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AZ-305 Design data storage solutions Practice Question

Which THREE considerations are important when designing a storage solution for Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) user profiles using FSLogix? (Choose three.)

⚠ Common exam trap

Many candidates confuse geo-redundant storage (GRS) as a necessary disaster recovery feature for user profiles, but FSLogix containers are stateless or backed up via alternative methods, and GRS introduces consistency risks that are incompatible with the real-time locking requirements of FSLogix.

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.

Correct answer & explanation

✓

Use Azure Files as the storage solution.

Azure Files is the recommended storage solution for FSLogix profile containers in AVD because it supports SMB protocol, which FSLogix requires for proper locking and concurrent access. It also integrates natively with Microsoft Entra ID for identity-based access control, eliminating the need for domain-joined storage. This ensures seamless user profile roaming across session hosts with minimal latency when deployed in the same region.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

  • ✓

    Use Azure Files as the storage solution.

    Why this is correct

    Azure Files is the correct storage solution for Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) because it provides fully managed SMB 3.0 file shares, which are a prerequisite for FSLogix profile containers. FSLogix loads user profiles as VHDX files mounted over SMB, and Azure Files natively supports this with identity-based authentication via Active Directory Domain Services or Microsoft Entra ID. This integration allows you to keep profiles in a secure, cloud-native share that scales with your session host environment.

  • ✗

    Use a public endpoint for profile storage.

    Why it's wrong here

    Exposing the Azure Files share to a public endpoint is a security risk that contradicts the principle of least privilege. SMB traffic to a public endpoint traverses the public internet, which can be intercepted or subjected to unauthorized access if storage account keys or SAS tokens are leaked. Instead, you should use a private endpoint with a private IP address inside your virtual network, ensuring that all profile traffic stays within Azure's encrypted backbone and is isolated from internet-facing exposure.

  • ✓

    Provision sufficient IOPS for user profiles.

    Why this is correct

    FSLogix profile containers are I/O-intensive, especially during user sign-in and sign-out when the VHDX file is mounted or unmounted, and throughout the day as applications read and write profile data. If the Azure Files share's IOPS allocation is too low, users will experience slow logons, application hangs, or even errors indicating that the profile cannot be loaded. You must provision sufficient IOPS—often using premium file shares with per-share IOPS guarantees—to match the performance demands of concurrent session hosts.

  • ✗

    Enable geo-redundant storage (GRS) for disaster recovery.

    Why it's wrong here

    Geo-redundant storage is not a required design consideration for FSLogix profile storage because profiles are typically session-state data that can be regenerated or rebuilt, not irreplaceable business data. GRS replicates to a secondary region and introduces additional cost, write latency, and potential consistency issues, while offering little benefit for a service that is usually tied to a single region. Locally redundant storage (LRS) or zone-redundant storage (ZRS) provides sufficient resilience against hardware failures and regional zone outages without the overhead of geo-replication.

  • ✓

    Ensure low latency between session hosts and storage.

    Why this is correct

    Low latency between AVD session hosts and the storage account holding FSLogix profiles is essential because the profile VHD/VHDX is mounted over the network and every file operation is subject to the round-trip delay. High latency can cause slow sign-in, delayed profile loading, and unresponsive desktop applications, degrading the overall user experience. To keep latency low, you should place the storage account in the same Azure region as your session hosts and consider using a private endpoint to avoid egress through the internet or unnecessary intermediate hops.

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