Microsoft Certified: Configuring and Operating Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop (AZ-140)

Moving desktops to Azure Virtual Desktop changes how your team handles images, user profiles, networking, and app delivery. When those pieces are configured inconsistently, the result is slow logons, broken profiles, and more escalations to the service desk. This AZ-140 training gives your team one shared, repeatable approach to building and running AVD.

Role fit: This course suits systems administrators with at least a year of Azure experience. It also works for experienced admins who are validating their skills. Networking is covered as a refresher, not a deep dive. Team Leads may want to pair it with AZ-700 content for engineers who own VPN and virtual network design.

Time investment: Plan for about 16.4 hours across 18 skills per learner, plus hands-on practice. The course opens with PowerShell and ARM/Bicep templates because the exam expects scripted deployment. Learners who are new to infrastructure as code should budget extra time for these early skills.

Change-management notes:

• Host pools: The course covers host pool concepts and deployment patterns so teams have a shared model for assigning users and managing AVD resources.
• Golden images: Image Builder and golden images standardize how teams build session hosts.
• FSLogix: Cloud cache and failover settings support profile resilience.
• Disaster recovery and monitoring: Dedicated skills cover a DR strategy and the fundamentals of monitoring and securing AVD.

How CBT Nuggets supports the rollout:

• Playlists: Use Playlists to sequence the PowerShell primer ahead of the deployment skills.
• Practice Exams: Use Practice Exams to gauge readiness against AZ-140 objectives before learners schedule the exam.
• Team Reporting: Use Team Reporting to track progress across your AVD project team.

IT teams complete this training to move Azure Virtual Desktop from a one-off proof of concept to a repeatable, supportable service. The course builds from a single Windows 11 desktop to a domain-joined host pool deployed with PowerShell, so Team Leads get a consistent build process instead of hand-configured session hosts.

• Safer rollouts, fewer user-facing outages: Your team learns to designate a validation host pool and have users test service and app updates there before changes reach the production host pool.
• Fewer profile and login escalations: Practitioners work through the FSLogix workflow for storage accounts, permissions, and configuration, giving support teams a clearer path for handling profile-related issues.
• Right-sized capacity and better session quality: Engineers plan host pools around workload types, from data entry to graphics-intensive power users, with users-per-session-host math. They also implement RDP Shortpath and verify that sessions use UDP over the private network.
• More consistent desktop and app delivery: Your team works with image-building concepts for Azure Virtual Desktop and uses Azure tooling to prepare hosts for repeatable deployment. They also cover remote app delivery as part of managing virtual desktop experiences.

The course also covers IPsec tunnels to on-premises networks, device redirection policies, disaster recovery, and monitoring. Together, these topics give an IT Director's team the lifecycle knowledge needed to run AVD in production.

Knowledge

• How host pools, session hosts, application groups, and workspaces fit together under resource groups and subscriptions, including validation versus production host pools
• How to size personal and pooled desktops across workload categories, from data entry through power users running graphics-intensive work
• VDI networking essentials, including virtual networks, VNet peering, and DNS considerations for Azure Virtual Desktop
• How storage planning, permissions, and authentication considerations support Azure Virtual Desktop deployments
• How golden images and Azure Image Builder standardize session host builds and app installs
• Disaster recovery, monitoring, and security fundamentals for Azure Virtual Desktop

Ability

• Read and run PowerShell, Azure CLI, JSON, and Bicep ARM templates to deploy infrastructure as code
• Deploy a domain-joined host pool end to end with PowerShell, including installing the AVD agent and boot loader with a registration key
• Prepare storage, set permissions, and troubleshoot profile or storage access issues using Azure Monitor and Log Analytics
• Build golden images and use Image Builder to install applications
• Publish full desktops and RemoteApp streaming apps to assigned users, and customize device redirection via GPO or RDP properties
• Apply a disaster recovery strategy and monitor and secure the AVD environment