Amazon Web Services has added an Ubuntu option for customers who use Amazon Workspaces to distribute virtual desktops.
Ubuntu joins AWS’ own Microsoft Windows and Amazon Linux options on Amazon Workspaces. The Ubuntu desktop is aimed directly at developers and data scientists.
As AWS points out, a 2020 HackerEarth developer survey found it was preferred by 66% of professional developers, making it more widely used than Windows (61%).
“Starting today, you can also provision Ubuntu desktops for your developers, engineers, or data scientists. This allows virtual desktop users to have more choice and adopt new categories of workloads. It also gives virtual desktop administrators a consistent experience whether you’re managing Windows or Linux-based desktops for your staff. Now you can have one process and one set of tools to manage the majority of your desktop operating systems.” Sebastien Stormacq from AWS said in a blog post.
Workspace pricing is either monthly, for users who primarily use Workspaces as their primary office, or hourly for your staff members who occasionally use the workspace. Ubuntu Workspace pricing starts at $23 per month per workstation or $0.19 per hour.
Ubuntu bundle through Amazon WorkSpaces is available from $23 per month with 1 CPU, 2 GB memory, 80 GB root volume/10 GB user volume. Options are up to 8 CPUs with 32 GB memory , which start at $125 per month. Windows Workspaces start at $25 per month.
“Many DevOps developers or engineers have a bunch of well-tested scripts, tools, or libraries on their Ubuntu desktops or laptops. Providing an Ubuntu desktop on workspaces gives developers and engineers a familiar environment and compatible allowing them to work from anywhere, with access to a wealth of open source tools and libraries in cutting-edge areas such as data science, AI/ML, cloud and IoT,” Stormacq said.
AWS’ Ubuntu offering uses version 22.04 LTS (aka Jammy Jellyfish). All Ubuntu workspaces get Ubuntu Pro, which includes support and security fixes for 10 years.
Ubuntu 22.04 for the desktop, released earlier this year, has mainstream support for five years, which means it’s good until April 2027. Canonical provides essential support, such as security patches, for 10 years . The Ubuntu Workspaces offering comes pre-installed with the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI) and SDKs.
Currently, users can only sign in using Workspaces Windows or Web clients. AWS plans to enable connections from Linux and macOS clients soon.
AWS will also add GPU-based Graphics.g4dn and GraphicsPro.g4dn bundles in the coming weeks. These instances feature NVIDIA GPUs and custom Intel Cascade Lake processors. The two GPU bundles will cost $537 and $959 per month respectively.
Ubuntu workspaces are available in all AWS Regions where workspaces are available, except China Ningxia Region. Amazon WorkSpaces is available some of the Availability Zones for each supported region.
