New VDI solution for Teams on AVD/Windows 365 environments now generally available

Today, Microsoft is excited to announce the general availability of a new VDI solution for Teams in Azure Virtual Desktops/Windows 365 environments.

As we explained Previous BlogThis new architecture more closely ties the Teams user experience between physical and virtual desktops.

By introducing a new media engine (the same one used by the Teams native Windows app) that is separate from the remote desktop client and always up-to-date, we can introduce features faster without upgrading your VDI infrastructure.

As part of our launch activities, we wanted to provide a FAQ based on all the interactions we had with customers during the public preview phase, so that all IT admins can get a helpful summary of common questions.

What are the new core components?

First, install the latest version of Teams (24193.1904.3031.6050 or later).

Second, the latest version of the Remote Desktop client or Windows app. Windows EndpointIt’s a small dll (~230KB) that bundles a component called “plugin”, which closes the virtual channel and downloads the third and final component, the media engine (aka “SlimCore”).

Do I need to deploy WebRTC-based optimizations as a prerequisite to get the new SlimCore-based optimizations?

No, you can deploy the new SlimCore-based optimizations yourself (i.e. the WebRTC Redirector Service and IsWVD environment (The RD host does not need a regkey for the new optimization, but you can leave it as is if you have endpoints that do not support the new optimization.)

What are the benefits of new optimizations based on SlimCore?

More features (See full list here), improved performance (less resource consumption on endpoints, faster call setup times, higher resolutions, new codecs, etc.), automatic updates thanks to a decoupled architecture from the VDI environment, and streamlined support for all Teams issues.

Do I need administrator privileges to install the plugin?

No. The plugin ships with the Remote Desktop Client MSI or the Windows app MSIX, so you can choose how you want to install it (per-user or per-machine).

So, I don’t need to deploy SlimCore to the endpoints?

That’s right! All of this is handled transparently by the plugin. The plugin uses Microsoft’s public CDN (https://res.cdn.office.net/*) and automatically provisions and registers users for you. No admin rights or reboots required on the endpoint.

The plugin maintains up to 12 SlimCore versions and cleans them up after 6 months. The team always instructs the plugin to load the exact version of SlimCore it needs.

Can multiple SlimCore versions coexist on the same endpoint?

Yes – up to 12 versions. This is intended to provide faster optimization when users connect to different VDI environments with different Teams versions (e.g. persistent and non-persistent virtual desktops). SlimCore MSIX packages can coexist as they all have different PackageFamilyNames.

Use the PowerShell command ‘Get-AppXPackage *SlimCore*’ to enumerate all versions available on the endpoint.

How often are new versions of the plugin released?

The plugin used for SlimCore-based optimization (MsTeamsPluginAvd.dll) is designed to be a lightweight component (and therefore small in size, ~230KB). This becomes even more evident when compared to the previous WebRTC plugin (MsRdcWebRTCAddIn.dll ~17MB).

MsTeamsPluginAvd has two main tasks: setting up a virtual channel and downloading SlimCore. It also plays a small role in screen sharing. This plugin is backwards and forwards compatible with SlimCore versions. This means that Microsoft does not force customers to upgrade the plugin (i.e., they can stay on a particular RD client or Windows app version as long as it is still supported).
Some new features may require new plugins, but we’ll still try to avoid that.

How often are new versions of SlimCore released?

Whenever a new version of Teams comes out, once or twice a month.

check here For more details.

Could you explain again what ‘auto-update’ means in this new architecture?

First of all, the new Teams are automatically updated. The release cycle for new Teams is once or twice a month. (Customers using non-persistent VDI environments will probably want to disable automatic updates.) This registry keyIn this case, the administrator must manually update the golden image.

The plugin ships with the Remote Desktop or Windows App client and can be automatically updated, but Microsoft is trying to avoid newer plugin versions so that it doesn’t require users to upgrade their Remote Desktop or Windows App clients.

Lastly, and most importantly, when Teams is upgraded (either automatically or after a golden image update), the plugin will request a new version of SlimCore. The plugin will then fetch it from Microsoft’s CDN and automatically provision it to the user’s device.

Can I deploy SlimCore myself if I have a locked environment (e.g. thin client)?

Although not recommended, there is a way to provision the SlimCore package ‘manually’ (using SCCM or Intune) just like any other MSIX package.

However, this approach is only recommended for specific scenarios (non-persistent VDI) where the endpoints are locked down and do not have internet connectivity to Microsoft’s public CDN where SlimCores is hosted.

To do this, you need to make sure that the SlimCore package is pre-deployed to your endpoints before updating Teams from the golden image. Otherwise, if the new version of Teams requires a new version of SlimCore and cannot load it, your users will be in fallback mode (aka server-side rendering).

Are networking changes expected due to the new optimizations?

yes. SlimCore handles both media and signals.So you need to configure your network to allow: ID 11, 12, 47 and 127It is also important to allow UDP 3478 traffic, as signaling will attempt to leverage UDP for faster call setup times.

Also, now you can apply too DSCP Marking / QoS Learn about the different modalities (video, audio, and screen sharing) in the Teams admin center.

Why do I need to restart Teams to switch between old and new optimizations?

By default, the first run will run on the old WebRTC-based optimizations, so you only need to restart once. Then, in the background, Teams will try to open a virtual channel and, if the user’s device has the plugin, it will try to use SlimCore (the new architecture) the next time Teams restarts.

What about the admins? Has there been any change in the availability of support?

There are a number of improvements. Teams Admin Center can now display full information about calls in progress on VDI, and you can create custom reports using the Call Quality Dashboard.

VM’s Event Viewer We are capturing all error codes that occur at our endpoints and exposing their meaning. This table.
But that’s not all, there’s more to come soon.

What happens if a user roams between a device that supports the new optimization and one that doesn’t (e.g. from Windows to Mac)?

Describes session roaming and reconnection. hereTo prevent users from being dropped into a non-optimized mode, we are releasing a new ‘restart dialog’ that prompts users to restart the app and optimize it back to a legacy WebRTC-based solution.

Is there a way to disable the new optimization?

It is enabled by default (organization-wide). You can disable it using: This PowerShell policyControl the rollout by re-enabling it at the user group level.

When will Mac and Linux endpoints be supported?

Please stay tuned for further announcements. Public Roadmap.

When will legacy WebRTC optimizations no longer be supported?

Microsoft will soon review the EOS/EOL timeline and announce it via Message Center Posts. No new features are planned for WebRTC-based optimizations (only security and critical bug fixes).

[JZ1]@Fernando Clurpan Customers also ask if WebRTC optimizations are required for VDI 2.0 operation, or if they still need to enable WebRTC-based optimizations if they are only implementing VDI 2.0 optimizations.