AWS adds 32-vCPU option and an easier on-ramp to its cloudy desktops

Amazon Web Services has flicked the switch on a pair of workstation-grade cloud desktops that, ironically, highlight a problem with the tech.

The cloud giant’s desktop-as-a-service offering is called “WorkSpaces” and on Wednesday two new instance types were annoucned: the GeneralPurpose.4xlarge with 16vCPUs and 64GB of memory, and the GeneralPurpose.8xlarge which packs 32vCPUs and 128 GB RAM. Both also include a 175GB root volume – the virtual disk that includes the OS image – and 100GB of storage for users’ files.

The instance types are billed as suitable for the kind of applications that are often run on workstation-class PCs: engineering data-analysis tool Matlab, the statistical analysis package R, and big software compilation jobs all get a mention as suitable workloads.

The GeneralPurpose.8xlarge instance type is Amazon’s first to offer 32 vCPUs.

It’s not cheap when Windows is included, at $590 a month, and $295 for the 16 vCPU version. Hourly prices of $4.56 and $2.28 an hour are available after paying $19/month. Prices are lower if you bring your own Windows license – but by less than ten percent. This appears to be an Windows-only offer for now, as no pricing for the instance types is listed when running the Linux distributions supported on other WorkSpaces.

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The two new instance types join the Power and PowerPro offerings – which include dedicated video memory – as earning Amazon’s recommendation for those who want “the best experience with video conferencing”.

Cloudy desktops can offer a speedy user experience, but can sometimes struggle with apps like video conferencing that need uninterrupted realtime data flows. Microsoft admits its Teams collaborationware can’t deliver “optimized” video and audio chat on cloudy desktops, and also offers a version of the software tailored for cloud PCs. The company suggests redirecting video and voice calls to the local device used to access cloudy desktops.

With its advice that only its mightiest WorkSpaces deliver “the best” vidchats, Amazon’s approach seems to be just to throw more compute resources at the problem.

Amazon’s not all about brute force with its cloudy desktops: Earlier this week it announced tweaks to its Amazon EC2 Image Builder that allow direct conversion of Microsoft Windows ISO files to Amazon Machine Images, the virtual appliance format used to boot a VM in AWS.

Orgs with big Windows desktop fleets will generally maintain a “golden” image of their preferred PC setup. That can now be converted into an AMI used to boot an AWS Workspace, an arrangement that Amazon says will make it easier to bring your own license. It will also mean more consistency for cloudy PCs, meaning users' existing PC management tools and processes should apply - perhaps making cloud PCs more palatable? ®