Start VM on connect VM selection

Question

We're using start VM on connect with AVD to launch VMs only when needed. Unfortunately the region we're in, South Central US, is having capacity issues intermittently so sometimes the VMs fail to launch. To work around this I'm looking at using different VM SKUs in the host pool so there's a better chance of capacity being available.

My question is, how does VM on connect select which VM it will try to launch? Will it rotate through the available VMs round robin, or will it latch onto a specific VM even if that VM is failing to launch? My hope is that if one VM fails to launch due to capacity issues then it will move on to another VM in the pool.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/azure/virtual-desktop/start-virtual-machine-connect

Answer 1

Hi Luke Rosser,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Platform! Thank you for asking your question here.

I understand the challenges you're facing with capacity issues in the South Central US region.

When using the "Start VM on connect" feature in Azure Virtual Desktop, the system attempts to start the VM associated with the user's session. If the VM fails to launch due to capacity issues, Azure Virtual Desktop will try to start another VM within the host pool. It does not stick to the failing VM. instead, it will move on to another available VM in the pool.

Using different VM SKUs can help improve the chances of finding available capacity.

Refer to the documentation.

Azure Virtual Desktop Start VM Connect FAQ - Azure | Microsoft Learn

If you have any further queries, do let us know. If the comment is helpful, please click "Upvote".