Download Windows Virtual Desktop
Justina Pniewski
Microsoft and its ecosystem partners have created much hype around Windows Virtual Desktop since it released the technology in 2019. The cloud-based desktop delivery platform brings plenty of benefits. Administrators should consider why they want to use Windows Virtual Desktop, however, because there are alternatives to think about.
So, why use Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD), and how does it work? WVD is a Microsoft Azure-based technology that enables multisession Windows 10 virtual desktops to be presented to users. From an administrative view, employee access is secure, and virtual desktops are centralized. Further, the price is based on the consumed system resources, which helps with cost containment.
A strong Windows Virtual Desktop use case is small businesses that don't have the resources to focus on IT and where cloud computing is appropriate from a cost and technical perspective. Rather than a small business owner or manager spending time deploying computers, assisting users with issues, installing and upgrading applications, and managing network infrastructure, WVD provides Windows 10 virtual desktops hosted in the cloud. Similarly, from a security standpoint, WVD provides built-in functionality and options that are not realistic for small businesses to deploy internally.
WVD is also a fine option for contractors and partners that require occasional access to centralized resources. Rather than issue a computer or VPN network access to address this intermittent use, users can access WVD desktops as necessary, which minimizes management and cost.
WVD is technically a fine option for many small businesses, but one key Windows Virtual Desktop use case is to engage a partner and consume WVD via a desktop as a service (DaaS) subscription. The cost is slightly more, but the simplicity of DaaS partners' management tools is appropriate for small businesses that want WVD but don't have the technical bodies or expertise to manage it themselves.
From a cost perspective, eligible Windows or Microsoft Office 365 licenses include WVD; however, Azure virtual machine resources and storage are billed as they are consumed. For small businesses, the complexities associated with licensing is another area where DaaS providers shine because they offer simplified billing options.
WVD is optimal for a single, simple virtual desktop image. Organizations that have numerous images to support various employees -- especially based on a large number of applications -- would benefit from a stronger virtualization offering.
Remote Desktop Services (RDS), as well as Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops and VMware Horizon, are valid desktop options for large organizations with numerous applications and complex requirements. These offerings also excel when users require access to virtualized applications rather than virtual desktops.
For example, if a bank requires access to peripheral devices for some users, RDS, Citrix and/or VMware can best address this scenario. Similarly, large enterprises often have more stringent controls and custom monitoring in place to audit usage and service users, and they may choose third-party tools such as ControlUp to extend the functionality of base virtualization offerings.
In its most simplified definition, WVD is an appealing technology. Before determining that virtual desktops are the best option for your desktop needs, however, conduct a thorough evaluation. If the answer is yes, then the next step is evaluating how to move forward. Options include deploying and managing WVD directly through Azure, engaging a DaaS provider, or determining that a more advanced platform such as RDS, Citrix or VMware is more appropriate for your employees.
I use multiple desktops on Windows, and I am trying to determine which desktop a window resides on. I can retrieve the position of a window using GetWindowRect (from user32.dll), but this doesn't tell me which desktop the window is on (Desktop 1, Desktop 2, etc).
NOTE: By 'desktop' I don't mean 'monitor', this is a different thing, see Multiple desktops in Windows. It is really hard to search for information on 'windows desktops', as Google is convinced I mean 'the desktop', and refuses to consider any alternatives.
Virtual desktops are a window management feature, not a security feature or a performance feature. Furthermore, they are for end users to organize their windows, not for other programs to organize the windows.
Another scenario that the IVirtualDesktopManager interface is intended to cover is that of an application that consists of multiple windows that operate together, like a main window and a bunch of auxiliary windows. The virtual desktop manager already recognizes many types of auxiliary windows and automatically keeps them on the same virtual desktop as the main window. But an application may have an unusual window structure that eludes this automatic detection.
For those cases, you can call IVirtualDesktopManager::GetWindowDesktopId for your main window to get an ID for its current virtual desktop, and then use IVirtualDesktopManager::MoveWindowsToDesktop to move the auxiliary windows to that same virtual desktop.
That being said, there is an an undocumented IVirtualDesktopManagerInternal interface that can perform more actions, such as enumerating virtual desktops, creating/removing virtual desktops, switching between virtual desktops, etc, however you should avoid using that interface unless you absolutely need it.
Enterprise cloud PCs are designed for organizations who have invested into Microsoft Endpoint Manager and are using this powerful platform to manage their existing, physical Windows 10 desktops. Enterprise cloud PCs require an Intune license for each user who is assigned a cloud PC M365 SKU.
There are no pre-requisites and no setup steps needed for Business Cloud PCs. Simply assign a Business Cloud PC license to a user in the Windows 365 Admin portal and the new desktop gets provisioned within an hour. The user will get an email notification with login instructions to start using their new cloud PC.
The IT admin experience varies greatly between Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop. AVD relies heavily on Azure management concepts and provides maximum flexibility while Windows 365 aims to simplify management by making it (close to) identical to managing existing physical desktop assets and leveraging the same set of Microsoft tools to manage physical and virtual PCs.
Business cloud PCs are not integrated with Endpoint Manager and do not have a dedicated management portal. They can only be managed by the end user assigned to the desktop while logged into it. Actions such as PC restarts can be performed by the user from the cloud PC web portal. Admins can manage Business cloud PC license assignment with Windows 365 Admin portal and third-party tools like the Nerdio Manager.
Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts can be backed up and protected in several different ways including Azure Site Recovery and Azure Backup. This allows organizations to create a robust backup, DR, and business continuity strategy for their virtual desktop environment.
Azure Virtual Desktop leverages FSLogix for user profile encapsulation. This allows users to easily roam between session host VMs without losing their user state between sessions. Personal AVD desktops can be deployed without FSLogix, but even in persistent scenarios FSLogix profiles provide a valuable profile backup capability and make it easier to manage session host updates through images. A SMB file share is required to host the FSLogix profile containers. This can be an Azure Files share, Azure NetApp Files volume, or a file server VM.
Windows 365 cloud PCs are priced on a fixed monthly basis. Even if a user does not log into their desktop at all during the month, the desktop will cost the same as if the user logged into their desktop every day. Therefore, the concept of auto-scaling does not apply to cloud PCs. This has significant impact on cost efficiency in different use-cases.
Azure Virtual Desktop has limited self-service capabilities for end-users. For example, users cannot restart their own desktop VM or log off a hung session with the AVD client app. Third-party tools, like Nerdio Manager, provide users with a self-service portal where such actions can be performed.
Azure Virtual Desktop requires the user connecting to an AVD session to have an assigned Windows 10 Enterprise subscription license. Windows 10 Enterprise can be purchased as a standalone subscription (e.g. Windows 10 Ent E3/E5/VDA) or be included as part of a Windows 365 suite subscription (e.g. M365 E3/E5 and Business Premium). This Windows subscription license includes the usage rights of the AVD control plane and entitles the user to connect to Windows 10 desktops hosted in Azure. All other costs are part of Azure infrastructure consumption (e.g. compute, storage, networking).
Both Enterprise and Business Windows 365 cloud PCs require a Windows 10 Enterprise subscription just like AVD desktops. However, the compute costs are not purchased as usage-based Azure resources but rather as a M365 license SKU.
Windows 365 license costs depend on the hardware specs that a user needs. Each desktop comes with a certain number of vCPUs, GB of RAM, and SSD storage. If we align the vCPU and RAM configuration of each cloud PC license with a comparable Azure VM size and managed disk we can then compare their costs side-by-side.
If we assume that users are using their personal AVD desktops 50 hours per week (10 hours X 5 weekdays) and the VMs are stopped the rest of the time, then there will be a cost savings by using personal AVD desktops with pay-as-you-go VM pricing and powering them off outside of the 50 work hours (70% of the time). There are a few scenarios when Cloud PC is about the same cost as an AVD personal desktop, but on average, Azure Virtual Desktop personal desktop is 9% cheaper than a cloud PC in this use-case.
Combining pooled AVD desktops with auto-scaling provides the deepest savings when using Azure Virtual Desktop as compared to Windows 365. Assuming that users are working 10 hours/day, 5 days/week the average savings is 58% when using pay-as-you-go VMs with auto-scaling.
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