timeline for redirection default changes

This change to redirection defaults is coming soon. To help IT admins prepare, a dismissible banner will be displayed in the "Create a host pool"; landing page in the Azure portal. This banner will notify admins of the new default settings for new host pools and provide links to documentation on how to override them by changing the host pool RDP properties once a host pool is created.

Note: For existing host pools, no changes to redirection configuration will be made on your behalf. However, we do recommend you consider hardening settings by disabling redirections that are not needed. To make these changes, please visit the device redirection section in the documentation for RDP properties.

How to override default redirection configuration

IT admins can enable these redirections as needed using the host pool RDP properties in the device redirection dropdown list as shown below.

Screenshot of host pool RDP properties and device redirection options.

For more information on how to configure RDP properties, including using other methods such as Microsoft Intune or Group Policy, consult the documentation for each of these redirection settings:

Note: Azure portal RDP properties supersede Microsoft Intune and Group Policy configurations.

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Azure Virtual Desktop metadata database available in Southeast Asia

Ron_Coleman — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 16:00:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce that the Azure Virtual Desktop metadata database is now generally available in Southeast Asia. This extends our regional database capability to meet your organization's requirements.

We are constantly expanding the footprint of the Azure Virtual Desktop connectivity platforms to provide reduced latency and enhanced experience for organizations around the world. The service is available in every Azure geography with ongoing plans for further global expansion to meet these needs. You can specify the geography where service metadata is stored, which can be useful for organizations with regulatory or compliance requirements or for those seeking improved latency. Organizations have the option to locate their Azure Virtual Desktop host pool objects within specific geographical boundaries to help ensure data residency.

The addition of Southeast Asia expands the supported geographies to nine, which now include the United States, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, India, South Africa, and Asia. This new capability enables you to choose to locate your Azure Virtual Desktop objects within Southeast Asia and know that this data will always remain within that Azure geographical boundary.

When deploying a host pool, you will now see that Southeast Asia is listed as a region to store the metadata:

When you create Azure Virtual Desktop host pools, the metadata for those host pool objects is only stored within the Azure geography selected. We replicate the data to the Azure paired region for disaster recovery purposes.

The Azure Virtual Desktop connectivity platform provides connectivity and data storage services for Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365. It helps securely deliver Windows desktop and application experiences from the Microsoft globally distributed hyperscale cloud infrastructure. The growing number of Azure regions and the extensive list of locations for geographic residency purposes demonstrates the commitment to making Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 more available worldwide.

Learn more about Azure Virtual Desktop data locations.

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In public preview: Multiple personal desktops with Azure Virtual Desktop

Seneca_Friend — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:00:00 GMT

In the dynamic world of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), it's essential to streamline resource management. That's why we're excited to announce that the ability to allow multiple personal desktops to be assigned to a single user within a single host pool in Azure Virtual Desktop is now in public preview. It is a significant improvement from the previous limitation of one desktop per user.

Prior to this feature, achieving this setup would necessitate creating and managing multiple host pools. The process was time consuming and resource intensive. Now, with the ability to assign more than one personal desktop to a user in a single host pool, organizations can reduce the overhead associated with managing numerous host pools. This simplification not only saves time but also consolidates resources, leading to a more efficient VDI environment.

This feature also enhances user experience. IT administrators can use the feature in conjunction with friendly names for session hosts, which makes it easy for users to distinguish among their assigned desktops. In turn, users can navigate more efficiently among different desktops. As another benefit, the learning curve associated with new technology adoption is reduced.

Enable multiple personal desktops to be assigned to a single user in the Microsoft Azure portal when you deploy a personal host pool.

This feature is available for the Microsoft Azure portal, REST API, and PowerShell.

For more about this feature and how to use it, see Configure personal desktop assignment in Azure Virtual Desktop.

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Discover Azure Virtual Desktop Quickstart—now generally available

EricOrman — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:00:00 GMT

Are you prepared to explore the capabilities of Azure Virtual Desktop with a streamlined setup process? We are thrilled to announce the general availability of Quickstart, which helps you quickly deploy a sample environment and makes it easy to familiarize yourself with Azure Virtual Desktop and the new Windows App.

Think of Quickstart as your Azure Virtual Desktop test drive. Now you can have a fully functioning Azure Virtual Desktop environment up and running after answering only four deployment questions. This guided deployment enables two users to connect to a full virtual desktop session, consisting of one Windows 11 multisession host. Please note, Quickstart is for evaluation and non-production deployments only.

Get started with Quickstart

Try the guided Quickstart deployment by following these steps:

Sign in to your Azure account. From the Azure Virtual Desktop overview page select Quickstart and then Create from the “Get started quickly with Azure Virtual Desktop” tile.

Screenshot of the onboarding options on the Azure Virtual Desktop Quickstart page.
Follow the on-screen instructions to configure your deployment.

Screenshot of the simplified Azure Virtual Desktop deployment through Quickstart.

After you select Review + Create, you'll be redirected to a post deployment page. As you wait for the deployment to complete, which takes approximately 20–30 minutes, you can watch a 12-minute overview video that explains the full capabilities of Azure Virtual Desktop. Follow instructions for downloading Windows App, which will provide access to your virtual desktop.

Screenshot of Deployment in progress notification.

When the deployment is complete, you can immediately begin exploring the robust features of Azure Virtual Desktop. Discover seamless multisession capabilities, enhanced security, and the flexibility of accessing your desktop from anywhere.

Learn more

Test Quickstart via the Azure Virtual Desktop portal.
Want to learn more about Quickstart? Watch the Azure Virtual Desktop beginner's guide video.
To get started with Quickstart, review the product documentation.
Get started with Windows App to connect to Azure Virtual Desktop. Learn more about Windows App.
Try out the interactive demo for Azure Virtual Desktop.
Watch the technical takeoff session to learn more: Azure Virtual Desktop hostpool management at scale - Microsoft Technical Takeoff

Don't wait—dive into the future of virtual desktops with Azure Virtual Desktop Quickstart deployment. We're excited to see what you'll achieve! Stay tuned for more updates and features as we continue to enhance Azure Virtual Desktop. Thank you for being a part of our journey.

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Azure Virtual Desktop Blog articles

Now generally available: Regional resiliency for Azure Virtual Desktop

Azure Virtual Desktop regional host pools

What are regional host pools?

Where can you use regional host pools?

Getting started

Create a regional host pool in the Azure portal

Create a regional host pool with PowerShell

Regional host pools use regional workspaces, app groups, and App Attach packages

Our recommendation

Next steps

Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid is now generally available

Architecture overview

Pricing model

Feedback from customers and partners

Partner perspectives

Deploy Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid from the Azure portal

Get started today

Complement Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid with Windows 365 Reserve

Enhanced host pool management for Azure Virtual Desktop is now generally available

Session host configuration and update

Ephemeral OS disks

Dynamic autoscale

Getting started

How to create a session host configuration

How to update with session host update

How to configure a session host with an Ephemeral OS disk

How to create and configure a scaling plan

Next steps

Azure Virtual Desktop supports greater application and identity functionality with latest updates

Updates to configuring FSLogix on Azure Files for external identities (generally available)

Configure domainless SAML IdP federation (public preview)

Expand user access to more platforms and clouds

Announcing public preview of redundant TCP support for RDP Multipath for Azure Virtual Desktop

How does this feature work

Enhanced resiliency with redundant UDP and TCP paths

Improved reliability for TCP-only (UDP-restricted) environments

How to enable this feature

How to opt-out from this feature

Learn more

App attach in Azure Virtual Desktop now supports Windows Server 2025 and Windows Server 2022

Benefits of App attach support for Windows Server

RDP Shortpath (UDP) over Private Link is now generally available

How to enable UDP over Private Link

Learn more

Azure Virtual Desktop is now available in US Gov Texas in Azure Government

Key benefits

Creating host pools in USGov Texas

Get started

Now in public preview: Azure Virtual Desktop regional host pools

What are regional host pools?

What are the benefits of regional host pools?

Where can you use regional host pools?

Getting started

Create a regional host pool in the Azure portal (available 8/31/2026 onwards)

Create a regional host pool with PowerShell

Regional host pools use regional workspaces, app groups, and App Attach packages

Public preview limitations

Now supported in public preview

Migration

Global availability

Announcing new hybrid deployment options for Azure Virtual Desktop

Partner support for Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments

Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments - benefits

Get started

Now in public preview: Ephemeral OS disk support on Azure Virtual Desktop

Key benefits

What is Ephemeral OS disk?

Getting Started

Using Dynamic Autoscaling plans with Ephemeral OS Disks

Next steps

Windows 10 Extended Security Updates for Azure Virtual Desktop

Existing session hosts running Windows 10

Creating new session hosts with Windows 10

Microsoft 365 Apps support for Windows 10

Windows 10 ESU support

Azure Virtual Desktop metadata database now available in Korea Central

Benefits of Korea Central Availability

App-V support and partner integration now available in App attach

App-V support in App attach simplifies migration

Complement Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid with Windows 365 Reserve

Create a regional host pool in the Azure portal (available 8/31/2026 onwards)

Create a regional host pool with PowerShell 

Regional host pools use regional workspaces, app groups, and App Attach packages 