Announcing Windows 365!

Posted on by Travis Roberts
AVD

Microsoft announced Windows 365 this week at Inspire.  With this announcement comes a new way to deliver remote desktops as a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform built on Azure Virtual Desktop and is a significant addition to virtual desktop options in Azure.  There is a limited amount of information available about windows 365; in this post and accompanying video, we’ll break down what it is and how it differs from Azure Virtual Desktop.  Keep in mind that this is a new service, the information available may not be complete and change once Windows 365 is available.

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Getting Started with Azure AD App Proxy

Posted on by Travis Roberts
Azure AD App Proxy

Azure AD Application Proxy provides a simple, secure, and cost-effective way for remote access to on-premises websites and web-based applications.  This video starts with an overview of how App Proxy works and then provides a tutorial on configuring the service with basic Azure AD authentication.

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Azure AD Domain Services Forest Type, User or Resource?

Posted on by Travis Roberts
Azure AD Domain Servcies

Azure Active Directory Domain Services (Azure AD DS) now supports two forest types: User and Resource.  In this video, we go over what each Azure AD DS forest type, User and Resource, does and when to use one over the other.

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Azure AD Connect Sync and Cloud Sync, What’s the Difference?

Posted on by Travis Roberts
Azure AD

Many organizations use Azure AD Connect Sync to synchronize hybrid identities from Windows AD to Azure AD DS.  Microsoft recently announces a new service, Azure AD Connect Cloud Sync, that also synchronizes Windows AD identities to Azure AD.  In this video, we go over how they are similar, features that are different, and when to use one or the other.

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Shut Down Unused Session Hosts in a Windows Virtual Desktop Pooled or Personal Host Pool

Posted on by Travis Roberts
WVD Function App

(UPDATED 6/17/2021 with code for multiple pooled and personal host pools) Azure Virtual Desktop (previously Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD)) has a new option in preview that starts session hosts in a personal or pooled host pool when a user connects. It won’t, however, shut down the session hosts when the user logs out. The script outlined in this video will evaluate all running and available session hosts in a personal or pooled host pool and shut down and deallocate session hosts without an active connection.  Deallocating Session hosts while not in use can save money on compute costs.

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