Configure Azure Virtual Desktop monitoring by using Azure Monitor

Azure Virtual Desktop is a powerful cloud-based solution that allows organizations to provide virtualized desktops and applications to their users. As with any infrastructure, effective monitoring is essential to ensure optimal performance and troubleshoot issues. In this article, we will explore how to configure Azure Virtual Desktop monitoring using Azure Monitor.

Step 1: Enable Azure Monitor for Azure Virtual Desktop

First, you need to enable Azure Monitor for your Azure Virtual Desktop environment. This can be done using PowerShell or the Azure portal.

To enable Azure Monitor using PowerShell, execute the following command:

Set-AzWvdWorkspace -ResourceGroupName -ServiceName -EnableAzureMonitor


Replace <resource-group-name> with the name of your resource group and <workspace-name> with the name of your Azure Monitor workspace.

To enable Azure Monitor using the Azure portal, navigate to your Azure Virtual Desktop resource and go to the “Monitoring” section. Click on “Enable Azure Monitor” and select your Azure Monitor workspace.

Step 2: Configure Log Analytics Workspace

Next, you need to configure a Log Analytics workspace to store the monitoring data for Azure Virtual Desktop. If you don’t have an existing workspace, you can create one using the Azure portal.

To create a Log Analytics workspace, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Azure portal and navigate to the “Log Analytics workspaces” section.
2. Click on “Add” to create a new workspace.
3. Provide a name, subscription, resource group, and location for the workspace.
4. Review the additional settings and click on “Review + create” to create the workspace.

Make note of the workspace ID and key, as you will need them for the next step.

Step 3: Configure Diagnostics Settings

Once you have enabled Azure Monitor and configured a Log Analytics workspace, you need to configure diagnostics settings for Azure Virtual Desktop. This allows you to collect the necessary telemetry data for monitoring.

To configure diagnostics settings, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Azure Virtual Desktop resource and navigate to the “Diagnostics settings” section.
2. Click on “Add diagnostic setting” and provide a name for the diagnostic setting.
3. Enable the desired diagnostics logs and metrics. For Azure Virtual Desktop, it is recommended to enable the following:

• Windows Virtual Desktop Agent Tenant Logs
• Windows Virtual Desktop Agent Session Host Logs
• Windows Virtual Desktop Agent VM Logs
• Windows Virtual Desktop Agent Performance Counters
• Windows Virtual Desktop Session Host Performance Counters

4. In the “Destination” section, select “Send to Log Analytics” and choose the Log Analytics workspace you configured in the previous step.
5. Click on “Save” to save the diagnostics settings.

Step 4: View Azure Virtual Desktop Monitoring Data

Once you have configured Azure Monitor and diagnostics settings, you can view the monitoring data for Azure Virtual Desktop in the Log Analytics workspace.

To view the monitoring data, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Log Analytics workspace in the Azure portal.
2. In the left navigation pane, click on “Logs” to open the log query editor.
3. Use the log query language to query and analyze the monitoring data. For example, you can use the following query to retrieve the performance counters for Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts:

Perf
| where ObjectName == "Windows Virtual Desktop Session Host" and CounterName == ""
| summarize avg(CounterValue) by bin(TimeGenerated, 1h), Computer, InstanceName


Replace <counter-name> with the name of the performance counter you want to retrieve.

4. Click on “Run” to execute the query and view the results.

With Azure Monitor and Log Analytics, you can configure advanced monitoring scenarios for Azure Virtual Desktop, such as creating custom alerts, visualizing data with dashboards, and integrating with other monitoring tools.

In conclusion, configuring Azure Virtual Desktop monitoring using Azure Monitor is crucial for maintaining the performance and availability of your virtual desktop infrastructure. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can effectively monitor and analyze the telemetry data from Azure Virtual Desktop, allowing you to identify and resolve any issues that arise.