Azure Virtual Desktop Essentials | Intro and Full Tour

Summary

Azure Virtual Desktop Essentials offers a robust and flexible Cloud VDI solution that streamlines the complex infrastructure management of desktops. With cloud-based centralized security, management, and scalability, it facilitates efficient desktop virtualization across a multitude of devices. Users can expect a seamless experience akin to a physical PC, while administrators can tailor service configuration and management to their specific needs. The solution provides broad options for VM size and performance, allows for secure file access, and integrates advanced security measures to combat various cyber threats. Coupled with cost optimization through multi-session capabilities, Azure Virtual Desktop is a well-rounded offering for modern organizations.

Highlights

• Jump into the world of Azure Virtual Desktop for a streamlined and flexible cloud-based VDI solution! ☁️
• Enjoy secure, centralized management while reducing infrastructure costs and complexity. 💡
• Provides a seamless user experience, just like using a regular computer, but with cloud perks! 🌐
• Leverage multi-session capability, a unique feature for enhanced efficiency and resource management. 🧑‍💻
• Robust security features, including encrypted connections, ensure top-notch data protection. 🛡️

Key Takeaways

• Azure Virtual Desktop simplifies desktop virtualization, letting you skip the headache of building your own infrastructure. 🎉
• It’s pay-as-you-go! You get billed only for what you use, making it cost-efficient. 💸
• Offers a rich user experience similar to a physical desktop across different devices. 🖥️
• Allows multi-session capabilities, letting multiple users log into a single VM. 👥
• Security measures are top-notch with options for encrypted connections and detailed access management. 🔐

Overview

Azure Virtual Desktop introduces a revolutionized approach to desktop virtualization, promising efficiency and flexibility without the usual hassles of managing your own infrastructure. With built-in centralized security, management, and scalability, it's designed to work across a wide range of devices and apps, offering full-feature experiences for popular operating systems like Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Users benefit from a familiar desktop experience, while IT professionals can customize deployments to perfectly suit organizational needs.

The strength of Azure Virtual Desktop lies in its ability to greatly minimize the complexity and cost of infrastructure setup while providing robust functionality. Users only pay for the services they consume, making it an economical choice. It covers all the usual roles—gateway, diagnostics, and load balancing—previously managed individually, scaling them as a managed service on Azure’s reliable platform. The flexibility extends to configuration with plenty of VM size, performance choices, and multi-session capabilities for efficient user distribution across systems.

Security is a cornerstone of Azure Virtual Desktop, with encrypted connections during user sessions to ensure data and application protection. The platform offers comprehensive management options through the Azure Portal, enabling intricate control over service configuration and user access. With smart balancing and scaling features, plus advanced options for security management, including Azure Active Directory and Confidential VMs, Azure Virtual Desktop stands as a paragon of secure, efficient cloud desktop service.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Azure Virtual Desktop The chapter introduces Azure Virtual Desktop as a flexible and efficient solution for desktop virtualization, emphasizing its centralized security, management, and scalability. It highlights that Azure Virtual Desktop is compatible across diverse devices and operating systems, including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, enhancing accessibility via a web client for remote desktops and apps.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Key Features and Benefits The chapter discusses the benefits and features of Azure Virtual Desktop, emphasizing its ability to enhance user productivity remotely. It eliminates the high costs and complexities associated with building and managing personal desktop infrastructures by offering a managed service on Azure, where you only pay for what you use. Responsibilities such as handling gateways, brokers, diagnostics, and load balancing are managed by Azure, thereby simplifying user experience configurations and computing resource provisions based on individual requirements.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Global Infrastructure and Availability Azure’s global infrastructure offers robust options for increasing service resiliency.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Flexibility and Configuration Options This chapter explores the flexibility and configuration options available in Azure Virtual Desktop. It highlights the diverse range of VM size and performance options, emphasizing the ability to adjust user densities based on workload requirements. Azure Virtual Desktop also offers unique benefits, such as enabling users to access application windows individually, without exposing the complete desktop environment. Additionally, it provides the capability to distribute users across VMs efficiently, a feature traditionally available only with Windows Server, and even allows multiple users to log in simultaneously.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Multi-Session Capabilities The chapter discusses multi-session capabilities on Azure Virtual Desktop, which is available for both Windows 11 and Windows 10. It highlights the flexibility of running a wider range of applications compared to Windows Server, due to the use of Windows Client OS. The chapter also talks about user experience, emphasizing that there is no compromise between the virtual desktop experience and a physical PC. It mentions that on Windows, remote apps can be fully integrated.
• 02:30 - 03:00: User Experience and Profile Management The chapter focuses on user experience and profile management within a virtual desktop environment, specifically using Windows 11 and Azure Virtual Desktop. It highlights features like pinning apps to the task bar, multitasking, and copy-pasting between app windows. The chapter also emphasizes accessibility, as Azure Virtual Desktop can be accessed from any device platform or modern browser. Furthermore, despite using shared Virtual Machines (VMs), FSLogix profile containers ensure a consistent user experience by connecting VMs to a user's personal profile and app data with each login.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Configuration and Control In the 'Configuration and Control' chapter, the functionality of virtual desktops and their seamless operation are discussed. The chapter emphasizes the ease of using stateful applications, similar to local PCs, such as Outlook, where inbox and calendar access do not require waiting times. It highlights the convenience of switching between shared virtual machines without experiencing interruptions. Users can also benefit from using peripherals like webcams, USB devices, and network printers through Universal Print. Additionally, the chapter covers data security, ensuring sensitive information remains protected, even when accessed via personal devices, by utilizing information protection policies.
• 03:30 - 04:00: Identity and Security This chapter focuses on Azure Virtual Desktop and its configuration and management capabilities. It describes how users can manage virtual machines through the Azure Portal by deploying host pools that can be allocated as personal or pooled VMs. The configuration includes controlling size, performance, and OS image of the VMs, as well as user access to either full desktops or individual applications.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Data Access and Zero Trust Security This chapter discusses the integration of Azure Virtual Desktop with Azure Monitor, providing real-time service insights for host pools and workspaces to ensure optimal performance and connectivity. It emphasizes the importance of monitoring VM utilization for making informed scaling decisions. The configuration and integration of identity services are highlighted as critical components for ensuring secure access to virtual desktops. Azure Active Directory is mentioned as a solution offering a secure, consistent sign-on experience, including support for multifactor authentication.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Encryption and Security Measures The chapter 'Encryption and Security Measures' discusses optimizing user experiences through conditional access and leveraging Azure AD Join for host pools. This allows running identity and access management solely in the cloud, eliminating the need for hybrid connectivity to local directories. Unlike the vulnerable open remote desktop protocol ports, Azure Virtual Desktop enhances security using reverse connect transport for encrypted outbound connections during user sessions. Once authentication is confirmed, there are multiple methods available for accessing data and files.
• 05:00 - 05:30: Cost Optimization Strategies The chapter 'Cost Optimization Strategies' discusses strategies for efficient use of virtual machines (VMs) and user data management. It highlights the use of containerized user profiles that attach in real-time across different sessions. OneDrive integration ensures immediate access to on-demand files, enhancing user experience. Additionally, Azure File Sync enables replication of on-premises file shares within Azure Files for seamless access by virtual desktops. Broader Zero Trust and intelligent controls are also mentioned as protective measures against rootkit and bootkit based attacks.
• 05:30 - 06:00: Conclusion and Resources This chapter discusses the security measures and encryption options available for Windows 11 and Azure Virtual Desktop. Key topics include Trusted Launch with virtual TPMs to ensure secure boot, various Azure-specific encryption options compatible with Azure Key Vault, and the utilization of Azure Confidential VMs for encrypting data and memory with a hardware root of trust, ensuring protection for data and code during use. The chapter also touches on the configuration options for machines being domain joined or Azure AD joined.

Azure Virtual Desktop Essentials | Intro and Full Tour Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 (bright music) - Welcome to Azure Virtual Desktop Essentials. If your organization's looking for a more efficient and flexible approach to desktop virtualization, without compromising control, in the next few minutes, I'll walk you through Azure Virtual Desktop, Microsoft's Cloud VDI solution with centralized security, management, and scalability built-in. By design, it works across your devices and apps with full featured experiences for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Also, the web client allows you to access your remote desktops and apps from almost any modern browser,
• 00:30 - 01:00 keeping your user productive from anywhere. So let's dig into the top things Azure Virtual Desktop brings you. First and foremost, it helps remove much of the expense and complexity of building and managing your own desktop infrastructure, and you only pay for what you use. It comprises the roles that you would've previously had to manage yourself, such as your gateway, broker, diagnostics, load balancing, and more, but as a scalable managed service on Azure. And you can provision the compute and configure user experiences to meet your needs. Because it runs on Azure,
• 01:00 - 01:30 you benefit from Azure's expansive global footprint, and its mission critical infrastructure can be configured for increased resiliency. For example, for any single instance VM, Or you can use Availability Zones to host redundant VMs across physically separate locations in the same region that comprise one or more data centers to guarantee 99.99% availability. You still maintain full control over service configuration and management with lots of options for deploying services,
• 01:30 - 02:00 implementing identity and file storage. Azure Virtual Desktop really is flexible and configurable to your needs. You can choose from hundreds of VM size and performance options, and vary the density of users on your VMs based on the workload. And you can configure remote app experiences as you need to, allowing users to access app windows individually without exposing the entire desktop. There are other unique benefits too, such as being able to distribute users across your VMs for greater efficiency, something only previously offered with Windows Server. You can have multiple users simultaneously logged in
• 02:00 - 02:30 to a single VM with multi-session capabilities, exclusive to Azure Virtual Desktop. And this works with both Windows 11 and Windows 10. Also, because you're running on a Windows Client OS compared to Windows Server, you've got more flexibility to run a broader set of apps for your users. Speaking of which, let's talk more about the user experience and how Azure Virtual Desktop can be configured to protect your users as they work. For users, there are no compromises between their virtual desktop experience and a physical PC. On Windows, remote apps can be fully integrated
• 02:30 - 03:00 into the start menu and you can pin them to the task bar. It's also easy to multitask, and if your policy permits it, copy and paste between app Windows, as you're seeing here with Windows 11. And as mentioned, Azure Virtual Desktop can be accessed from virtually any device platform or modern browser. And even though Azure Virtual Desktop can be set up using using shared VMs, whereas a user, you might access a different VM each time you log in, you shouldn't feel it, because with FSLogix profile containers configured, it will connect VMs to your personal profile and app data with each log on.
• 03:00 - 03:30 It just works like your local PC. For example, when you open Outlook, you'll see your inbox and calendar right away without having to wait for the mailbox to populate. This makes the experience of working with stateful apps, as you move between shared VMs, pain-free. You can also use device peripherals like webcams or other attached USB devices, and Universal Print allows you to use network connected printers. And of course, by configuring optional information protection policies, you can ensure that data never goes to the local device used to access your virtual desktops.
• 03:30 - 04:00 In fact, Azure Virtual Desktop offers unparalleled configuration and management options to let you maintain full control. From the Azure Portal, your experience starts with deploying a collection of virtual machines, or host pools, that your users will have access to. Here, you've got the option of assigning personal VMs to individual users or pooled VMs that are shared with multiple users. Again, you control the size, performance level, as well as the OS image used for each VM. You also control whether users can access full desktops or individual applications. And to ensure that your VMs
• 04:00 - 04:30 meet your desired user experience, Azure Virtual Desktop provides real-time views of service insights, and it's fully integrated with Azure Monitor. You can get full diagnostics for your host pools and workspaces to ensure it meets the bar for performance and connectivity. And by monitoring VM utilization, you can make informed scaling decisions. That said, how you configure and integrate your identity services is the key to how users will securely access their virtual desktops. Azure Active Directory unlocks a secure, consistent sign-on experience. You can require multifactor authentication,
• 04:30 - 05:00 along with conditional access to streamline experiences. Then, by using Azure AD Join for your host pools, you can run all identity and access management services in the cloud without the need for hybrid connectivity to your local directory service. And importantly, unlike a less secure open remote desktop protocol port, which waits and listens for connections, Azure Virtual Desktop uses reverse connect transport for outbound connectivity over an encrypted connection during a user session. Of course, once authenticated, there are a few options for accessing data and files.
• 05:00 - 05:30 For pooled or shared VMs, user profile data can be containerized in a separate virtual disk, which will attach in real-time to any session, on any VM, right as you login. If you're using OneDrive, your on-demand files are always available and will launch right away. And if you're using on-prem file shares, now Azure File Sync lets you replicate them in Azure Files, so that your virtual desktops up can access them seamlessly. There are also broader Zero Trust and intelligent controls available to you too. So to protect against rootkit and bootkit based attacks
• 05:30 - 06:00 for Windows 11, Trusted Launch with virtual TPMs enable secure boot protections to make sure that nothing has been modified before launching the VM. Azure Virtual Desktop also has several platform-specific encryption options, which will work with your key management service such as Azure Key Vault. And you have the option to use Azure Confidential VMs, where all data and memory is encrypted with a hardware root of trust, requiring attestation to protect data and code in use. As a domain joined, or Azure AD joined machine,
• 06:00 - 06:30 as you'd expect, you can implement granular controls using group policy to enforce security baselines in the VM itself. And by using Microsoft Defender for Cloud, the built-in intelligence continually assesses the security of your virtual machines. These and other protections can ensure that your VMs meet even the most stringent security requirements. To truly take advantage of paying for what you use, there are also lots you can do to optimize the costs and utilization. In fact, this is another area of tremendous flexibility. Importantly, you can proactively balance
• 06:30 - 07:00 performance and utilization costs by using the exclusive multi-session experience to assign multiple users to a single VM and combining it with load balancing controls with options for depth first to load each VM up individually until it's close to capacity, then provision another host for additional users, or breadth first, which evenly spreads users across multiple available VMs. There are also built in scaling plans. These allow you to scale out the number of VMs in a host pool during peak usage time, and scale them back in, for example, during off business hours or weekends.
• 07:00 - 07:30 That was a quick overview of Azure Virtual Desktop, Microsoft's Cloud VDI solution. There's more to come in our series with hands-on guidance on the steps and your options to deploy and manage the service at scale. And there are useful resources at aka.ms/AVDDocumentation. Of course, keep visiting Microsoft Mechanics for more, subscribe if you haven't already, and thanks for watching. (bright music)