Microsoft Virtual Desktop Mac
- Virtual Desktop For Mac
- Microsoft Virtual Desktop Manager
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- Microsoft Virtual Desktop Access Subscription
- Windows Virtual Desktop Mac Client
- Windows Virtual Desktop For Mac
Microsoft today made a slew of announcements to help IT pros reduce costs, increase security, and boost employee productivity. The headline items are the launch of Windows Virtual Desktop in public preview and Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) for macOS in limited preview. But there are also updates around Office 365 ProPlus, Windows 10, Configuration Manager, Intune, and Microsoft 365.
- Virtual desktop free download - Parallels Desktop for Mac, Desktop Manager, Microsoft Remote Desktop, and many more programs.
- Nov 27, 2017 Use Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac to connect to a remote PC or virtual apps and desktops made available by your admin. With Microsoft Remote Desktop, you can be productive no matter where you are. GET STARTED Configure your PC for remote access using the information at https://aka.ms/rdsetup.
- Nov 27, 2016 In this video, I'll show you how to use Microsoft Remote Desktop on a Mac. Simply download the application from Apple's App store, install, and configure a c.
- Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome and some Windows Store apps have DRM that prevent those services from being captured. Using Firefox solves this problem. Yes but you need a VR ready PC running Windows 10 (it won't work through Parallels on a Mac). You need to sideload Virtual Desktop after purchasing the app in the Oculus Store.
- Jun 21, 2005 This update improves overall stability of Virtual PC and allows Virtual PC to run on Mac OS X Version 10.4.1. Microsoft Virtual PC for Mac Version 7.0.2 Update. The Download Manager saves the file to the desktop unless you specified a different folder in the Preferences dialog box of Internet Explorer.
Dec 13, 2019 How to connect to Windows Virtual Desktop using the macOS client. Normally, the URL is To use email, enter your email address.
But first, let’s tackle the big ones.
Windows Virtual Desktop
Microsoft announced Windows Virtual Desktop in September, but only made it available as part of a private preview. Now in public preview, the Azure-based service provides a virtualized multi-session Windows 10 experience and Office 365 ProPlus virtual desktop on any device. It supports Remote Desktop Services (RDS) desktops and apps in a shared public cloud and will even include free Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) until January 2023. Windows 7 will hit end of support on January 14, 2020, so Microsoft is strategically offering the almost decade-old operating system via Windows Virtual Desktop.
In November, Microsoft acquired app-provisioning startup FSLogix. That platform’s strength was reducing the resources, time, and labor required to support desktop and app virtualization. FSLogix technologies have now been put to work in Windows Virtual Desktop to enable faster load times for non-persistent users accessing Outlook or OneDrive, plus support for client and server RDS deployments.
Think of Windows Virtual Desktop as a tool for deploying and scaling Windows desktops and apps on Azure with built-in security and compliance. To deploy and manage your virtualization environment, you’ll need an Azure subscription — you can optimize costs by taking advantage of Reserved Instances (up to 72 percent discount) and by using multi-session Windows 10. You will not be charged more for accessing Windows 10 and Windows 7 desktops and apps if you have Microsoft 365 F1/E3/E5, Windows 10 Enterprise E3/E5, or Windows VDA. You will also not be charged more for using Windows Server desktops and apps if you’re a Microsoft RDS Client Access License customer.
Microsoft is slating Windows Virtual Desktop general availability for the second half of this year.
Microsoft Defender
If you did a double-take here because you thought it was called Windows Defender, you’re not wrong. Microsoft is extending its endpoint protection platform to additional operating systems, starting with macOS. And so, with the release of Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac in limited preview, Windows Defender is now Microsoft Defender.
Microsoft Defender ATP gives macOS users “next-gen” antivirus protection, but Microsoft is also promising to add Endpoint Detection and Response, and Threat and Vulnerability Management (TVM) capabilities in public preview next month. TVM is designed to help security teams discover, prioritize, and remediate known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations exploited by hackers. Specifically, TVM promises:
- Real-time detection insights correlated with endpoint vulnerabilities
- Machine vulnerability context during incident investigations
- Built-in remediation processes through integration with Microsoft Intune and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager
Microsoft’s security pitch is for a “comprehensive” platform with “built-in sensors, cloud scalability, unparalleled optics, AI & machine learning-based protection to enhance the power of defenders, and the seamless integration with Microsoft’s identity and information protection solutions.” Now the company can add cross-platform to that list.
Office 365 ProPlus and Windows 10
Microsoft also shared today that new installs of Office 365 ProPlus will include the Microsoft Teams app by default and that the default installation for ProPlus will now be 64-bit. The former comes just days after the company announced that Teams is now used by 500,000 organizations. As for the latter, those already on 32-bit installs will soon be offered an in-place upgrade to 64-bit that doesn’t requiring uninstalling and reinstalling.
Separately, Microsoft shared that since Windows 10 Creators Update (version 1703), it has seen a 20 percent reduction in operating system and driver stability issues. Starting with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (version 1709), the company says devices are updating up to 63 percent faster.
Configuration Manager, Intune, and Microsoft 365
Configuration Manager and Intune are getting new insights and deployment options to help manage your devices across platforms.
More specifically, Configuration Manager branch 1902 arrives this week with the following:
- New Office analytics: Native integration with the Office Readiness Toolkit provides insights that help organizations with the end-to-end readiness, deployment, and status tracking of Office 365 ProPlus.
- Updates to CMPivot for real-time queries: CMPivot investigates the whole device estate using pre-built queries. You can now access CMPivot from the Configuration Manager Central Admin Site.
- New management and client health visibility: Improved management insights to prepare for co-management, new rules for optimizing and simplifying collections and packages, and a dashboard with detailed breakdowns of device status.
New deployment options will also be available, including phased deployments, configuring known-folder mapping to OneDrive, and Configuration Manager integration with the Office Customization Tool.
Intune has meanwhile received Mobile Device Management (MDM) Security Baselines in preview. Microsoft considers these recommended configuration settings that increase your security posture, operational efficiency, and reduce costs.
And finally, the new Microsoft 365 Admin Center is now generally available. Going forward, admin.microsoft.com is your single entry point for managing your Microsoft 365 services. It includes guided setup experiences, improved groups management, and multi-factor authentication for admins.
-->Windows Virtual Desktop is a desktop and app virtualization service that runs on the cloud.
Here's what you can do when you run Windows Virtual Desktop on Azure:
- Set up a multi-session Windows 10 deployment that delivers a full Windows 10 with scalability
- Virtualize Office 365 ProPlus and optimize it to run in multi-user virtual scenarios
- Provide Windows 7 virtual desktops with free Extended Security Updates
- Bring your existing Remote Desktop Services (RDS) and Windows Server desktops and apps to any computer
- Virtualize both desktops and apps
- Manage Windows 10, Windows Server, and Windows 7 desktops and apps with a unified management experience
Introductory video
Learn about Windows Virtual Desktop, why it's unique, and what's new in this video:
For more videos about Windows Virtual Desktop, see our playlist.
Key capabilities
With Windows Virtual Desktop, you can set up a scalable and flexible environment:
- Create a full desktop virtualization environment in your Azure subscription without having to run any additional gateway servers.
- Publish as many host pools as you need to accommodate your diverse workloads.
- Bring your own image for production workloads or test from the Azure Gallery.
- Reduce costs with pooled, multi-session resources. With the new Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session capability exclusive to Windows Virtual Desktop and Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH) role on Windows Server, you can greatly reduce the number of virtual machines and operating system (OS) overhead while still providing the same resources to your users.
- Provide individual ownership through personal (persistent) desktops.
You can deploy and manage virtual desktops:
- Use the Windows Virtual Desktop PowerShell and REST interfaces to configure the host pools, create app groups, assign users, and publish resources.
- Publish full desktop or individual remote apps from a single host pool, create individual app groups for different sets of users, or even assign users to multiple app groups to reduce the number of images.
- As you manage your environment, use built-in delegated access to assign roles and collect diagnostics to understand various configuration or user errors.
- Use the new Diagnostics service to troubleshoot errors.
- Only manage the image and virtual machines, not the infrastructure. You don't need to personally manage the Remote Desktop roles like you do with Remote Desktop Services, just the virtual machines in your Azure subscription.
You can also assign and connect users to your virtual desktops: Baidu blank.
Virtual Desktop For Mac
- Once assigned, users can launch any Windows Virtual Desktop client to connect users to their published Windows desktops and applications. Connect from any device through either a native application on your device or the Windows Virtual Desktop HTML5 web client.
- Securely establish users through reverse connections to the service, so you never have to leave any inbound ports open.
Requirements
There are a few things you need to set up Windows Virtual Desktop and successfully connect your users to their Windows desktops and applications.
We plan to add support for the following OSes, so make sure you have the appropriate licenses for your users based on the desktop and apps you plan to deploy:
| OS | Required license |
|---|---|
| Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session or Windows 10 Enterprise | Microsoft 365 E3, E5, A3, A5, F1, Business Windows E3, E5, A3, A5 |
| Windows 7 Enterprise | Microsoft 365 E3, E5, A3, A5, F1, Business Windows E3, E5, A3, A5 |
| Windows Server 2012 R2, 2016, 2019 | RDS Client Access License (CAL) with Software Assurance |
Your infrastructure needs the following things to support Windows Virtual Desktop:
- An Azure Active Directory
- A Windows Server Active Directory in sync with Azure Active Directory. You can configure this with one of the following:
- Azure AD Connect (for hybrid organizations)
- Azure AD Domain Services (for hybrid or cloud organizations)
- An Azure subscription that contains a virtual network that either contains or is connected to the Windows Server Active Directory
The Azure virtual machines you create for Windows Virtual Desktop must be:
- Standard domain-joined or Hybrid AD-joined. Virtual machines can't be Azure AD-joined.
- Running one of the following supported OS images.
Note
Microsoft Virtual Desktop Manager
If you need an Azure subscription, you can sign up for a one-month free trial. If you're using the free trial version of Azure, you should use Azure AD Domain Services to keep your Windows Server Active Directory in sync with Azure Active Directory.
The Azure virtual machines you create for Windows Virtual Desktop must have access to the following URLs:
| Address | Outbound TCP port | Purpose | Service Tag |
|---|---|---|---|
| *.wvd.microsoft.com | 443 | Service traffic | WindowsVirtualDesktop |
| mrsglobalsteus2prod.blob.core.windows.net | 443 | Agent and SXS stack updates | AzureCloud |
| *.core.windows.net | 443 | Agent traffic | AzureCloud |
| *.servicebus.windows.net | 443 | Agent traffic | AzureCloud |
| prod.warmpath.msftcloudes.com | 443 | Agent traffic | AzureCloud |
| catalogartifact.azureedge.net | 443 | Azure Marketplace | AzureCloud |
| kms.core.windows.net | 1688 | Windows activation | Internet |
Important
Opening these URLs is essential for a reliable Windows Virtual Desktop deployment. Blocking access to these URLs is unsupported and will affect service functionality. These URLs only correspond to Windows Virtual Desktop sites and resources, and don't include URLs for other services like Azure Active Directory.
The following table lists optional URLs that your Azure virtual machines can have access to:
| Address | Outbound TCP port | Purpose | Service Tag |
|---|---|---|---|
| *.microsoftonline.com | 443 | Authentication to MS Online Services | None |
| *.events.data.microsoft.com | 443 | Telemetry Service | None |
| www.msftconnecttest.com | 443 | Detects if the OS is connected to the internet | None |
| *.prod.do.dsp.mp.microsoft.com | 443 | Windows Update | None |
| login.windows.net | 443 | Login to MS Online Services, Office 365 | None |
| *.sfx.ms | 443 | Updates for OneDrive client software | None |
| *.digicert.com | 443 | Certificate revocation check | None |
Microsoft Virtual Desktop Mac Pro
Note
Windows Virtual Desktop currently doesn't have a list of IP address ranges that you can whitelist to allow network traffic. We only support whitelisting specific URLs at this time.
For a list of Office-related URLs, including required Azure Active Directory-related URLs, see Office 365 URLs and IP address ranges.
You must use the wildcard character (*) for URLs involving service traffic. If you prefer to not use * for agent-related traffic, here's how to find the URLs without wildcards:
- Register your virtual machines to the Windows Virtual Desktop host pool.
- Open Event viewer and navigate to Windows logs > Application > WVD-Agent and look for Event ID 3702.
- Whitelist the URLs that you find under Event ID 3702. The URLs under Event ID 3702 are region-specific. You'll need to repeat the whitelisting process with the relevant URLs for each region you want to deploy your virtual machines in.
Windows Virtual Desktop comprises the Windows desktops and apps you deliver to users and the management solution, which is hosted as a service on Azure by Microsoft. Desktops and apps can be deployed on virtual machines (VMs) in any Azure region, and the management solution and data for these VMs will reside in the United States. This may result in data transfer to the United States.
For optimal performance, make sure your network meets the following requirements:
- Round-trip (RTT) latency from the client's network to the Azure region where host pools have been deployed should be less than 150 ms.
- Network traffic may flow outside country/region borders when VMs that host desktops and apps connect to the management service.
- To optimize for network performance, we recommend that the session host's VMs are collocated in the same Azure region as the management service.
Supported Remote Desktop clients
The following Remote Desktop clients support Windows Virtual Desktop:
Important
Windows Virtual Desktop doesn't support the RemoteApp and Desktop Connections (RADC) client or the Remote Desktop Connection (MSTSC) client.
Important
Windows Virtual Desktop doesn't currently support the Remote Desktop client from the Windows Store. Support for this client will be added in a future release.
The Remote Desktop clients must have access to the following URLs:
| Address | Outbound TCP port | Purpose | Client(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| *.wvd.microsoft.com | 443 | Service traffic | All |
| *.servicebus.windows.net | 443 | Troubleshooting data | All |
| go.microsoft.com | 443 | Microsoft FWLinks | All |
| aka.ms | 443 | Microsoft URL shortener | All |
| docs.microsoft.com | 443 | Documentation | All |
| privacy.microsoft.com | 443 | Privacy statement | All |
| query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com | 443 | Client updates | Windows Desktop |
Important
Opening these URLs is essential for a reliable client experience. Blocking access to these URLs is unsupported and will affect service functionality. These URLs only correspond to the client sites and resources, and don't include URLs for other services like Azure Active Directory.
Supported virtual machine OS images
Windows Virtual Desktop supports the following x64 operating system images:
Microsoft Virtual Desktop Access Subscription
- Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session, version 1809 or later
- Windows 10 Enterprise, version 1809 or later
- Windows 7 Enterprise
- Windows Server 2019
- Windows Server 2016
- Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Virtual Desktop does not support x86 (32-bit), Windows 10 Enterprise N, or Windows 10 Enterprise KN operating system images. Windows 7 also doesn't support any VHD or VHDX-based profile solutions hosted on managed Azure Storage due to a sector size limitation.
Available automation and deployment options depend on which OS and version you choose, as shown in the following table:
| Operating system | Azure Image Gallery | Manual VM deployment | Azure Resource Manager template integration | Provision host pools on Azure Marketplace | Windows Virtual Desktop Agent updates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 multi-session, version 1903 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Automatic |
| Windows 10 multi-session, version 1809 | Yes | Yes | No | No | Automatic |
| Windows 10 Enterprise, version 1903 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Automatic |
| Windows 10 Enterprise, version 1809 | Yes | Yes | No | No | Automatic |
| Windows 7 Enterprise | Yes | Yes | No | No | Manual |
| Windows Server 2019 | Yes | Yes | No | No | Automatic |
| Windows Server 2016 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Automatic |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 | Yes | Yes | No | No | Automatic |
Windows Virtual Desktop Mac Client
Next steps
Windows Virtual Desktop For Mac
To get started, you'll need to create a tenant. To learn more about how to create a tenant, continue to the tenant creation tutorial.