What is Amazon WorkSpaces? - Amazon WorkSpaces
WorkSpaces Personal and WorkSpaces PoolsPricingFeaturesAccess your WorkSpacesGet started with WorkSpaces
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What is Amazon WorkSpaces?

Amazon WorkSpaces enables you to provision virtual, cloud-based Microsoft Windows, Amazon Linux 2, Ubuntu Linux, or Red Hat Enterprise Linux desktops for your users, known as WorkSpaces. WorkSpaces eliminates the need to procure and deploy hardware or install complex software. You can quickly add or remove users as your needs change. Users can access their virtual desktops from multiple devices or web browsers.

For more information, see Amazon WorkSpaces.

WorkSpaces Personal and WorkSpaces Pools

Amazon WorkSpaces allows you to create the following 2 types of WorkSpaces, depending on your organization and user needs.

  • WorkSpaces Personal - WorkSpaces Personal offer persistent virtual desktops, tailored for users who need a highly-personalized desktop provisioned for their exclusive use, similar to a physical desktop computer assigned to an individual. For more information, see Create a WorkSpace in WorkSpaces Personal.

  • WorkSpaces Pool - WorkSpaces Pool offer non-persistent virtual desktops, tailored for users who need access to highly-curated desktop environments hosted on ephemeral infrastructure. For more information, see Administer WorkSpaces Pools.

Pricing

For WorkSpaces pricing details and examples, see WorkSpaces Pricing.

Features

  • Choose between WorkSpaces Personal or WorkSpaces Pools. For more information, see WorkSpaces Personal and WorkSpaces Pools.

  • Choose your operating system (Windows, Amazon Linux, Ubuntu Linux. Red Hat Enterprise Linux) and select from a range of hardware configurations, software configurations, and Amazon Regions. For more information, see Amazon WorkSpaces Bundles and Create a custom WorkSpaces image and bundle for WorkSpaces Personal.

  • Choose your protocol: PCoIP or WorkSpaces Streaming Protocol (WSP). For more information, see Protocols for WorkSpaces Personal.

  • Connect to your WorkSpace and pick up from right where you left off. WorkSpaces provides a persistent desktop experience.

  • WorkSpaces provides the flexibility of either monthly or hourly billing for WorkSpaces. For more information, see WorkSpaces Pricing.

  • For Windows desktops, you can bring your own licenses and applications, or purchase them from the Amazon Marketplace for Desktop Apps.

  • Create a standalone managed directory for your users, or connect your WorkSpaces to your on-premises directory so that your users can use their existing credentials to obtain seamless access to corporate resources. For more information, see Manage directories for WorkSpaces Personal.

  • Use the same tools to manage WorkSpaces that you use to manage on-premises desktops.

  • Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) for additional security.

  • Use Amazon Key Management Service (Amazon KMS) to encrypt data at rest, disk I/O, and volume snapshots.

  • Control the IP addresses from which users are allowed to access their WorkSpaces.

Access your WorkSpaces

You can connect to your WorkSpaces by using the client application for a supported device by using a supported web browser on a supported operating system.

Note

You cannot use a web browser to connect to Amazon Linux WorkSpaces.

There are client applications for the following devices:

  • Windows computers

  • macOS computers

  • Ubuntu Linux 18.04 computers

  • iPads

  • Android devices

  • Fire tablets

  • Zero client devices (Teradici zero client devices are supported only with PCoIP.)

For more information, see WorkSpaces Clients in the Amazon WorkSpaces User Guide.

Get started with WorkSpaces

To create a WorkSpace, try one of the following tutorials:

You might also want to explore these resources to learn more about Amazon WorkSpaces: