Amazon WorkSpaces Features,Functionality and WAM
The AWS Workspaces have very essential functionality and features which we can use with the Amazon WorkSpaces Application Manager i.e.WAM tool.
Features and Functionality of Amazon WorkSpaces
1. Functionality
2. Streaming protocols
3. WorkSpaces bundles
4. Get your own licenses
5. Simple provisioning
6. Encrypted and secure
7. Storage persistency
1. Functionality
If you manage either on-site solutions for traditional desktops or virtual desktop infrastructure (VDIs), it requires significant capital investment and it’s difficult to deploy and manage.
Using virtual desktops through the cloud eliminates the cost and the need to manage desktops, as Amazon will take care of all of those. This will be a cost-effective, user-friendly and widely accessible desktop experience.
2. Streaming protocols
Amazon Workspace uses streaming protocols to provide users with a safe and high-quality experience. These protocols encode the rendering of the user's desktop and transmit the pixels to the user's device as a stream analyzing hosted desktops, networks, and the user's device to select compression and decryption algorithms i.e called as codecs.
Amazon Maze Workspace includes PC-over-IP (PCoIP) streaming protocol from Teradici, and you can also try out the new Amazon Workspace Streaming Protocol (WSP) beta. To set up PCoIP Connection Manager for Amazon WorkSpaces on an EC2 instance, you can visit AWS Marketplace and find an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) which you can use to launch an instance with PCoIP Connection Manager.
3. WorkSpaces bundles
To get started with workspaces, select a bundle offering different hardware and software options and launch the number of workspaces you need. Once the workspace is provisioned, you will receive mail to connect them and to get started.
You can create your own installed software bundle and custom images of your workspaces.
4. Get your own licenses
You can bring your own Windows desktop licenses to the workspace and run them on your dedicated hardware.
You will get a 16 percent reduction applied to each workspace if you bring your own license. To avail this your organization must maintain at least 200 work areas in the given AWS region each month.
5. Simple provisioning
Providing desktops in the AWS workspace is very easy, you just have to select the best bundle that suits your needs and then launch one or more desktops.
Also, you can easily delete a workspace if you no longer need it.
6. Encrypted and secure
The Amazon Workspace helps you to achieve compliance and security requirements, including HIPAA-compliance and PCI compliance.
The PC-over-IP (PCoIP) remote display protocol is used by the workspace which provides the user with a familiar desktop experience while the data resides in the AWS cloud.
Amazon workspace integrates with AWS Key Management Service (KMS) to provide you the ability to encrypt the storage volume of workspaces using a KMS as Customer Master Key (CMK).
When launching a new workspace, you have the option to encrypt the storage drives, encrypting the rest of the data with snapshots created from the data and volume in transit.
7. Storage persistency
Different types of collections will be provided as per the bundle you select. The Data stored on the users' volumes provided by the workspace is backed up to the Amazon Mason S3, so this provides reliability.
They can be mounted from the Amazon WorkDocs drive to the workspace, thus all the contents of the WorkDocs drive will be available for use by users.
Amazon WorkSpaces Application Manager (Amazon WAM)
You can get a fast, flexible, and secure way to deploy and manage your applications for Amazon WorkSpaces with Amazon WorkSpaces Application Manager (Amazon WAM).
Amazon WAM speeds up software deployment, upgrades, patching, and retirement with the packaging of Microsoft Windows desktop applications into virtualized application containers.
These applications run on end-user Amazon workspaces as if they were originally installed.
Amazon WAM allows you to create and curate a selection of desktops for your users and control access to those applications.
You can create a third party application catalog for your already developed custom applications and for the applications purchased from the AWS Marketplace for desktop apps.
User-based pay as you go, pricing model, ensures that you need to only pay for the applications you use. You can create a Free Account for it or Sign In to the Console.
Amazon provides twelve months of access to the AWS Free Tier and to use the AWS Basic Support features with 24x7x365 customer service, support forums, and more.
Availability: Currently the Amazon WorkSpaces is not available on the AWS Free Tier.
Benefits of Amazon WAM
Easy to manage and on scale the applications
Wide range of applications building
Visibility and control
Users Empowerment
Low cost
Easy to manage and on scale the applications
Amazon WAM provides the workspaces as virtualized containers in the workspace while complementing the centralized control, security, and easy-to-use management consoles. Also, it handles all your upgrades, patching and retirement of your applications.
Wide range of applications building
Amazon WAM enables Microsoft Windows applications to be packaged and deployed to users within your organization.
Create and manage an application catalog of third-party applications that you already have licenses for, internally-developed custom applications and apps purchased through the AWS Marketplace for desktop.
Visibility and control
You can track the real-time use of applications, Manage it’s license usage by applications, versions, users or groups so you only pay for the apps you use.
Users empowerment
It reduces the IT burden and increases user productivity by allowing users to select and install the applications they need.
Low cost
Amazon WAM has simple features, pay as you go, monthly, per-user value. It eliminates the need for up-front investment in software and hardware to manage and deploy applications, and reduce the cost of managing applications.
References: Official Amazon Website
