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Azure Virtual Desktop (classic) PowerShell

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Important

This content applies to Azure Virtual Desktop (classic), which doesn't support Azure Resource Manager Azure Virtual Desktop objects. If you're trying to manage Azure Resource Manager Azure Virtual Desktop objects, see this article.

Use this article to resolve errors and issues when using PowerShell with Azure Virtual Desktop. For more information on Remote Desktop Services PowerShell, see Azure Virtual Desktop PowerShell.

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PowerShell commands used during Azure Virtual Desktop setup

This section lists PowerShell commands that are typically used while setting up Azure Virtual Desktop and provides ways to resolve issues that may occur while using them.

Error: Add-RdsAppGroupUser command -- The specified UserPrincipalName is already assigned to a RemoteApp app group in the specified Host Pool

Add-RdsAppGroupUser -TenantName <TenantName> -HostPoolName <HostPoolName> -AppGroupName 'Desktop Application Group' -UserPrincipalName <UserName>

Cause: The username used has been already assigned to an application group of a different type. Users can't be assigned to both a remote desktop and RemoteApp application group under the same session host pool.

Fix: If user needs both a RemoteApp and desktop, create different host pools or only grant user access to the remote desktop, which will permit the use of any application on the session host VM.

Error: Add-RdsAppGroupUser command -- The specified UserPrincipalName doesn't exist in the Microsoft Entra ID associated with the Remote Desktop tenant

Add-RdsAppGroupUser -TenantName <TenantName> -HostPoolName <HostPoolName> -AppGroupName "Desktop Application Group" -UserPrincipalName <UserPrincipalName>

Cause: The user specified by the -UserPrincipalName cannot be found in the Microsoft Entra tied to the Azure Virtual Desktop tenant.

Fix: Confirm the items in the following list.

  • The user is synched to Microsoft Entra ID.
  • The user isn't tied to business to consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B) commerce.
  • The Azure Virtual Desktop tenant is tied to correct Microsoft Entra ID.

Error: Get-RdsDiagnosticActivities -- User isn't authorized to query the management service

Get-RdsDiagnosticActivities -ActivityId <ActivityId>

Cause: -TenantName parameter

Fix: Issue Get-RdsDiagnosticActivities with -TenantName <TenantName>.

Error: Get-RdsDiagnosticActivities -- the user isn't authorized to query the management service

Get-RdsDiagnosticActivities -Deployment -username <username>

Cause: Using -Deployment switch.

Fix: -Deployment switch can be used only by deployment administrators. These administrators are usually members of the Remote Desktop Services/Azure Virtual Desktop team. Replace the -Deployment switch with -TenantName <TenantName>.

Error: New-RdsRoleAssignment -- the user isn't authorized to query the management service

Cause 1: The account being used doesn't have Remote Desktop Services Owner permissions on the tenant.

Fix 1: A user with Remote Desktop Services owner permissions needs to execute the role assignment.

Cause 2: The account being used has Remote Desktop Services owner permissions but isn't part of the tenant's Microsoft Entra ID or doesn't have permissions to query the Microsoft Entra ID where the user is located.

Fix 2: A user with Active Directory permissions needs to execute the role assignment.

Note

New-RdsRoleAssignment cannot give permissions to a user that doesn't exist in the Microsoft Entra ID.

Error: SessionHostPool could not be deleted

This error usually happens when you run the following command to try to remove a session host.

Remove-RdsHostPool -TenantName <TenantName> -Name <HostPoolName>

Cause: If you run the command before deleting the host pool's leaf objects, it won't work.

Fix: Run the following command to delete the session host.

Get-RdsSessionHost-TenantName <TenantName> -Hostpook <HostPoolName> | Remove-RdsSessionHost -Force

Using the force command will let you delete the session host even if it has assigned users.

Next steps