What's changed: Created AZ-140 Chapter 1 (Domain 1 first-half: network requirement assessment/reverse connect/RDP Shortpath-Multipath/QoS (DSCP); Azure Private Link for AVD (private endpoints/private DNS zone)/connectivity troubleshooting (DNS/UDR/FW/Azure Monitor); user-data storage (FSLogix profiles/Azure Files Premium SMB/Azure NetApp Files/AD DS-Entra Domain Services auth/IOPS-logon storms/same region)).
1.1Network requirements and RDP Shortpath
Understand assessing network capacity/speed requirements for Azure Virtual Desktop, designing session-host network configuration, and RDP Shortpath, RDP Multipath, and QoS policies.
Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) delivers session hosts (Windows VMs in the cloud) to remote users. User experience depends directly on network latency and bandwidth, so the design starting point is assessing network requirements.
1.1.1Assessing capacity and speed requirements
Estimate required bandwidth and acceptable latency (round-trip time, RTT) from the workload (light/medium/heavy) and user count. AVD uses a reverse connect transport so session hosts need no inbound ports (outbound 443 only). Architects choose an Azure region close to users and reduce latency with ExpressRoute/VPN or the Azure backbone.
1.1.2RDP Shortpath/Multipath and QoS
RDP Shortpath establishes a direct UDP path between client and session host instead of the reverse-connect TCP relay, lowering latency and jitter (managed-network and public-network variants exist). RDP Multipath improves connection reliability/performance via multiple paths. QoS (Quality of Service) policies prioritize RDP UDP traffic (DSCP marking) to preserve real-time behavior under congestion. For "improve latency/jitter," RDP Shortpath (direct UDP) + QoS is the standard.
Cues: "direct UDP path to reduce latency/jitter" = RDP Shortpath. "prioritize RDP under congestion" = QoS policy (DSCP). "no inbound ports on session hosts" = reverse connect (outbound 443). Choose a region close to users.
Watch the mix-ups: (1) RDP Shortpath (direct UDP, performance) and Private Link (private connectivity, next section) serve different purposes. (2) AVD uses reverse connect, so do not open inbound ports—no need to allow inbound RDP in NSGs. (3) QoS prioritizes; it does not increase bandwidth itself.
1.1.3Section summary
- Estimate bandwidth/latency (RTT) from workload and user count; choose a region close to users
- RDP Shortpath = direct UDP to improve latency/jitter; RDP Multipath = reliability; QoS = prioritize RDP (DSCP)
- AVD uses reverse connect (outbound 443)—no inbound ports on session hosts
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Quick check
(just a quick review)Q1. You want to reduce AVD users’ latency and jitter for better real-time behavior using a direct UDP path between client and session host. Which feature?
Q2. You want RDP UDP traffic prioritized even under network congestion. Which is best?
Q3. Regarding whether AVD session hosts need an inbound port (RDP 3389) open, which is correct?
Q4. In AVD network design, what is most appropriate to minimize user-experience latency?
Q5. Which correctly relates RDP Shortpath and QoS?