AVD Implementation 2025: Step-by-Step Azure Virtual Desktop Guide

Introduction

As hybrid and remote work solidify their place in long-term enterprise strategy, organisations are increasingly adopting Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) to deliver flexible, cloud-native desktop experiences. However, deploying and managing AVD across complex environments demands more than just basic configuration. Without a structured methodology, IT teams risk encountering inconsistent network performance, security vulnerabilities, and escalating operational costs.

To address these challenges, Camwood’s Fusion Framework provides an enterprise-grade implementation strategy. This step-by-step guide outlines each phase, from environmental discovery and infrastructure deployment, through FSLogix profile management and Conditional Access enforcement, to intelligent autoscaling and continuous improvement. By integrating Microsoft’s native capabilities with Camwood’s proven delivery expertise, enterprises can confidently build a compliant, scalable and optimised virtual desktop estate for 2025 and beyond.

Discover: Network, Identity and Licensing Readiness

Every successful AVD rollout starts with a comprehensive environment review. During this phase, Camwood evaluates the networking foundations, covering Azure Virtual Network peering, ExpressRoute and VPN configuration, to ensure that bandwidth, routing and latency are aligned with AVD’s SLA-grade benchmarks.

In parallel, FSLogix profile storage is rigorously stress-tested for IOPS and throughput, using solutions like Azure Files Premium or Azure NetApp Files to confirm performance under load.

Identity alignment is equally critical. Camwood configures Azure AD with hybrid join, enabling seamless authentication across cloud and on-premise resources. Conditional Access requirements, such as multifactor authentication (MFA), device compliance, and geographical access restrictions, are scoped and prepared for policy enforcement. Additionally, licensing audits are performed to confirm that Microsoft 365 E3/E5 or Windows 365 subscriptions offer full entitlement coverage for all intended AVD users.

All findings are documented in a readiness report, accompanied by a remediation roadmap. This ensures that stakeholders have clear, actionable direction before any deployment activity begins.

Deploy: Infrastructure for AVD Host Pools

Once readiness is established, Camwood provisions AVD infrastructure using infrastructure-as-code (IaC) best practices. Leveraging both ARM templates and Terraform modules, the deployment defines key AVD components, including host pools, session hosts, network configurations and FSLogix storage targets, ensuring consistency and eliminating manual errors.

Each deployment template includes:

• Host pool and VM SKU selection informed by workload benchmarking
  
  
• NSG rule definitions and private endpoint provisioning
  
  
• Storage configurations tailored to FSLogix throughput requirements
  
  
• Resource tagging to support operational visibility and cost governance

Camwood’s automated pipelines validate infrastructure consistency, maintain rollback controls, and support scalable deployments across multiple business units or global regions with confidence.

Profile Management with FSLogix

The quality of the end-user experience hinges on reliable profile performance. To ensure this, Camwood configures FSLogix Profile Containers that store user settings and environments in VHDX files. These are mounted via Azure Files Premium or NetApp Files to deliver fast logon speeds and persistent user environments across host pools.

When applications challenge FSLogix’s redirection rules, by writing to protected or unsupported paths, Camwood applies targeted solutions, including:

• Profile exclusions
  
  
• Application Masking
  
  
• Custom folder redirection scripts

These measures preserve profile integrity, prevent corruption, and ensure that applications function as expected within FSLogix constraints.

Secure: Conditional Access and Endpoint Hardening

Security is not an afterthought, it is embedded at every level of Camwood’s AVD deployments. Conditional Access policies are implemented to enforce multifactor authentication, verify device compliance, and restrict risky behaviours such as clipboard redirection or persistent sessions.

Endpoint configuration policies, deployed using Intune or Configuration Manager, enforce:

• BitLocker encryption
  
  
• Microsoft Defender Exploit Guard rules
  
  
• Local administrator rights restrictions

These controls are continuously monitored via Defender for Endpoint and Azure Policy. Any session hosts that fall out of compliance are automatically quarantined until they meet the required security baselines, ensuring only trusted devices can serve virtual sessions.

Scale: Intelligent Autoscaling for Cost Control

Cost efficiency is a key objective in any AVD deployment. Camwood implements autoscaling logic using Azure Automation and Logic Apps to dynamically match resource allocation with user demand.

This autoscaling solution includes:

• Metric-based triggers (e.g. CPU, user count, memory usage)
  
  
• Scheduled scaling based on predefined business hours
  
  
• Real-time deallocation of idle session hosts

Typically, Camwood clients achieve up to 40% cost savings compared to static provisioning models. Scaling strategies are reviewed quarterly to continuously refine efficiency and performance as part of Camwood’s commitment to ongoing improvement.

Operate: Monitoring and Continuous Improvement

Post-deployment success depends on proactive operational management. Camwood embeds continuous oversight and optimisation into your AVD environment through:

• Azure Monitor dashboards that track host health, FSLogix performance and session activity
  
  
• Automated ServiceNow ticket generation for alert response and diagnostic payload delivery
  
  
• Quarterly operational reviews to refine autoscaling logic, optimise VM sizing, and evolve Conditional Access policies

These safeguards not only minimise downtime but also simplify support processes and deliver measurable, long-term ROI from your virtual desktop estate.

Six Steps to Implement AVD

1. Conduct Environmental Discovery: Validate your network architecture, Azure AD configuration, licensing coverage and FSLogix performance.
   
   
2. Deploy Infrastructure as Code: Use ARM or Terraform to provision AVD components with consistent governance and repeatable accuracy.
   
   
3. Configure FSLogix Profile Management: Enable profile containerisation and apply compatibility solutions such as App Masking.
   
   
4. Apply Zero Trust Security: Enforce Conditional Access, endpoint encryption, Defender policies, and compliance validation.
   
   
5. Implement Autoscaling: Use demand-based and schedule-based rules to automate VM provisioning and deallocation.
   
   
6. Optimise Continuously: Use live dashboards and quarterly reviews to evolve your AVD environment over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the prerequisites for AVD?

Core requirements include an Azure subscription with Virtual Desktop access rights, an Azure AD tenant with hybrid join enabled, VPN or ExpressRoute networking, FSLogix storage via Azure Files or NetApp, and valid licensing under Microsoft 365 E3/E5 or Windows 365.

2. How to size AVD host pools?

Sizing depends on user personas, task workers, knowledge workers or power users. Camwood conducts benchmarking to determine appropriate vCPU, memory and disk IOPS levels. Host pool VM SKUs are then selected based on these benchmarks and available Azure options.

3. Which profile solutions work best?

FSLogix Profile Containers deployed on Azure Files Premium or Azure NetApp Files offer optimal performance and reliability. Application Masking and Office Container extensions further enhance user experience by excluding non-essential applications from profiles.

4. How to secure AVD with Conditional Access?

Define policies that require MFA, compliant devices and trusted networks. Apply session controls to limit clipboard redirection and file download. Use Intune compliance profiles to enforce device baselines before granting AVD access.

5. How to automate scaling?

Use Azure Automation runbooks or Logic Apps that query host pool metrics via the AVD REST API. Combine scheduled and metric-triggered rules to automatically add or remove session hosts based on demand.