azure-avd-terraform-accelerator

🎉 NEW FEATURES - Production-Ready Enhancements

What’s New

Three new optional modules have been added to enhance your AVD deployment with enterprise-grade capabilities:

1. 🔐 Backup Module - Azure Backup for Session Hosts

Protect your session hosts with automated backup and recovery capabilities.

Features:

• Automated daily backups
• Customizable retention policies (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly)
• Soft delete protection
• Point-in-time recovery

Enable with:

enable_backup = true

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2. 🖼️ Image Gallery Module - Shared Image Gallery

Manage golden images for consistent, fast session host deployments.

Features:

• Versioned image management
• Windows 11 and Windows 10 multi-session support
• CI/CD integration for automated image building
• Faster VM provisioning

Enable with:

enable_image_gallery = true

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3. 📋 Policy Module - Azure Policy for Governance

Enforce compliance, security, and operational standards automatically.

Features:

• 6 pre-configured policies
• Automatic antimalware deployment
• VM size restrictions
• Tag enforcement
• Disk encryption auditing
• Diagnostic settings automation

Enable with:

enable_policies = true

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Quick Start

Option 1: Keep Current Deployment (Nothing Changes)

All new modules are disabled by default. Your existing deployments continue to work exactly as before.

Option 2: Enable New Features

1. Add new variables to your terraform.tfvars:

   # Copy the new variables from the separate file
   cat variables_new_modules.tf >> variables.tf
   

2. Use the example configuration:

   # Copy the all-features example
   cp terraform-all-features.tfvars.example terraform.tfvars
      
   # Edit with your values
   nano terraform.tfvars
   

3. Enable features you want:

   # In terraform.tfvars
   enable_backup        = true  # Add backup protection
   enable_image_gallery = true  # Add golden images
   enable_policies      = true  # Add governance
   

4. Deploy:

   terraform init
   terraform plan
   terraform apply
   

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Files Added

New Modules

modules/
├── backup/
│   ├── main.tf       # Azure Backup resources
│   ├── variables.tf  # Backup configuration options
│   └── outputs.tf    # Vault and policy IDs
├── image_gallery/
│   ├── main.tf       # Shared Image Gallery resources
│   ├── variables.tf  # Image definitions configuration
│   └── outputs.tf    # Gallery and image IDs
└── policy/
    ├── main.tf       # Azure Policy assignments
    ├── variables.tf  # Policy configuration options
    └── outputs.tf    # Policy assignment IDs

Documentation

• RECOMMENDATIONS.md - Comprehensive best practices guide
• EXAMPLE-ALL-FEATURES.md - Quick start guide
• terraform-all-features.tfvars.example - Complete configuration example
• variables_new_modules.tf - Variable definitions for new modules
• NEW-FEATURES.md - This file

Updated Files

• main.tf - Added 3 new module calls (conditionally enabled)

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What Happens When You Enable Each Module

Backup Module (enable_backup = true)

Resources Created:

• Recovery Services Vault
• Backup Policy with your retention settings
• Backup protection for all session host VMs

Cost: ~$10-30/VM/month (varies by retention and region)

When to Enable:

• ✅ Production environments
• ✅ Compliance requirements (data retention)
• ✅ Business continuity requirements

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Image Gallery Module (enable_image_gallery = true)

Resources Created:

• Shared Image Gallery
• Windows 11 Multi-Session image definition
• (Optional) Windows 10 Multi-Session image definition
• (Optional) RBAC for CI/CD service principal

Cost: ~$5/month

When to Enable:

• ✅ Need standardized images
• ✅ Pre-installed applications required
• ✅ Security hardening required
• ✅ Faster VM provisioning needed

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Policy Module (enable_policies = true)

Resources Created:

• 6 Azure Policy assignments:
  1. Require Managed Disks
  2. Allowed VM Sizes
  3. Require Environment Tag
  4. Deploy Antimalware
  5. Audit Disk Encryption
  6. VM Diagnostic Settings

Cost: Free

When to Enable:

• ✅ Need compliance enforcement
• ✅ Governance requirements
• ✅ Security standardization
• ✅ Cost control via VM size restrictions

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Configuration Options

Backup Module Variables

enable_backup                  = true
backup_frequency               = "Daily"          # Daily or Weekly
backup_time                    = "02:00"          # 24-hour format
backup_timezone                = "UTC"
backup_daily_retention_count   = 30               # 7-9999 days
backup_weekly_retention_count  = 12               # 0-5163 weeks
backup_monthly_retention_count = 12               # 0-1188 months
backup_yearly_retention_count  = 5                # 0-99 years

Image Gallery Module Variables

enable_image_gallery           = true
create_win11_image_definition  = true
create_win10_image_definition  = false
image_builder_principal_id     = ""               # Optional: Service Principal for CI/CD

Policy Module Variables

enable_policies                = true
policy_require_environment_tag = true
policy_allowed_vm_sizes        = ["Standard_D2s_v5", "Standard_D4s_v5", ...]
policy_deploy_antimalware      = true
policy_audit_disk_encryption   = true
policy_enable_vm_diagnostics   = true

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Migration Path

If you have an existing deployment:

1. Review RECOMMENDATIONS.md

Understand all best practices and decide which features you need.

2. Update Variables

Add new variables to your existing variables.tf:

cat variables_new_modules.tf >> variables.tf

3. Update Configuration

Add feature flags to your terraform.tfvars:

# Start with backup (safest, most valuable)
enable_backup = true

# Add image gallery later
enable_image_gallery = false

# Add policies last
enable_policies = false

4. Test in Dev/Test First

terraform plan  # Review changes
terraform apply # Apply to dev/test environment

5. Gradually Enable Features

• Week 1: Enable backup
• Week 2: Test recovery, enable image gallery
• Week 3: Build golden images
• Week 4: Enable policies

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Support & Documentation

• Comprehensive Guide: See RECOMMENDATIONS.md
• Example Config: See terraform-all-features.tfvars.example
• Quick Start: See EXAMPLE-ALL-FEATURES.md
• Architecture: All modules in modules/ directory

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Backward Compatibility

✅ 100% backward compatible - All new features are disabled by default.

Your existing deployments will continue to work without any changes. The new modules are only created if you explicitly enable them.

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Next Steps

1. Read RECOMMENDATIONS.md for full best practices
2. Review terraform-all-features.tfvars.example
3. Enable features one at a time
4. Test in non-production first
5. Monitor costs and compliance

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Questions?

Check the documentation files or review the module source code in modules/ directory. All modules are fully commented and include validation rules.

Happy deploying! 🚀