The start VM on connect setting for Azure Virtual Desktop automatically turns on a VM that is in a deallocated state when a user attempts to connect to it. With this setting you can deallocate VMs that are not in use to save cost while ensuring that users can connect to it if needed.
Keep in mind that we have the following limitations currently with the public preview:
- You can configure the setting on validation pool only (we will update this post when you can enable on non-validation too).
- You can apply this setting for personal host pools only.
- You can access this setting from PowerShell and Rest API only.
Learn more about additional pre-requisites and set-up guidance in our documentation.