What's changed: Created AZ-140 Chapter 5, completing the textbook (Domain 4: monitoring (Azure Monitor + Log Analytics, AVD Insights workbooks, capacity/performance optimization, autoscaling scaling plans, active-session monitoring); updates/backup/DR (drain + recreate from a new image version, Azure Update Manager, Azure Backup point-in-time restore of FSLogix profiles/personal desktops/images, multi-region DR, pooled stateless)).
5.2Updates, backup, and disaster recovery
Understand session-host update strategy, disaster recovery (DR) planning, multi-region implementation, backup strategy, and backup/restore of FSLogix profiles/personal desktops/images.
After go-live, keep session hosts safely updated and design business continuity/disaster recovery (BCDR) so work continues during failures.
5.2.1Update strategy
For pooled, update by "publish a new image version → replace (recreate) session hosts on that image," draining (stop new sessions, evict existing) before swapping. Personal hosts may use Windows Update (Update Rings / Azure Update Manager) for patch management. In all cases, minimize user impact during maintenance windows and distribute updated images via Compute Gallery. For "propagate consistent updates to all hosts," recreate from a new image version is the AVD norm.
5.2.2Backup and disaster recovery
Backup protects FSLogix profiles (Azure Files shares), personal-desktop VMs, and images with Azure Backup, restoring at file/VM granularity (stateless pooled hosts generally need no backup—state lives in the profile). Disaster recovery (DR) uses a multi-region design with host pools/profile storage/images prepared in another region to fail over during a regional outage (profiles replicate cross-region via Cloud Cache or geo-redundancy). Distinguish "continue through a regional outage" = multi-region DR from "point-in-time restore of data/VMs" = Azure Backup.
Cues: "consistent update to all hosts" = recreate from a new image version (after drain). "point-in-time restore of FSLogix profiles/personal desktops/images" = Azure Backup. "continue through a regional outage" = multi-region DR (assets in another region + profile geo-redundancy/Cloud Cache). Stateless pooled hosts generally need no backup.
Watch the mix-ups: (1) Backup (point-in-time restore) and DR (continuity during a regional outage) are different and both needed. (2) Pooled hosts are stateless—what to protect is the FSLogix profile (Azure Files). (3) DR is incomplete unless profile storage and images also exist in another region. (4) Update via drain + image recreate, not unplanned patching of running hosts.
5.2.3Section summary
- Update = publish new image version → drain → recreate session hosts (personal may use Update Manager)
- Azure Backup for point-in-time restore of FSLogix profiles/personal desktops/images; pooled is stateless
- DR = multi-region assets + profile redundancy (Cloud Cache/geo) for regional outages
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Quick check
(just a quick review)Q1. You want consistent OS/app updates across all pooled AVD session hosts. Which is best?
Q2. You want to protect FSLogix profiles and personal-desktop VMs for point-in-time restore. Which is best?
Q3. You want AVD work to continue even during a full regional outage. Which design is best?
Q4. For stateless pooled session hosts, what is correct about backup design?
Q5. Which correctly relates backup and disaster recovery (DR)?
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