Creating the perfect image is the foundation for a secure, scalable, and high-performance virtual desktop environment—but it’s rarely straightforward. In this deep-dive session, we’ll walk through the end-to-end process of building optimized, secure, and versatile images for Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) and Windows 365, using a "Golden Master" approach. You’ll learn how to: - Build lossless, reusable Golden Images tailored for both AVD and Windows 365 - Avoid common pitfalls with Intune, Entra ID, and Microsoft Defender onboarding - Leverage advanced image features like Trusted Launch, Confidential VMs, Hibernation, and NVMe storage - Incorporate security baselines using CIS-hardened plans for compliance-ready deployments Whether you're modernizing your image lifecycle or preparing your environment for enterprise-scale VDI, this session will provide you with practical tips, key considerations to avoid, and real-world guidance to elevate your image strategy.

Azure Virtual Desktop is powerful, but it also comes with hidden challenges that can trip up even experienced IT pros. In this real-life session, you'll discover the Top 5 most important Do's, Don'ts, and How's to make your AVD environment more efficient, stable, and future-proof. We'll cover: - How to successfully upgrade from Windows 10 Gen1 to Gen2 Windows 11 - Why using the wrong image strategy can break hibernation and updates - How v6 VMs can boost performance — and when they might bite back - The common mistakes in host pool/session host architecture - And how to spot and clean up ghost or orphaned resources before they cause issues We'll also take a critical look at ephemeral disks, and close with real-world examples of mistakes you really don't want to repeat - and how to avoid them. If you're running or planning AVD in any capacity, this is the practical guide you didn't know you needed.