As a reminder for all Azure Virtual Desktop (short AVD) administrators, an important change regarding the Desktop Virtualization API on the 11. March 2025 is approaching quickly. By now, everyone managing an AVD environment in their Azure tenant should have received this email. However, this notification is specifically directed at those administrators who utilize APIs for deploying their environments. Such users must take immediate action to ensure continued functionality of their deployment scripts.
Update Overview
Microsoft is making changes regarding the support for various versions of the Desktop Virtualization API. This announcement primarily targets users who rely on client-side tools such as Az CLI, Az PowerShell, SDKs, ARM templates, Azure Bicep, Terraform, and other third-party integrations that utilize the Microsoft Desktop Virtualization API. Importantly, customers who have deployed Azure Virtual Desktop through the Azure Portal are exempt from these changes.
Transition Deadline
All administrators are advised that as of the 11. March 2025, several legacy versions of the Desktop Virtualization API will no longer be supported. To ensure continued functionality, users must upgrade to either:
- API v. 2024-04-03
- The latest preview API version
APIs Reaching End of Support
The following Desktop Virtualization APIs will no longer be valid and might not work any more after the deadline:
- 2021-08-04-preview
- 2021-09-03-preview
- 2022-01-12-privatepreview
- 2022-02-10-preview
- 2022-04-01-preview
- 2022-08-09-privatepreview
- 2023-01-28-privatepreview
- 2023-01-30-preview
- 2023-03-03-privatepreview
- 2023-04-06-preview
- 2023-11-01-preview
- 2023-11-29-privatepreview
- 2023-12-25-privatepreview
Furthermore, to retain all functionality, users of the following APIs must update to API v. 2024-04-03:
- 2022-07-05-preview
- 2022-09-01-privatepreview
- 2022-10-14-preview
- 2023-03-21-privatepreview
- 2023-10-04-preview
Recommendations for API Transition
Microsoft advises all administrators to test API v. 2024-04-03 prior to full implementation (as always, test before deploying new things to production), as this version may not include all the functionalities present in deprecated APIs.
Special Considerations for PowerShell Users
For those using Microsoft PowerShell, updating to either the latest preview version or version 5.4.0 is necessary by the deadline too, to avoid any service disruptions.
Required Actions
To prevent automatic deployments of virtual desktop environments from failing, ensure that you update your code to utilize either the API v. 2024-04-03 (my reccomendation) or the latest preview before the deadline.
Important: Don’t forget to update all your modules in Bicep or Terraform related to the Desktop Virtualization API. This includes resources such as Microsoft.DesktopVirtualization/hostPools, Microsoft.DesktopVirtualization/applicationGroups, and many more. To see which resource types are affected, please visit this link.
Bicep
Let’s take a quick look at the steps you need to follow if you are using Bicep. In this example, we will update a module that defines a host pool.
Old Code Example
New Code Example
As you can see, the only change needed is to update the date in the API version. You may also need to add any new mandatory fields introduced in the updated API version. For detailed information on all properties and any new requirements, be sure to visit the relevant Microsoft Learn article.
Terrafrom
Let’s take a quick look at the steps you need to follow if you are using Terraform. In this example, we will update a module that defines a host pool.
Old Code Example
New Code Example
