Flex on Azure Virtual Desktop is currently available as a limited Public Beta product and the information contained in this document is subject to change. This means that some features are not yet implemented and others may be changed before the product is declared as Generally Available. Public Beta products are not covered by a Twilio SLA.
If you use Azure Virtual Desktop environments, Flex on Azure Virtual Desktop provides the ability to run Flex while maintaining optimal call quality. Flex UI 2.4.1 and later improves audio quality by supporting Azure Virtual Desktop MMR.
This feature relies on Microsoft's multimedia redirection (MMR) for Azure Virtual Desktop, which is a browser extension. MMR is a Microsoft Preview feature, which means it is offered by Microsoft for optional evaluation.
When accessing Flex outside of Virtual Desktop, Flex is aware of the WebRTC credential of the browser where it is launched. Because Flex is being accessed in a Virtual Desktop environment, audio packets from Flex's backend are sent directly to that browser, and then the Virtual Desktop server is responsible for forwarding those packets to the end user's local device. This introduces extra latency and lengthy round-trip time. To solve this, MMR provides the end-user local device webRTC credentials to Flex, rather than the Virtual Desktop browser's, to establish the connection and send the audio packets directly.
The following are system requirements for the Azure Virtual Desktop server and remote device.
To set up Flex on Azure Virtual Desktop, complete the following steps:
Follow Microsoft's instructions to install the multimedia redirection extension.
When enabling the browser extension, be sure to enable the Preview version of the Microsoft Multimedia Redirection extension. If the GA version of the Microsoft Multimedia Redirection extension is present, disable it.
These steps might install a non-preview version of the MMR extension. However, Flex on Azure Virtual Desktop requires the Preview version. If necessary, you can install the Preview version of the MMR extension manually.
To do so, sign in to Azure Virtual Desktop and then open a Microsoft Edge or Chrome browser. Install the extension for your browser. Be sure to install Preview version 1.0.2402.20016 or later.
If you access your Flex environment on flex.twilio.com, you can skip this section.
If your Flex environment is self-hosted, you must perform the following steps:
Upgrade the Flex library to a version that supports Azure Virtual Desktop:
a. Download the latest version from the NPM registry.
b. Run the following command in your Flex project:
npm install @twilio/flex-ui@2.4.1
Follow these steps to validate your setup and ensure that Flex will automatically detect if you're running in a Virtual Desktop environment:
If MMR does not show that the call is being redirected, see The MMR extension is not loaded in the troubleshooting section.
Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call quality is influenced by environmental factors, such as:
It's important you review our deployment best practices and connectivity requirements documentation before taking your app to production. Browsers that support DSCP are able to tag call media packets sent by the voice client. Your router or network element can then use these tags to prioritize call media packets over other traffic on the network.
To capture logs from the MMR extension, open the MMR extension in your browser and select Show Advanced Settings. Next to Collect logs, click Start.
If you followed the steps in Validate the Azure Virtual Desktop setup and the MMR extension is not loaded, check the following:
If you have checked your environment and configuration and still have issues, contact Twilio support.
Microsoft and Twilio jointly support the delivery of Flex on Azure Virtual Desktop. If you experience an issue with Flex on Azure Virtual Desktop, open a support ticket with the vendor whose product you suspect to be causing the issue. In other words, if the problem seems like a Flex issue, open a support ticket with Twilio. If you suspect it's an Azure Virtual Desktop issue, open an Azure support ticket with Microsoft. You must have an active Microsoft license to receive support from Microsoft.
When Twilio or Microsoft receives the ticket, they will triage the issue and escalate it as appropriate. If they determine that the problem is caused by the other company's product, they will advise you to create a support ticket with the other company.