Azure Virtual Desktop, previously known as Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD), offers a conventional way for managing and deploying desktop images to users. Once deployed, users can seamlessly access their applications and desktops either on Windows or a web client.
The underlying technology here is Azure Image Gallery, a built-in Azure service that helps in sharing, managing, and spreading VM images across different Azure regions and Azure subscriptions. The main advantage is that you can manage and deploy desktop applications globally within your organization from a central image repository.
II. Plan for Image Storage
Before implementing image storage, the following aspects need careful planning:
- Identify the type of apps and their dependencies that need to be included in the image.
- Determine the type of user profiles – whether to use Azure’s FSLogix or a third-party profile solution.
- Choose the base image – whether to use a personal or pooled desktop image.
- Decide on patching and updating strategy for the image.
- Identify the storage options for image – Azure Image Gallery, Shared Image Gallery, or Azure Storage.
III. Implementing Image Storage
- Creating an Image:
To create an image, firstly, deploy a VM in Azure, and then install all the applications required for the Azure Virtual Desktop users. Here’s an outline of the process:
- Deploy a new VM using Azure portal or PowerShell
- Install all the necessary applications on the VM
- Generalize the VM using Sysprep
- Capture the VM to create an image
- Uploading the Image to Shared Image Gallery:
The next step involves uploading the image to the Shared Image Gallery from the local workstation using Azure CLI and PowerShell.
- Creating an Image Version:
The image version represents the fully configured applications and settings that you’ve previously captured. With Image Gallery, you can manage and distribute your images globally.
- Deploy an Azure Virtual Desktop Host Pool:
Finally, you’ll use this image to deploy a host pool:
New-AzWvdHostPool -ResourceGroupName "resource_group_name" -Name "host_pool_name"
-Location "location" -HostPoolType "Pooled" -LoadBalancerType "BreadthFirst" -DesktopApplicationGroupDescription "description"
III. Aspects to Consider
While configuring image storage in Azure Virtual Desktop, a few aspects of data management and security needs to be considered:
- Regularly updating the images for security patches and updates.
- Managing user profiles separately from the OS image for a simplistic and stateless OS image deployment.
- Using built-in Azure services like Azure Backup for calamity recovery and data protection.
- Implementing Azure Security Centre and Azure Policies to govern and secure the desktop images.
IV. Conclusion
Managing and deploying images is a crucial part of Azure Virtual Desktop implementation. By efficiently planning and organizing the image storage, you can deploy a scalable and secure desktop environment catering to your organization’s needs and users’ preferences. Azure Image Gallery, coupled with other Azure services, provides a robust solution for managing images at scale.
Practice Test
True/False: In Azure storage, you cannot replicate your images for durability.
- Answer: False
Explanation: Azure storage offers various replication options, like locally redundant storage (LRS), zone-redundant storage (ZRS), geo-redundant storage (GRS), and read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS). You can indeed replicate your images for durability.
Multiple Select: What are the popular types of storage in Azure?
- A. Blob Storage
- B. Queue Storage
- C. Disk Storage
- D. Table Storage
Answer: A, B, C, D
Explanation: All options provided are valid types of storage in Azure. They are suitable for various usage scenarios, for instance, Blob storage for unstructured data, Queue storage for large volume workloads.
Single Select: Which storage redundancy option in Azure allows read access to the data in the secondary location?
- A. Locally redundant storage (LRS)
- B. Zone-redundant storage (ZRS)
- C. Read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS)
- D. Geo-redundant storage (GRS)
Answer: C. Read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS)
Explanation: RA-GRS allows you to have read access to data in the secondary location, making your data more available when needed.
True/False: Azure Image Builder service supports both Linux and Windows images.
- Answer: True
Explanation: Azure Image Builder Service supports creating Linux and Windows virtual machine images, providing flexibility, depending on the needs of the application.
Multiple Select: What are the considerations for planning image storage in Azure?
- A. Capacity
- B. Performance
- C. Access Level
- D. Durability
Answer: A, B, C, D
Explanation: All options provided are valid considerations for planning image storage. Capacity and performance influence throughput and latency, while access level and durability relate to data protection and accessibility.
Single Select: The Azure Disk Storage tier that offers the highest level of single disk performance?
- A. Premium SSD
- B. Standard SSD
- C. Standard HDD
- D. Ultra Disk
Answer: D. Ultra Disk
Explanation: Ultra Disk offers the highest level of single disk performance and can scale up as needed for intensive workloads.
True/False: Azure managed disks are automatically encrypted using Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE)
- Answer: True
Explanation: By default, Azure managed disks are encrypted at rest using platform-managed keys. This encryption is managed using Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE).
Multiple Select: What protocols are supported by Azure File storage for accessing data?
- A. REST
- B. SMB
- C. NFS
- D. HTTP
Answer: A, B, C
Explanation: Azure File storage supports SMB, NFS, and REST protocols.
Single Select: What is the purpose of Azure Image Builder?
- A. To manage disks in Azure
- B. To automate image management tasks
- C. To manage storage accounts in Azure
- D. None of the above
Answer: B. To automate image management tasks
Explanation: Azure Image Builder helps automate the creation, customization, management of virtual machine images in the Azure environment.
True/False: In Azure, you cannot create system-assigned managed identities for Azure resources.
- Answer: False
Explanation: You can indeed create a system-assigned managed identity for a resource in Azure. It helps to authenticate and authorize the resources.
Interview Questions
What is Azure Virtual Desktop?
Azure Virtual Desktop is a Microsoft service that allows users to virtualize both Windows desktops and apps.
How does the File Storage service in Azure Virtual Desktop operate?
Azure File Storage offers shared storage for applications using the standard SMB 3.0 protocol. Microsoft Azure virtual machines and cloud services can share file data across application components via mounted shares, and on-premises applications can access file data in a share via the File storage API.
How do you configure Azure Blob Storage for storing session host images?
You can configure Azure Blob Storage for holding images by creating a storage account, then creating a container within that account where the images will be stored.
What is Azure Image Builder service?
Azure Image Builder Service is a service offered in Azure that allows users to create, customize, manage, and distribute their own virtual machine images.
How does Azure Managed Disk work in storing images?
Azure Managed Disk works by abstracting the underlying storage account and offering durability and reliability by distributing copies across different fault domains in an Azure Storage scale unit.
What are snapshots in Azure Image storage?
Snapshots are read-only copies of your Azure disks at a specific point in time. They can be used for backing up data, mitigating errors, and creating new VMs.
How do you create an image of a generalized VM in Azure?
You can create an image by navigating to your VM, stopping it, then choosing Capture. This process creates an image and simultaneously de-provision and deallocate the VM.
What is the purpose of Azure Shared Image Gallery?
The Azure Shared Image Gallery provides a simple way to share your applications with others in your organization, within or across regions, with full versioning, and scale deployment supported.
What is a Disk Encryption Set in Azure?
A Disk Encryption Set is a resource that contains a key vault and a key to use for disk encryption.
How does Azure Disk Backup help?
Azure Disk Backup is a native feature that allows you to take a snapshot backup of managed disks. You can use it to backup OS, Data disks, and create a point-in-time restore.
How can you implement VM scale sets with custom images on Azure?
You can implement VM scale sets using custom images by creating an image, storing it in a shared image gallery, and then referencing it when you create the scale set.
What type of storage does Azure Virtual Desktop support for user profiles?
Azure Virtual Desktop supports Azure Files and NetApp Files for user profiles.
What is the life cycle of an Azure managed disk?
The life cycle of an Azure managed disk includes creating a disk, attaching it to a VM, detaching it, snapshotting it, and finally deleting the disk.
What is the Azure Storage Service Encryption?
Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) is a service that automatically encrypts your data before persisting it to Azure Managed Disks, and it decrypts it before retrieval.
Can we create a managed disk image from the VHD in a storage account?
Yes, we can create a managed disk image from the VHD in a storage account. We need to create an image from the storage account where VHD is stored and then create a VM from the managed disk image.
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