Everything Azure for MSP's - March 2021

This page is open for comments and contribution for items related to the March 2021 Everything Azure for MSP's.

The Everything Azure for MSP's webinar is held monthly on the last Wednesday of every month at 2:00p CT.  Be sure to block that recurring time on your calendar.  

Join us in April as we have a guest speaker and will discuss NMM Global features

Questions and Answers

• What is the best Autoscale trigger to use (in NMM)? 
  • This is a hard question to answer since it depends on the users and environment factors of the client. However, we see the "CPU Usage" trigger used most often since it's the most flexible and doesn't require detailed information about the resource consumption of each user.
• When would you recommend using low vs high aggressiveness when configuring auto-scale on a pool?
  • Low aggressiveness is great when the client doesn't ever want "disconnected" or "active" users kicked from their sessions. In this case maybe they work on sensitive data that they can't risk losing. Applying low aggressiveness here is appropriate, however keep in mind that it will cost more to run the environment since Auto-Scale will be limited on what VMs it can scale-in. 
  • High aggressiveness is great when cost savings is the number one concern. This trigger will scale-in hosts even if there are "disconnected' or "active" users working. In these cases we find it most beneficial to set work hours and only have auto-scale engage after work hours. That way you limit disruption to end users while they work. This allows for great cost savings, while also ensuring an excellent end-user experience. 
• How often do you see partners set their auto-scale to zero base and zero active to save on cost?
  • This is not something we see used very often. This is generally best applied when the client environment will only exist for a few months. Maybe it's a POC, or even a project environment that will be spun down after the project is complete. In these cases it doesn't make sense to purchase a 3-year Reservice Instance from Microsoft. Instead simply setting expectations with the client about environment availability and configuring it to auto-scale down to zero base and zero active will ensure the most cost savings. 
• Does NMM CE allow for pricing multiple Pools?
  • Yes, you can price out multiple Multi-User and Single User Desktops and Pools.  For further details please click here.
• Who can I speak with to better understand Azure discounts?
  
  • Please setup time to speak with your Nerdio Partner Sales Executive.  If you don't currently have one, please visit here. 
• Can I send the estimate directly to my client via NMM CE?
  • We don't recommend sending these quotes directly to the prospect as they are representative of your cost and won't include margin, labor or other value added services. 
• In regards to the FS01 not reaching over 2TB without an additional disk being added. Couldn't this be circumvented by using a disk in GPT mode as opposed to MBR?
  
  • Yes, but the current automation requires the disk to be created using MBR. When you create a new disk that is larger than 2TB, it uses GPT by necessity.
• What do I do if I go through all of the FSLogix troubleshooting steps you’ve recommended and still can’t get logged in?
  
  • If all recommended troubleshooting has been exhausted, you'll need to reach out to Microsoft for further assistance since FSLogix is a basic component of AVD.
• I have a 3rd party tool for disk management. Can I use that to convert my disk from MBR to GPT?
  
  • There are tools that can perform tasks like this, but we can't recommend them due to the risk of data loss should problems arise during the process. 3rd party tools to manipulate disks are used at your own discretion and risk.