Blog, Page 4

Latest articles

• Azure Availability Zones by Region: Which Regions Have Zones

  Availability zones are separate datacenters within an Azure region. Every public region with its zone count, the regions without zones, zone-redundant vs zonal resources, why zone 1 differs between subscriptions, and how to use zones for AVD session hosts and FSLogix profiles.

• The Settings Matrix: Every Setting, Every Level, One Screen

  Every Atlas AVD setting can be set once for the whole deployment, once per tenant, and once per host pool. The Settings Matrix shows all three levels side by side for every setting, with the value that is actually in effect and the level it came from. This is how it works, how to use it, and why we have not seen another MSP tool do the same.

• Locked FSLogix Profile (Error 33): Find and Release a VHDX in Use

  When an FSLogix container is still attached elsewhere, the next sign-in can't lock it and the user gets a temporary profile. How to recognize error 32 and 33, find the session or open handle holding the VHDX, release it without corrupting it, and set the retry values Microsoft recommends.

• Windows 11 26H2 for Azure Virtual Desktop: How to Update Your Golden Image

  Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session 26H2 is supported on Azure Virtual Desktop, and it reaches a 24H2 or 25H2 golden image as a small enablement package and one restart. What Microsoft supports, the prerequisites to check, where to get KB5121794, the known issues that hit AVD hosts, and how to publish and roll out the new image version safely.

• Atlas AVD vs Hydra for MSPs: Running Azure Virtual Desktop for Every Customer From One Platform

  Hydra and Atlas AVD both run multi-tenant Azure Virtual Desktop from a portal in your own Azure subscription. For an MSP, the differences that matter are how each one prices growth, what your customers see, how alerts reach your team, and what evidence you can hand a regulated customer. A practical look at all four.

• Replace Hosts or Roll Out in Rings? How Hydra and Atlas AVD Ship a New Golden Image

  Every AVD team ships a new golden image at least once a month. Hydra moves hosts to a new image with a replace-hosts wizard that drains and swaps them. Atlas AVD rolls it out in rings, canary to full, gating each ring on health and user experience and rolling back on its own if a ring regresses. Here is how each works, and why the second approach is safer at scale.

• Per Concurrent User or Flat Rate? Hydra and Atlas AVD Licensing, Worked Through

  Hydra licenses AVD management per concurrent user. Atlas AVD charges a flat monthly price that doesn't move when you add users. Which is cheaper depends on one number: your peak concurrency. Here is how to find it, a break-even table you can read your own rate against, and why the flat model keeps working in your favor as the estate grows.

• Request More Azure vCPU Quota Without Leaving Atlas AVD

  Running out of Azure vCPU quota stops a scale-out or an image rollout. Adaptive Quota in Atlas AVD shows the vCores your host pools need against each quota, lists what's spare in every region, suggests a new limit from your usage trend, and submits and tracks the increase with Azure in a few clicks.

• Why Are Azure Virtual Desktop Logons Slow? A Diagnostic Checklist

  An Azure Virtual Desktop logon is six stages run by different components. See where the seconds go, measure it with AVD Insights, and fix the usual causes: FSLogix profile attach, Group Policy, first sign-in app registration, startup apps, hosts overloaded at peak and cold hosts. Plus quick wins, structural fixes and an FAQ.