Azure Virtual Desktop
Overview
There are many different ways in which an application can be delivered to an end user and which one you choose to use could depend on a number of factors such as the type of device they are using, who owns the device or where they are physically located, as a few examples. The Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) delivery method is an Azure hosted VDI technology which supports multiple concurrent Windows 10 sessions. AVD is the successor of RDS, offering an improved end-user experience.
The support offered by AppsAnywhere for Azure Virtual Desktop differs slightly from that of other delivery method technologies.
Rather than directly initiating the launch of an AVD application from the portal, the AppsAnywhere client will launch the AVD client and prompt the user to set up AVD through a series of instructional dialogs. The dialogs given to the user will be dependent on their operating system. As part of these instructional steps, the user will be directed to launch an AVD desktop session, in this session the AppsAnywhere portal will be launched automatically and the user will be prompted to find their app and launch it.
Common Delivery Method Settings
All delivery methods share some basic, common settings that you will need to understand before continuing. Make sure you have read the Common Delivery Method Settings article before continuing.
Once you understand the common settings and how they work, you can go to the application you want to manage:
From the AppsAnywhere admin portal, search for Applications, or go to Applications > Applications in the navigation menu
Click Edit next to the application you wish to manage
Creating the delivery method
Adding a new delivery method:
On the application management page, select the Delivery Methods tab
Under the list of current delivery methods, you will see the Add New Delivery Method section
Select Virtual Desktop from the Add Delivery Method screen
Click Add or double click the delivery method
The form for adding a new Virtual Desktop delivery method will then load up on the right-hand side
Complete the required details (described below)
Set the Operating System Compatibilities and the Restrictions for your delivery method
Click Save
If the save was successful, you will see the form replaced with the following message and your new delivery method will be added to the bottom of the list on the left-hand side
If there were any errors with the data you entered, you will be prompted to correct these before you can continue.
Only one Virtual Desktop delivery method may be added per app.
Delivery Method Fields
The following table describes each field and setting available for this delivery method, its intended value and an example for each.
Before you start, you must select whether you want to offer a locally installed option for Windows devices, macOS devices or both using the toggle buttons at the top of the form.
Field Name | Description | Intended Value | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
Preferred Client | Azure Virtual Desktop can either be launched as a native client or a HTML5 client. A native client is one which has been installed locally whereas a HTML5 client allows AVD to be accessed entirely from within the browser. Note: All devices support the HTML5 client, although only some support the native client (Windows and Mac OS); where the native client is preferred but is not supported, the HTML5 client will be used instead. | Whether the app should prioritise the HTML5 client or the native client. | N/A |
Azure Virtual Desktop Environment | The Azure Virtual Desktop Environment that has been connected to AppsAnywhere. | The Azure Virtual Desktop environment in which the app for this delivery method is accessible. | AppsAnywhere AVD |
Resource ID | The Resource ID is the ID assigned to a particular app or desktop by Azure Virtual Desktop. | The Resource ID which is required is the ID of the desktop from which the user can find and launch the application in AppsAnywhere. The Resource ID can be found by following the instructions in the Azure Virtual Desktop#Finding the Resource ID section. The Resource ID used should be the Resource ID of a desktop where the application is available, not the Resource ID of the application in Azure Virtual Desktop. | 576g8543-a67e-32f5-a456-426614174425 |
Finding the Resource ID
Finding the Resource ID requires a machine which has the AVD client configured. This means that the AVD client must be installed and set up, to set up Azure Virtual Desktop on a windows device follow these steps.
Locate and launch Azure Virtual Desktop client
When the client opens you may be asked to sign in with your university account
Find and launch the relevant desktop
You may be asked to sign in again using the same credentials as step 2
Once the AVD client has been configured, go to the %localappdata%\rdclientwpf\ folder. In this folder there should be one or more folders which have a GUID style name (a 128 bit number, for example 123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000), inside each of these folders there will be a collection of image files and RDP files, use the images to identify the relevant desktop you are interested in.
Once you have located the desktop you are interested in, the Resource ID is the name of the file, without an extension, for example if the name of the image file was 576g8543-a67e-32f5-a456-426614174425.ico, then the Resource ID would be 576g8543-a67e-32f5-a456-426614174425.
Prioritizing
Now that your delivery method is in the list of those available, it is important that you prioritize it accordingly to determine exactly when it will be used.
To understand this process completely, take a look at the Prioritizing delivery methods article.