{"id":8863,"date":"2024-08-09T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/?p=8863"},"modified":"2024-10-01T13:55:22","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T12:55:22","slug":"an-updated-approach-to-virtual-desktop-infrastructure-azure-virtual-desktop-on-azure-stack-hci","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/2024\/08\/an-updated-approach-to-virtual-desktop-infrastructure-azure-virtual-desktop-on-azure-stack-hci.htm","title":{"rendered":"An updated approach to Virtual Desktop Infrastructure: Azure Virtual Desktop on Azure Stack HCI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With the general availability of Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) on Azure Stack HCI, organisations have a powerful new platform for providing virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) services. No longer torn between complex and expensive server farms, or desktops running in the cloud \u2013 the best of both worlds is here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The complexities of managing an end user computing service<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over the many years I’ve consulted with IT departments, one of the many common themes has been around the complexities of managing end user computing services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It used to be that their investments in standard PC builds had led to a plethora of additional management products. These days, Windows (or, more accurately, Microsoft 365) does that to such a level that the layers of added products are not needed. With a Modern Workplace solution, we can deploy a new PC from a factory image, log on with a username from a recognised domain (for example user@node4.co.uk), build that PC to meet corporate standards and get the end user up and running quickly with access to their data, all in a secure and compliant manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there have always been edge cases. The legacy application that is critical to the business but doesn’t run on a modern version of Windows. Or the application with a licensing model that doesn’t lend itself to being installed on everyone’s PC for occasional use. For these cases, virtual desktop infrastructure has been a common approach to publish an application or a desktop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For other organisations, the use of VDI is seen as an opportunity to abstract the desktop from the device. Either saving on device costs by buying lightweight terminal devices that connect to a farm of virtual desktops, or by using the secure desktop container as an opportunity to allow access from pretty much anywhere, because the device doesn’t directly access the organisation’s data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not going to advocate for one approach over another. Of course, I have Opinions<\/em> but, at Node4, we start from the position of understanding the business problem we’re trying to solve, and then working out which technology will best support that outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A shift in the landscape<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whilst Microsoft has had its own remote desktop offerings over the years, they’ve tended to partner with companies like Citrix rather than develop a full-blown solution. Meanwhile, companies like VMware had their own products – though with the Broadcom acquisition and sale of its VDI products (including Workspace One and Horizon), their future looks uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This makes customers uneasy. But there is hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft has not stood still and, for a few years it\u2019s been maturing its VDI in the cloud service \u2013 Azure Virtual Desktop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AVD provides a secure, remote desktop experience from anywhere, delivering a virtualised desktop experience that\u2019s fully optimised for Windows 11 and Windows 10 multi-session capabilities. With various licensing options including within key Microsoft 365 subscription plans, AVD is now an established service. So much so that there are even products and services to help with managing AVD environments \u2013 for example from Nerdio. But, until recently, the biggest drawback with AVD was that it only ran in the public cloud \u2013 and whilst that\u2019s exactly what some organisations need, it\u2019s not suitable for some others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A true hybrid cloud solution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

(At this point, I\u2019m tempted to introduce a metaphor about when cloud computing comes to ground. But fog and mist don\u2019t conjure up the image I\u2019m trying to project here\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, there has been a significant development with AVD. It\u2019s largely gone unnoticed \u2013 but AVD is now generally available on Azure Stack HCI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Azure Stack extends the robust capabilities of Azure\u2019s cloud services to be run locally \u2013 either in an on-premises or an edge computing scenario. Azure Stack hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) is a hybrid product that connects on-premises systems to Azure for cloud-based services, monitoring, and management. Effectively, Azure Stack HCI provides many of the benefits of public cloud infrastructure whilst meeting the use case and regulatory requirements for specialised workloads that can’t be run in the public cloud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the benefits of running Azure Virtual Desktop on Azure Stack HCI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are many advantages to running software locally. Immediate examples are to address data residency requirements, latency-sensitive workloads, or those with data proximity requirements. Looking specifically at Azure Virtual Desktop on Azure Stack HCI, we can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n