Amazon AppStream 2.0 Documentation

Amazon AppStream 2.0 lets you move your desktop applications to AWS. AppStream 2.0 offers a selection of virtual machine options so that you can select the instance type that matches your application requirements, and set the auto-scale parameters. AppStream 2.0 allows you to launch applications in your own network, which means your applications can interact with your existing AWS resources.

Amazon AppStream 2.0 enables you to install, test, and update your applications using the image builder. When your testing is complete, you can set application launch configurations, configure default user settings, and publish your image for users to access. Using managed AppStream 2.0 image updates, you can keep your images up to date with operating system updates, driver updates, and AppStream 2.0 agent software.

Amazon AppStream 2.0 runs your applications on virtual machines (VMs) called streaming instances, which provide the GPU, CPU, memory, storage, and networking capacity you need. With AppStream 2.0, you can choose from a selection of them to optimize the performance of your applications, and reduce your overall costs. Users access their applications from the same streaming instance, and a streaming instance is assigned to only one user at any time.

With Amazon AppStream 2.0, your desktop applications can be launched inside an Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). You can use VPC security groups to provide access control to streaming instances, and to manage users' access to the resources in your VPC. You can also specify how your desktop applications access the public internet.

Amazon AppStream 2.0 supports federated sign-in using SAML 2.0. Users can sign in to AppStream 2.0 using their existing credentials, and start streaming applications. As an administrator, you can use your existing user directory to control end-user access to applications available via AppStream 2.0. You can add or remove access for users or groups, restrict access based on user locations, and enable multi-factor authentication.

Amazon AppStream 2.0 supports federated sign-in using SAML 2.0. Users can sign in to AppStream 2.0 using their existing credentials, and start streaming applications. As an administrator, you can use your existing user directory to control end-user access to applications available via AppStream 2.0. You can add or remove access for users or groups, restrict access based on user locations, and enable multi-factor authentication.

Your Amazon AppStream 2.0 streaming instances can connect to your Microsoft Active Directory (AD) domain. This allows you to apply your existing AD policies to your streaming instances, and provides your users with single sign on access to Intranet sites, file shares, and network printers from within their applications.

Your users can use certain smart cards to sign in to an AppStream 2.0 streaming instance. Smart cards are also supported for in-session authentication for streaming applications.  

Amazon AppStream 2.0 allows you to monitor the utilization of your AppStream 2.0 fleet resources using Amazon CloudWatch metrics. You can see the size of your fleet, the number of instances you have running, and the available capacity for new connections. You can also track utilization over time, which helps you understand if your fleet is the correct size. Using CloudWatch, you can set alarms to notify you when there is insufficient capacity to support your users, and to react to changes in your fleet.

AppStream 2.0 allows you to scale the size of your fleet to match the supply of running instances to user demand. Each running instance in a fleet is designed to be used by only one user at a time, which means the size of your fleet determines the number of users who can stream concurrently. Scaling policies are designed to adjust the size of your fleet based on utilization metrics. Each new fleet that you create using the AppStream 2.0 console is configured with default scale out and scale in policies, which you can customize. You can also create your own scaling policies for each of your fleets.

Amazon AppStream 2.0 includes APIs that you can use to integrate and extend the service. The APIs enable you to create, update, and delete AppStream 2.0 resources, and provide information about resource states. You can create URLs for administrators to connect to their image builders to install applications, and create URLs for users to access their AppStream 2.0 applications.

Amazon AppStream 2.0 allows you to access your desktop applications from HTML5-capable browsers. You can also access your desktop applications using the AppStream 2.0 Windows Client to use dual monitors and USB peripherals such as 3D mice. The Windows Client also supports keyboard shortcuts, such as Alt + Tab, clipboard shortcuts, and function keys. The Windows Client and some web browsers support real-time audio-video (AV) when connecting to AppStream 2.0 sessions.

Amazon AppStream 2.0 offers multiple options for persistent file storage to allow users to store and retrieve files between their application streaming sessions. Your home folders can be accessed from the my files tab within an active AppStream 2.0 streaming session, and content can be saved or opened from the File menu in most apps.

Amazon AppStream 2.0 offers multiple user interfaces. You can run multiple applications and switch and interact with them. You can copy and paste between applications and your local machine, upload or download files, and print to your local or network printer. You can also listen to audio output from applications, and control the bandwidth and fidelity for the experience. With the AppStream 2.0 Windows Client, your applications integrate with your local machine.

Amazon AppStream 2.0 uses NICE DCV technology to provide access to your applications. NICE DCV delivers an interactive experience for business, design, engineering, and software development applications. It delivers a pixel stream to your end users and adjusts to network conditions. 

With Amazon AppStream 2.0, your application streams and user input flows through a streaming gateway on AWS over HTTPS. Streaming instances are designed to not be directly accessible from the internet, and users can access their applications through the streaming gateway after being authenticated.

Amazon AppStream 2.0 is available in multiple AWS regions. You can host your AppStream 2.0 resources in multiple AWS regions, and direct users to the closest AWS region.

For additional information about service controls, security features and functionalities, including, as applicable, information about storing, retrieving, modifying, restricting, and deleting data, please see https://docs.aws.amazon.com/index.html. This additional information does not form part of the Documentation for purposes of the AWS Customer Agreement available at http://aws.amazon.com/agreement, or other agreement between you and AWS governing your use of AWS’s services.