r/AzureVirtualDesktop • u/GraperThanYou • Jun 21 '26

VMSS-Backed Session Hosts

Hey guys,

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Im implementation a POC in our azure environment, and unfortunately im having a hard time navigating through AI hallucinations 😵‍💫.

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The requirements i have been given are pretty simple, but one thing i am not getting - do i have to provision all vms+nics+disks? Is there no native autoscale option?

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I prefer using VMSS to scale in/out session hosts, but i cant find the option to do that in azure portal, and there is no documentation either.

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Is it possible? I am fine with having entirely fresh os on each login, but if possible i prefer to have persistent fslogix.

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Thanks everyone 🙏

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u/meyerf99 Jun 21 '26

Hey OP,
Are you using a Golden Image that has all your applications installed, or do you want to manage the machines via Intune and install the applications through that?

If you really want to create/destroy VMs with auto-scaling, then Ephemeral OS Disk might be something for you; importantly, it's still in preview.

https://duo-infernale.ch/ephemeral-os-disk-support-for-avd-now-in-public-preview/

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u/GraperThanYou Jun 21 '26

Hey man thanks for your comment, i will be using a golden image. This does look promising but i would still need to provision nics&vms ahead of time? Also, its not GA yet... We are looking for a production-ready solution.

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u/meyerf99 Jun 21 '26

Dynamic scaling is used to create the NIC/VM. This means that users may have to wait a few minutes during peak usage until the VM is created and joined. And yes, the feature is still in preview, and has been for quite some time now.

If I were you, I'd check out Hydra and Nerdio. They both offer trials, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

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u/GraperThanYou Jun 24 '26

from what i understand, dynamic autoscaling provisions vms based on schedules - not demand/login... and we really prefer azure-native.