Amazon Workspaces is a service on the Amazon Web Services cloud that is fully managed, and allows the client to provision virtual desktops based entirely in the cloud, and allows authorized users to access documents, programs, or any other resources that they may wish to access from any supported device, which could be Windows OS computers, macOS computers, Chromebooks, iPads, Android or iOS devices, Amazon Fire tablets, or even the Chrome browser.
This service can easily be accessed through the Amazon Web Services management console, allowing for quick and easy deployment of cloud desktops for a multitude of users. Amazon WorkSpaces is a fully managed, secure cloud desktop service.
Amazon WorkSpaces helps you eliminate the complexity in managing hardware inventory, OS versions and patches, and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), which helps simplify your desktop delivery strategy. With Amazon WorkSpaces, your users get a fast, responsive desktop of their choice that they can access anywhere, anytime, from any supported device.
Amazon WorkSpaces Benefits:
Keep Your Data Secure:
Amazon WorkSpaces is developed with the Amazon Virtual Private Network (VPC) which provides each user encrypted storage volumes in the cloud that integrated with the AWS KMS (Key Management Service). The user’s data can’t be stored in the local device that helps to improve the security of the user’s data and reduces overall risks.
Simply Desktop Delivery:
Amazon WorkSpace is used to remove administrative tasks associated with managing your desktop life cycle that includes deploying, maintaining, recycling desktops and provisioning. No need for complex virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) development.
Control your Desktop Resources:
Amazon WorkSpace provides a quite range of CPU, memory and solid-state storage bundle configuration that dynamically modifies to right resources for your application. This reduces cost and no need to buy extra hardware.
Scale your Global Desktop Deployment:
The Amazon WorkSpaces is available in 13 AWS Regions which provides access to cloud desktops. AWS console allows you to manage the global deployment of many workSpaces. Hence you can provision or de-provision desktops as per your WorkSpace change.
Existing Directory:
Amazon WorkSpace securely adds your existing directory that includes Microsoft Active Directory. You can also manage user access control via IP access control groups that make it easy to control and manage user access to their WorkSpace with the existing tools.
Desktops at multiple Devices:
The users can access their Amazon workSpace from any devices like Windows or Mac computers, Chromebooks, Fire tablets, Android tablets and web browsers like chrome and Firefox.
Flexible Desktop OS Deployment
The Amazon WorkSpace provides windows 10 or Amazon Linux 2 desktop experience. You can bring your own Windows 10 desktops and run them on Amazon WorkSpace but you may get license compliant.
Amazon WorkSpaces Features
Features Amazon WorkSpaces provide are:
Functionality:
If you manage either traditional desktops or an on-site solution for a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), it requires a huge investment of capital, and it is difficult to deploy and manage.
Using a virtual desktop via cloud eliminates the upfront costs and the need for managing the desktop, because all of these will be taken care of by Amazon. It will be cost-effective, user-friendly and broadly accessible desktop experience for your users.
Amazon WorkSpaces Bundles:
To start off with WorkSpaces, choose a bundle that offers different hardware and software options, and launch the number of WorkSpaces you require. After the WorkSpaces are provisioned, you will receive a mail to proceed further by connecting them.
You can also create a custom image of your WorkSpace and create your own installed software bundle.
Pre-installed software bundles are Microsoft Office and Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security Services, and you can choose from Value plus, Standard plus, Performance plus, Power plus, PowerPro plus, Graphics plus, or GraphicsPro plus bundles.
Allowing to bring your own licenses
You can bring your own Windows desktop licenses to WorkSpace and run them on the hardware dedicated to you.
If you bring your own license, then a 16 percent reduction will be applicable for every WorkSpace. But for that your organization should be running at least 200 WorkSpaces in a given AWS region every month.
Easy provisioning:
It is very easy to provision desktops in AWS WorkSpaces just need to choose bundles that best suit your requirements and then launch one or more desktops.
When you no longer need a WorkSpace, you can easily delete it.
Persistent Storage:
A varying amount of persistent storage will be provided according to the bundle you have selected. The data that users store on their volume provided by WorkSpace is backed up to Amazon S3, so it provides reliability.
They can mount Amazon WorkDocs Drive to WorkSpaces, thus all the content in the WorkDocs Drive will be available for the users to use.
How does Amazon WorkSpaces works?
Amazon WorkSpaces uses a directory to store and manage information for your WorkSpaces and users. You can do any of the following:
- Create a Simple AD directory.
- Create an AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory, also known as AWS Managed Microsoft AD.
- Connect to an existing Microsoft Active Directory by using Active Directory Connector.
- Create a trust relationship between your AWS Managed Microsoft AD directory and your on-premises domain.
Amazon WorkSpaces Pricing:
You are charged based on the bundle type and the number of Amazon WorkSpaces you launch.
WorkSpaces provides the flexibility to pay monthly or hourly.
With monthly billing, you pay a fixed monthly fee for unlimited usage during the month, which is best for workers who use their Amazon WorkSpace full-time or as their primary desktop.
With hourly billing you pay a small fixed monthly fee per WorkSpace to cover infrastructure costs and storage, and a low hourly rate for each hour the WorkSpace is used during the month.
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