Configure a host pool as a validation environment

Validation host pools let you monitor service updates before the service applies them to your standard or non-validation environment. Without a validation host pool, you may not discover changes that introduce errors, which could result in downtime for users in your standard environment. We highly recommend you create a validation host pool where service updates are applied first.

To ensure your apps work with the latest updates, the validation host pool should be as similar to host pools in your non-validation environment as possible. Users should connect as frequently to the validation host pool as they do to the standard host pool. If you have automated testing on your host pool, you should include automated testing on the validation host pool.

This article shows you how to configure a host pool as a validation environment using the Azure portal, Azure PowerShell, or Azure CLI.

Note

• We recommend that you leave the validation host pool in place to test all future updates. Validation host pools should only be used for testing, and not in production environments.

• To keep up to date with the latest updates, see What's new in the Azure Virtual Desktop Agent.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

• An Azure Virtual Desktop host pool that you want to configure as a validation environment.

• As a minimum, the Azure account you use must have the Desktop Virtualization Host Pool Contributor role built-in role-based access control (RBAC) role assigned on the host pool.

Define your host pool as a validation environment

Select the relevant tab.

Azure portal

To use the Azure portal to configure your validation host pool:

1. Sign in to the Azure portal.

2. Search for and select Azure Virtual Desktop.

3. In the Azure Virtual Desktop page, select Host pools.

4. Select the name of the host pool you want to edit.

5. Select Properties.

6. In the validation environment field, select Yes to enable the validation environment.

7. Select Save to apply the new settings.

Azure PowerShell

If you haven't already done so, follow the instructions in Set up the Azure Virtual Desktop PowerShell module and sign in to Azure.

Run the following PowerShell cmdlets to define the new host pool as a validation host pool. Replace the values in brackets with the values relevant to your session:

Update-AzWvdHostPool -ResourceGroupName <resourcegroupname> -Name <hostpoolname> -ValidationEnvironment:$true

Run the following PowerShell cmdlet to confirm that the validation property has been set. Replace the values in brackets with the values relevant to your session.

Get-AzWvdHostPool -ResourceGroupName <resourcegroupname> -Name <hostpoolname> | Format-List

The results from the cmdlet should look similar to this output:

    HostPoolName        : hostpoolname
    FriendlyName        :
    Description         :
    Persistent          : False
    CustomRdpProperty   : use multimon:i:0;
    MaxSessionLimit     : 10
    LoadBalancerType    : BreadthFirst
    ValidationEnvironment : True

Azure CLI

If you haven't already done so, prepare your environment for the Azure CLI and sign in.

• Use the Bash environment in Azure Cloud Shell. For more information, see Quickstart for Bash in Azure Cloud Shell.

  

• If you prefer to run CLI reference commands locally, install the Azure CLI. If you're running on Windows or macOS, consider running Azure CLI in a Docker container. For more information, see How to run the Azure CLI in a Docker container.

  • If you're using a local installation, sign in to the Azure CLI by using the az login command. To finish the authentication process, follow the steps displayed in your terminal. For other sign-in options, see Sign in with the Azure CLI.

  • When you're prompted, install the Azure CLI extension on first use. For more information about extensions, see Use extensions with the Azure CLI.

  • Run az version to find the version and dependent libraries that are installed. To upgrade to the latest version, run az upgrade.

To define the new host pool as a validation host pool, use the az desktopvirtualization hostpool update command:

az desktopvirtualization hostpool update --name "MyHostPool" \
    --resource-group "MyResourceGroup" \
    --validation-environment true

Use the following command to confirm that the validation property has been set.

az desktopvirtualization hostpool show --name "MyHostPool" \
    --resource-group "MyResourceGroup"