Step-by-step guide to create a Entra ID Joined personal AVD host pool

With the rise of remote work and distributed teams, personalized desktop experiences are becoming more critical. Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) offers flexible deployment options, including personal host pools where users get dedicated virtual machines (VMs) assigned to them.

Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) supports various host pool types, and one of the most user-specific options is the Personal Host Pool with Direct Assignment. This model gives each user a dedicated virtual machine, ensuring a consistent and personalized experience.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process to create a direct assignment-type personal host pool and highlight a few troubleshooting tips to make the journey smoother.

What is a Direct Assignment Personal Host Pool?

A personal host pool in AVD is designed to give each user their own persistent session on a VM. With direct assignment, you can explicitly control which user gets which VM—ideal for scenarios where performance consistency, personalization, or compliance is essential.

Step-by-Step Guide to Create a Direct Assignment Personal Host Pool

Step 1: Create a New Host Pool

Navigate to Azure Virtual Desktop > Host pools in the Azure Portal and click + Create.
Choose your subscription, resource group, and region.
Under Host pool type, select Personal, and set Assignment type to Direct.
This ensures that each VM will be directly assigned to a specific user.

Step 2: Configure the Virtual Machines

Choose the image source for your VM (Gallery, Shared Image Gallery, or a custom image).
Set the number of VMs you wish to create, define the VM size, and configure the naming convention.
Provide domain join details (Active Directory or Azure AD Join) as applicable.

In the above form, I have selected the items the description of which I have added in the below table

Setting	Value Selected	Description
Add virtual machines	Yes	Indicates that session host VMs will be added to the host pool.
Resource group	aavi-avd-rg	The resource group under which VMs and related resources will be created.
Name prefix	aavi-ss-1	Prefix for VM names (e.g., aavi-ss-1-0, aavi-ss-1-1…).
Virtual machine type	Azure virtual machine	Specifies the VM type; using Azure-based VMs here.
Virtual machine location	Central India	Region where the VMs will be deployed.
Availability options	No infrastructure redundancy required	No zone or availability set redundancy.
Security type	Trusted launch virtual machines	Enhanced security using secure boot, vTPM, and integrity monitoring.
Enable secure boot	Enabled	Ensures the VM boots using only software trusted by the OEM.
Enable vTPM	Enabled	Virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) is turned on for encryption scenarios.
Integrity monitoring	Enabled	Checks integrity of the virtual machine at boot time.
Image	Windows 11 Enterprise, Version 24H2	OS image to be deployed to the VM.
Virtual machine size	Standard D2as v5 (2 vCPUs, 8 GiB RAM)	VM SKU selected for the host session.
Hibernate	Disabled	Hibernate setting is turned off.
Number of VMs	1	Number of session host VMs to be created.
OS disk type	Standard SSD	Type of OS disk selected for the VM.
OS disk size	Default size (128 GiB)	The selected OS disk size.

Step 3: Configure Network and Availability Options

Select the virtual network and subnet in which the session hosts will be created.
Optionally configure availability zones and diagnostics settings if required.

Step 4: Register the Host Pool with a Workspace

Choose to register the host pool with a workspace, or create a new workspace if one doesn’t exist.
This step allows users to see their personal desktops in the AVD client.

Step 5: Review and Create

Review all the settings in the summary tab and click Create to deploy the host pool and VMs.

Once everything is set, you need to click on create

After some time please check the progress of the deployment.

The deployment summary will show the progress of the ongoing deployment. The same thing you can also monitor from the notification tab.

Step 6: Assign a VM to a User (Direct Assignment)

After deployment, go to the newly created Host pool.
Click on Assignments, then select Assign VM.
Choose the VM and assign it to the appropriate Azure AD user.

Click on Assign VM

Once the VM is assigned it will show like this.

Once the assignment is completed, the end use should be able to see the session host which is just assigned to him in the remote desktop app as you can see below.

Once you try to login you will see that below error, and you will not be able to login.

The error is showing the same issue, the issue is basically we find when the VM is joined with Entra ID but that configuration is not added in the RDP properties of the Host Pool. To allow users to connect to VDI’s which are EntraID joined, please make the following changes as shown below.

Once the RDP properties is changed, please try to login again.

You should be able to login now.

Final Thoughts

Direct assignment in AVD is perfect for organizations needing user-specific persistent desktops. It offers better control, improves performance consistency, and simplifies license tracking. Follow this guide, and you’ll be up and running with personal host pools in no time!

Post Views: 27