Azure Virtual Desktop explained

Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) is Microsoft's flexible VDI platform. Unlike Windows 365, where a Cloud PC is a fixed-size dedicated VM per user, AVD lets you build host pools — collections of Azure VMs that broker sessions to users on demand. That flexibility is the whole point: one platform can serve a dedicated persistent desktop for a developer, a pooled multi-session Windows for a call centre, and a single RemoteApp exposing one legacy application, all from the same control plane.

AVD is aimed at organisations that need control over the VDI stack — VM size and shape, scaling rules, image lifecycle, network topology, profile handling — because a one-size Cloud PC won't fit their user mix or their cost model.

The pieces

Host pool — a set of Azure VMs (session hosts) that serve sessions to users. Host pools are either personal (each user has a dedicated host) or pooled (users share hosts via multi-session).

Session host — the actual Windows VM in your Azure subscription. Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session is the SKU you almost always want for pooled pools; Windows 11 Enterprise for personal pools.

Application group — what the host pool exposes to users. Either a Desktop app group (the full remote desktop) or a RemoteApp app group (individual apps that appear on the user's local Start menu).

Workspace — a container that groups app groups and shows up in the user's Windows App client as a single entry.

AVD Insights — the log analytics workspace that gives you connection quality, session performance, and usage metrics. This is the thing you actually run day-to-day.

Personal vs pooled

Personal host pools give each user a dedicated VM. Configuration, installed apps, and local state persist between sessions. This is closest to what a physical desktop feels like, but the economics are similar to Windows 365 — a permanent VM per user — and Windows 365 is usually simpler for that scenario.

Pooled host pools with Windows 11 multi-session are AVD's cost sweet spot. Many users share one host at the same time (typical densities: 4–8 concurrent knowledge workers per 4-vCPU host, more for lighter workloads). With autoscale on, hosts spin up and shut down with demand — a 200-user call centre might run 15 hosts during peak and 3 overnight. This is where you save money compared to per-user Cloud PCs.

FSLogix profiles

On a pooled host, a user might connect to different VMs every day. FSLogix solves the "where does the user profile live" problem by mounting the profile from an Azure Files share (or Azure NetApp Files for scale) as a VHD attached at logon. Applications see a normal Windows profile; the file lives centrally.

FSLogix is not optional for pooled pools. Getting it right — storage sizing, permissions, backup, region — is one of the two hardest AVD design decisions (the other is image management).

Image management

You build a custom image in the Azure Compute Gallery, then attach it to a host pool. When you update the image, existing hosts don't upgrade — you either replace the pool's hosts (rolling drain-and-rebuild) or accept image drift.

Most teams manage this through a scripted pipeline: a build VM, install / update apps, capture, publish a new version, and roll it out. Windows 365 Enterprise can point at the same gallery images, so you can share image lifecycle across both platforms.

Networking

Session hosts live in a VNet you own in your Azure subscription. That means all the classic Azure networking is on the table: peered VNets, ExpressRoute, VPN, custom DNS, NSGs, Azure Firewall, Private Endpoints for the file shares. The AVD control plane sits in front of that VNet and brokers the RDP session; users never reach the session host directly.

For most tenants, the design is: session hosts in a hub-spoke VNet, FSLogix Azure Files in the same region, ExpressRoute to on-prem where needed, and Conditional Access enforcing MFA on the AVD sign-in.

When AVD is the right answer

Pick AVD when:

• You have shift or seasonal workers — pooled Windows multi-session halves your desktop bill.
• You need specific VM SKUs — GPU hosts for CAD, memory-heavy hosts for engineering, premium storage tiers.
• You want to expose individual apps (RemoteApp) rather than a full desktop — the last-remaining-legacy-app scenario.
• You already have a mature Azure landing zone and prefer running the VDI stack yourself.

When AVD is the wrong answer

Pick Windows 365 instead when:

• Your users are always-on knowledge workers — a dedicated Cloud PC per user is simpler and the flat monthly cost is easier to defend.
• You want the smallest admin surface — no session hosts, no scaling rules, no FSLogix.
• Your tenant doesn't yet have a landing zone in Azure — Windows 365 needs no Azure subscription of its own.

Where to go next

The direct comparison is in Windows 365 vs Azure Virtual Desktop and the Cloud PC side is in Windows 365 explained. For the identity and Conditional Access story that applies to both, see Entra ID conditional access design and conditional access break glass. For the Intune-side story on managing AVD session hosts, Intune compliance and Conditional Access covers the policy plane.