WVD for GCC High: Now in Public Preview

Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) for GCC High is the newest way that government and defense contractors can utilize cloud technology. For the past few months, WVD has been in private preview with Agile IT, but now it has entered public preview, providing a new secure desktop for those with sensitive information. WVD can be found for Azure US Government regions and Azure portal integration.

With Azure portal integration, you’ll get a simple interface that allows you to deploy and manage virtual desktops and apps. You’ll also be able to create objects, such as workspace and host pool. All these resources are known as Azure Resource Manager objects. You manage them just like other Azure resources. Even better, you can give AAD groups access to WVD resources through access control based on roles and publish remote apps and desktops. Troubleshooting is faster than with Azure Monitor.

Uses and Capabilities of WVD

WVD is an app and desktop virtualization service run on the cloud. Government or defense contractors use it with GCC High. With WVD, you’ll be able to establish a multi-session deployment in Windows 10 to deliver Windows 10 with scalability. You’ll also be able to optimize Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprises for use in multi-user virtual scenarios. You’ll also be able to have Windows 7 virtual desktops, complete with extended security updates. You can also move your existing RDS and Windows Server apps and desktops to any computer through virtualizing them both. WVD makes it easy to manage Windows Server, Windows 10, and Windows 7 apps and desktops using a unified management experience.

One of the top benefits of WVD is the ability to establish a flexible and scalable environment. Using your Azure subscription, you’ll be able to create a full virtualization environment for desktop without having to run other gateway servers. You will be able to accommodate diverse workloads through publishing multiple host pools. You can use the Azure Gallery or your own images for production workloads.

As a contractor, you’ll benefit through reduced costs due to multi-session, pooled resources. The Windows 10 Enterprise capability is exclusive to WVD and RDSH on Windows Server, enabling you to reduce the number of OS and virtual machine overhead, even as you provide resources to users. Individual ownership can also be provided through personal desktops.  Deploy and manage virtual desktops through WVD.

Azure

The Azure portal, WVD PowerShell, and REST interfaces can be used to create app groups, configure host pools, assign users, and publish resources. You can also use a single host pool to publish full individual or desktop remote apps and create individual app groups by user need or assign user to multiple groups. Through managing your environment, you can assign roles and collect diagnostics through built-in delegated access for understanding user error or configurations. Moreover, error troubleshooting diagnostics. Through WVD, you only manage the virtual machines and image. You don’t have to manage the infrastructure, nor do you need to manage remote desktop roles. You’re only responsible for the virtual machines that are within your Azure subscription.

You can use WVD to assign and connect users to virtual desktops. Once these individuals are assigned, WVD client can be launched to connect users to published desktops and apps. Users can connect from any device through WVD HTML5 web client or a native application. Securely establish users through reverse connections, meaning no inbound ports left open.

Benefits of WVD

WVD is beneficial because you can bring your own devices into play. This means that you won’t manage your employees devices when they’re connected. Using WVD, employees connect to the network through the virtual desktop, but the main OS of the device is separate, creating a firewall between personal and work. Therefore, no security comprises while working. You can also use cheaper devices. This is because WVD is based on the computer setup or virtual servers, making it possible to run Windows 10 on devices that normally can’t support it. This opens up your device’s useability to Macs to Chromebooks. No expensive devices needed.

WVD is beneficial for multi-session virtualization, which allows the support of more users using the same computing power. You’ll save more with a larger office and very small offices may not need this virtualization. WVD handles it automatically and helps users get needed resources through load balancing.

WVD also allows for whitelisted access to resources. This is important because most resources are locked through the secure network IP. However, when working from home, if the router or computer is rebooted, or power loss occurs, the IP changes. Thus, it is impossible to white list remote IPs. WVD and Azure NAT Gateway circumvents this issue, leading to improved security and reduced costs through the creation of a virtual workspace with a unique IP that can be whitelisted. With the extra protection, there isn’t a VPN slowdown. Using RDP infrastructure from Azure, you can scale your WVD, leading to maintained, or even improved, productivity.

Remote Work

WVD enables you to engage in flexible remote work. Thus, deploy work from home infrastructure as needed. You can also add or remove instances without extra costs of hardware and/or licensing. You’ll only be responsible for bandwidth use, but it’s at a much lower rate. When you combine this with the use of personal devices, you can be more flexible in working from home. During the pandemic, this has been especially beneficial, but it can also help afterwards in terms of flexibility in your workforce and increasing productivity. Finally, the legacy app not native to the cloud can be virtualized, enabling outside access without security compromises. You can manage roles and environments from anywhere, allowing for remote assistance.

Learn More About WVD for GCC High

Agile IT is one of the first Azure Government Partners and is one of under 10 AOS-G partners that are able to license, migrate, and manage GCC High for organizations with under 500 users. To find out how we can help deploy WVD for your organization, schedule a free consultation.