Plan and implement user environments and apps
Image versus app delivery
Decide what lives in the golden image (OS, AVD agent, FSLogix agent, line-of-business apps, language packs) and what is delivered separately. Options: bake apps into a Compute Gallery image, deliver them with App Attach / MSIX app attach (per-user, staged and registered, no drivers or services), or publish RemoteApp programs through an application group. Anything needing a machine-wide install, service, or driver belongs in the image.
Profiles are the user environment
FSLogix profile container holds the whole profile; the ODFC container holds only Office cache data and is often split out for large profiles. Configure container location (VHDLocations) by GPO or registry, plus size limits. Storage: Azure Files standard or premium, or Azure NetApp Files for heavy I/O. Cloud Cache adds local resilience at the cost of write amplification.
Finishing the experience
Include OneDrive known folder move, Teams optimization, redirected or excluded folders, and printer strategy. For personal pools, Start VM on connect keeps hosts deallocated until the user signs in.
Traps
A profile container that keeps growing until logons time out usually means Office cache should be split into ODFC or the container size limit is too small. Entra-joined multi-session hosts need Entra Kerberos for Azure Files. MSIX app attach cannot install a service.
Worked example: 150 users × 20 GB average profile ≈ 3 TB; provision premium Azure Files with headroom for growth and alert when any container exceeds 80% of its configured size.