By David Smith, Founder and CEO, Atlas AVD, , updated
An Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) migration checklist covers six areas before any user moves: apps and images, profiles and data, identity, network and region, licensing and capacity, and the pilot. Work through the 25 checks below while your current platform (Citrix, VMware Horizon, Remote Desktop Services or physical PCs) is still running, and treat any item you can't tick as a blocker for the first wave. The platform-specific steps, such as mapping delivery groups or desktop pools, are in our Citrix and VMware Horizon migration guides.
The short version: most AVD migrations that slip do so for reasons this list catches early: an app nobody inventoried, a profile share that was never sized, a vCPU quota requested the week before go-live, or a pilot with no pass mark. Give every item an owner and a "done when" test, and don't book the first wave until all 25 have passed.
How to use this checklist
Each item has a "Done when" test: something you can show, not something you believe. Copy the tables into your project tracker, give every row an owner, and review the open rows weekly. The order roughly follows the critical path. Apps and profiles take the most calendar time, so start them first, and request quota as soon as you know the VM family.
This list is deliberately platform-neutral. It doesn't cover how to export a Citrix site or map Horizon pools; the guides linked in each section do.
1. Apps and images (checks 1 to 5)
| # | Check | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inventory every published app and desktop, with who uses each one and how often. | You have a list exported from the current broker, matched against real usage rather than the license count, and each app has a business owner. |
| 2 | Flag apps that won't share a host. Look for hardware-bound or per-machine licenses, USB dongles, apps that need local admin rights, and anything the vendor doesn't support on multi-session Windows. | Each app is tagged multi-session, single-session only, or retire, and the vendor's support statement is on file for the ones you're unsure about. |
| 3 | Choose a delivery method per app: baked into the golden image, App Attach, or installed with WinGet. | Every app in check 1 has one method. App Attach vs WinGet vs Golden Image covers the trade-offs. |
| 4 | Pick the session host OS. Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session for most pooled desktops, Windows Server only where an app or license requires it. | The choice is written down per host pool. Windows 11 multi-session vs Windows Server compares them. |
| 5 | Decide how the golden image is built and updated. Build from a clean Windows image, not a converted VM from the old platform. | There's a documented build, a gallery to publish to, and a monthly update routine. See AVD golden image management. |
Pooled or personal? Decide this per user group while you're in the app inventory. Pooled vs personal host pools explains when each fits.
2. Profiles and user data (checks 6 to 9)
| # | Check | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Measure today's profiles: type (Citrix Profile Management, Horizon Dynamic Environment Manager, roaming profiles, local profiles), median size and the largest outliers. | You know the median and 95th-percentile profile size, and what's making the biggest ones big. |
| 7 | Decide fresh FSLogix profiles or migrated ones. Most teams start users on fresh FSLogix profile containers and let OneDrive Known Folder Move carry their documents. | The decision is made, users have been told what will and won't follow them, and Known Folder Move is on before their wave. See OneDrive on AVD multi-session. |
| 8 | Choose and size profile storage: Azure Files or Azure NetApp Files, in the same region as the session hosts. | Capacity and performance are sized for peak logon, not average. Cloud Cache vs Azure Files vs NetApp and Azure Files premium sizing have the numbers. |
| 9 | Agree the profile rules: FSLogix size limit, exclusions, Outlook cached mode and the Teams cache. | The settings are written and tested on one host. See FSLogix exclusions and redirections.xml and Outlook cached mode on AVD. |
3. Identity and access (checks 10 to 13)
| # | Check | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Confirm every migrating user has a Microsoft Entra ID identity. Hybrid users must be synced from Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS). | The sync scope includes every user and group in the migration, and a test user can sign in to Windows App. |
| 11 | Choose how session hosts join: AD DS, Microsoft Entra hybrid join, or Microsoft Entra join. The choice decides how FSLogix authenticates to its file share. | The join type is chosen per host pool and the profile share's identity source matches it. FSLogix on Entra ID-joined hosts covers the Entra Kerberos setup. |
| 12 | Plan Conditional Access and MFA for AVD sign-ins, plus session timeouts and device redirection rules. | Policies are in report-only mode for the pilot group before the pilot starts. The AVD security guide has the full checklist. |
| 13 | Map today's access groups to AVD application groups, and decide who administers what. | There's one Entra group per assignment, and admins hold scoped Desktop Virtualization roles rather than Owner on the subscription. |
4. Network and region (checks 14 to 17)
| # | Check | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Pick the region and measure latency. Microsoft's prerequisites say round-trip time from the client's network to the host pool's region should be under 150 ms. Confirm the VM sizes you want are offered there. | Latency is measured from each office and from home users, not estimated. See Azure latency by region, VM SKU availability by region and supported regions and metadata locations. |
| 15 | Allow the required URLs from the session host network, and bypass proxies and TLS inspection for AVD traffic, as Microsoft recommends. | The Azure Virtual Desktop Agent URL Tool passes on a test host. AVD connection errors lists what breaks when it doesn't. |
| 16 | Connect AVD to what the apps depend on: file servers, databases, license servers and line-of-business back ends, over VPN, ExpressRoute or by moving them to Azure. | Every app from check 1 has its back-end dependencies reachable from the AVD virtual network, with app-to-database latency measured. |
| 17 | Turn on RDP Shortpath so sessions use UDP. | Shortpath is configured and a pilot session shows a UDP transport. See RDP Shortpath setup. |
App-to-database latency (check 16) is the one most often missed. A client-server app that was fine next to its database on-premises can crawl when the desktop moves to Azure and the database doesn't. Move them together, or test the app across the link before you commit its users to a wave.
5. Licensing, capacity and cost (checks 18 to 21)
| # | Check | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Confirm user licensing. Windows 11 Enterprise and Enterprise multi-session are covered by Microsoft 365 E3, E5, A3, A5, F3 or Business Premium, Windows Enterprise E3 or E5, Windows Education A3 or A5, or Windows VDA per user. Windows Server hosts need RDS CALs with Software Assurance or RDS User Subscription Licenses. | Every migrating user has an eligible license. Microsoft 365 Business Basic and Business Standard aren't on the list. |
| 19 | Size the session hosts and density for each user group. | A starting VM size and users-per-host figure per pool, to be confirmed by the pilot. See the AVD sizing guide and users per vCPU. |
| 20 | Request vCPU quota for the VM family in the target region, with headroom for image builds and replacement hosts. | The quota is approved for the full rollout, not just the pilot. Requesting an Azure vCPU quota increase walks through it. |
| 21 | Build the before-and-after cost model, including autoscaling, storage and the old platform's renewal. | Finance has signed off on a model built from your inventory. The AVD cost calculator and Reserved Instances vs Savings Plans help. |
Don't buy reservations or savings plans until the pilot has confirmed the VM size. Run pay-as-you-go until density settles.
6. Pilot and cutover (checks 22 to 25)
| # | Check | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | Choose pilot users who represent the hard cases: your heaviest app users, a remote office, someone on Teams calls all day, and someone who prints. | The pilot group is named, and each user knows how to report a problem. |
| 23 | Write pass marks with numbers: logon time, app launch, Teams call quality and printing. | Each criterion has a threshold, for example a 95th-percentile logon under a target you set. See why AVD logons are slow, Teams on AVD and printing without a print server. |
| 24 | Plan the client rollout. Windows App is Microsoft's client for AVD on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and the web. Check thin clients and kiosks with their vendor. | Windows App is deployed to pilot devices, and every endpoint type has been tested. |
| 25 | Write the rollback and decommission plan. The old platform stays available to each user until their wave signs off, and the decommission date sits before the next renewal. | Rollback is documented and rehearsed for one pilot user, and the renewal and decommission dates are in the plan. |
Platform-specific steps
The checklist above applies whatever you're leaving. What changes by platform is the discovery and concept mapping, which the guides below cover in full.
| Coming from | What's different | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops | Export delivery groups, machine catalogs, policies and published apps from Studio and Director, then map them to host pools and application groups. | Citrix to AVD migration plan, and the migration page for a consulting-led route |
| VMware Horizon (Omnissa Horizon) | Map desktop pools, RDSH farms, App Volumes and Dynamic Environment Manager to AVD equivalents. | Horizon to AVD migration guide |
| Remote Desktop Services | Session collections map to pooled host pools; decide whether Windows Server hosts stay or move to Windows 11 multi-session. | Windows 11 multi-session vs Windows Server |
| Physical PCs | Users usually start on personal desktops, then move to pooled once their apps are packaged. | Pooled vs personal host pools |
New to the service? What Is Azure Virtual Desktop? explains how the pieces fit, and the top 10 AVD mistakes are worth reading before the pilot.
Where Atlas AVD helps
Atlas AVD doesn't import a Citrix or Horizon estate, and it doesn't make the decisions in this checklist for you. It takes on much of the build-and-operate work once they're made, from your own Azure tenant.
- Images (checks 4 and 5). Capture a customized VM from Imaging into an Azure Compute Gallery image version, then use the Outdated Image view and Rolling Replace (Zero Downtime) to move hosts onto each new version.
- App delivery (check 3). The Application Catalog sets which WinGet apps each host pool installs, inherited from global to tenant to host pool.
- Profiles (checks 8 and 9). FSLogix is configured per host pool, and FSLogix Operations shows coverage, health and capacity across pools.
- Quota (check 20). Request a vCPU quota increase without leaving the console.
- Pilot evidence (check 23). With AVD Insights connected, the Logon Breakdown shows logon time by phase, median and 95th percentile.
- Cutover (check 25). DrainGuard re-checks live sessions before any automated shutdown, re-image or replacement, so moving hosts never logs anyone off.
Want help with the checklist itself? An AVD Assessment works through it with your team and hands back a migration-ready inventory, cost model and plan. The migration page shows how a consulting-led migration runs.
FAQ
What should be on an Azure Virtual Desktop migration checklist?
Six areas: apps and images, profiles and user data, identity and access, network and region, licensing and capacity, and the pilot and cutover. Each item needs an owner and a test that shows it's done, such as a passing URL check or an approved quota request.
How long does an AVD migration take?
It depends on the number of apps and user groups more than on headcount. The landing zone and pilot usually take one to two months together, and each department wave takes a few weeks including hypercare. The app inventory and packaging take most of the calendar.
Can I migrate existing user profiles to FSLogix?
You can, but most teams start users on fresh FSLogix profile containers and use OneDrive Known Folder Move to carry documents across. Fresh profiles avoid carrying years of settings and corruption from the old platform into the new one.
Do I need Active Directory for Azure Virtual Desktop?
Not necessarily. Session hosts can be joined to Microsoft Entra ID instead of AD DS. Check how your profile storage authenticates first: FSLogix on Azure Files with Entra Kerberos supports hybrid identities, and Microsoft's Entra Kerberos overview still lists cloud-only identity support as preview.
What licenses do I need for Azure Virtual Desktop?
For Windows 11 Enterprise or Enterprise multi-session hosts, users need Microsoft 365 E3, E5, A3, A5, F3 or Business Premium, Windows Enterprise E3 or E5, Windows Education A3 or A5, or Windows VDA per user. Windows Server hosts need RDS CALs with Software Assurance. You also pay for the Azure compute, storage and networking the hosts use.
Last updated 10 November 2026. Microsoft details are drawn from Microsoft Learn as of November 2026: Prerequisites for Azure Virtual Desktop, Required FQDNs and endpoints, Proxy server guidelines, Licensing Azure Virtual Desktop and What is Windows App?. Requirements change, so check those pages before you plan a wave.