Support Live Session Migration for Windows 11 Enterprise Multi-Session AVD Hosts
Description Azure Virtual Desktop administrators regularly encounter maintenance scenarios where a Windows 11 Enterprise Multi-Session session host must be removed from service to apply urgent patches, investigate platform issues, replace a host, or perform emergency maintenance. The current approach requires placing the session host into drain mode and waiting for active user sessions to disconnect or forcing user logoff, which can disrupt productivity and user experience. It would be valuable if Azure Virtual Desktop supported live migration of active user sessions between Windows 11 Enterprise Multi-Session hosts within the same host pool, similar to the way virtual machine live migration minimises downtime during infrastructure maintenance. This capability would allow administrators to move active sessions from one session host to another without requiring user disconnection or application interruption. This feature would provide significant operational benefits, including: Reduced user disruption during planned and emergency maintenance. Faster remediation of unhealthy or degraded session hosts. Improved patching and update operations. Reduced dependency on large maintenance windows. Improved service availability for business-critical AVD environments. Better support for future hot patching and rolling maintenance scenarios. While Windows 11 Enterprise Multi-Session differs significantly from Windows Server and traditional VM live migration technologies, the ability to seamlessly relocate active user sessions between healthy hosts in a host pool would be a major enhancement for enterprise Azure Virtual Desktop deployments operating at scale.
Create App Launch URLS
On Remote Desktop Services (RD Web Client), it would be nice to be able to launch an app from a url, something like this: 1. User types in, for example: https://example.domain.com/RDWeb/webclient/app/[App Identifier] into their URL bar. 2. Regular log in page as usual prompts the user to sign in 3. Once successfully logged in, the app launches automatically Why this would be useful in our case: We use Cloudflare Access as our company dashboard so we can put all of our services in one place, cloud and on-prem. A lot of utilities aren't displayed on the dashboard and are hidden behind a "Remote Desktop" tile, making useful apps seem like they're not there for users. This would eliminate unnecessary tickets to IT and save time across the board. So far RD Web Client has worked great, this is just something I feel could make it better.
AVD Forced log off by user
My suggestion for a feature request is to add a logoff/force-logoff option in both the web client and AVD client at a minimum. Right now, if a user logs into a host and they hit a black screen or any other type of error they are stuck to that host until the session is force logged off by an admin or they hit the logoff timeout that an admin sets. This would save frustration and productivity loss for a user that would have to wait for an admin to help. This is especially needed for companies that support around the clock teams.
[Enterprise Customer Feedback] - AVD Forced Log Off
After going over the issue with support, we couldn't find a solution that an end user can self-service themselves to rectify when an AVD session host is having a performance issue. The host session VM booted up per our scaling policy at 7:45 a.m. and immediately had a User Profile service error. When the first attempted session connection occurred about 15 minutes later, it failed to load the session and only left the user with a black screen. Disconnecting and relaunching the session still placed them in the session hung session. We employ a disconnected session log-off policy of 120 total minutes. It would take at least 2 hours without user interaction for a session to fully terminate. There is no way a user can force log off their session in either the web client or Azure Virtual Desktop client. The only option available is to disconnect but it maintains the session live in the backend. My suggestion for a feature request is to add a logoff/force-logoff option in both the web client and AVD client at a minimum. And, an option for the end user to avoid a new session connection to the host that was having the issue. This might limit productivity time loss as IT works on rectifying the issue. (most likely a reboot of the session host machine).
Add Capacity Reservation Group Support to Azure Virtual Desktop VM Creation Wizard
I would like to request support for assigning Azure Capacity Reservation Groups during Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) session host creation. I recently deployed a GPU-enabled AVD environment for AI and machine learning workloads where GPU resources are extremely scarce and often unavailable for on-demand provisioning. To guarantee capacity, we were required to create a Capacity Reservation Group prior to deployment. Currently, there is a significant workflow gap between standard Azure VM creation and AVD session host deployment. Standard Azure VM deployment allows a VM to be assigned to a Capacity Reservation Group during creation. The Azure Virtual Desktop host pool creation wizard does not expose this option. Administrators are forced to either create the VM outside of the AVD workflow using the Capacity Reservation interface and manually register it to the host pool afterward, or deploy through the AVD wizard and associate the VM with a Capacity Reservation Group later. This creates several challenges. Additional Quota Requirements Capacity Reservations consume quota before a VM is deployed. Because the AVD wizard cannot deploy directly into a reservation, administrators may need additional quota approvals to support both the reservation and deployment workflow. In environments where quota increases require support requests, this can introduce delays of several days. Resource Scarcity and Timing Issues GPU-enabled SKUs frequently have limited regional availability. Administrators must wait for both quota availability and capacity availability multiple times throughout the deployment process. This significantly increases deployment complexity and delays project delivery. Inconsistent Management Experience Creating the VM through the Capacity Reservation workflow bypasses several AVD deployment conveniences, such as Microsoft Intune enrollment and other AVD-specific configuration settings available through the host pool deployment wizard. Administrators are forced to perform additional manual configuration after deployment. Operational Overhead Manual host registration, Entra ID joining, Intune enrollment, and post-deployment configuration introduce unnecessary complexity and increase the likelihood of deployment errors. Suggested Enhancement Add a Capacity Reservation Group selection option directly within the Azure Virtual Desktop session host deployment workflow, similar to the standard Azure VM deployment experience. This would allow administrators to: Deploy AVD session hosts directly into reserved capacity. Utilize existing AVD provisioning features, including Intune enrollment and Entra ID integration. Reduce quota management complexity. Minimize deployment delays for high-demand GPU workloads. Provide a more consistent and streamlined Azure deployment experience. This issue became particularly impactful when deploying NV-series GPU session hosts, where both regional capacity and quota approvals were constrained and deployment timelines were significantly extended. As AI, machine learning, and GPU-intensive workloads continue to grow, this capability would significantly improve the deployment experience for organizations leveraging Azure Virtual Desktop for these use cases.
MacOS Windows App Dynamic Resolution not working
When using MacOS Windows App 11.0.5, if the AVD icon settings are left un-customised, the App does not honour the host pool setting to enable Dynamic Resolution. Dynamic Resolution only seems to work if it's explicitly enabled on each AVD icon within the Windows App on the client device. Our users expect Dynamic Resolution to work by default. It's enabled in the host pool and it previously worked on the RD Client.AVD Federation with external identities
Spent months figuring out why federated SSO breaks for external users accessing Azure Virtual Desktop. Turns out Azure AD ignores custom federation when the user's domain is verified elsewhere—forces B2B routing, kills Windows SSO. Built a workaround using proxy domains and a federation hub. Curious—how are others solving this? Or just telling customers SSO isn't possible? I can't find any roadmap agenda.
Azure Virtual Desktop for Guest User / B2b Identity
All of our external customers have their own AAD / Entra ID and wish to not manage multiple identities. As we present our applications via AVD, it requires them to have a separate identity in our tenant currently. AVD should support guest accounts from another tenant to be able to sign in. Currently, per the documentation and per the ticket I just worked with Microsoft support: Azure Virtual Desktop doesn't support external identities, including guest accounts or business-to-business (B2B) identities. Whether you're serving internal commercial purposes or external users with Azure Virtual Desktop, you'll need to create and manage identities for those users yourself. Please continue development to allow guest accounts that have been invited into a tenant to sign in to AVD machines. Thanks!
