Persistence is the Core Design Principle
Imagine your office laptop, but hosted in an AWS data center. You log in Monday morning, your files are where you left them Friday, your browser tabs are still open, and your custom IDE configuration is intact. That is WorkSpaces. It is designed for full-time employees who need a consistent, personalized computing environment every day.
- Stateful: When the user logs off and returns next week, their open Notepad file is still there. Their wallpaper, installed applications, and local files persist across sessions.
- 1:1 Mapping: Each user gets their own dedicated EC2 instance behind the scenes. One user, one WorkSpace. There is no sharing.
- Directory Integration (Required): WorkSpaces requires a directory service to handle authentication. You must choose one of: Simple AD (lightweight, AWS-managed), AWS Managed Microsoft AD (full Active Directory), or AD Connector (proxy to your on-premises AD). You cannot create a standalone WorkSpace without a directory — this is a hard dependency, not optional.
Billing Models
WorkSpaces offers two billing modes, and choosing the right one depends on usage patterns:
- Monthly (Always-On): A flat monthly fee. The WorkSpace runs 24/7. Best for users who work full-time hours and need instant access at any time.
- Hourly (AutoStop): A small monthly base fee plus an hourly charge when the WorkSpace is running. The instance stops automatically after a configurable idle period. Best for part-time users or contractors. Gotcha: AutoStop WorkSpaces take 1–2 minutes to resume from stopped state — users experience a "cold start" delay.
Protocols: PCoIP vs. WSP
When creating a WorkSpace, you choose the streaming protocol. This choice is permanent — you cannot change it after creation without rebuilding the WorkSpace. Choose based on your users' network conditions and hardware.
PCoIP (PC-over-IP):
- The industry-standard protocol, originally developed by Teradici.
- Robust and widely supported by dedicated "Zero Client" hardware devices (thin clients purpose-built for VDI).
- UDP-heavy by design, which means it performs poorly on high-latency or high-packet-loss networks (e.g., hotel Wi-Fi, satellite connections).
- Best for: office environments with stable, low-latency networks and existing Zero Client hardware investments.
WSP (WorkSpaces Streaming Protocol):
- AWS's cloud-native protocol, built specifically for WorkSpaces.
- Adapts between TCP and UDP based on network conditions — more resilient on poor connections.
- Supports bidirectional audio/video (webcams, microphones work reliably — critical for video calls).
- Required for Smart Card authentication (CAC/PIV cards used in government and defense).
- Best for: remote workers on variable networks, video-conferencing use cases, and regulated industries requiring smart card login.
Interviewers frequently ask: "A government contractor needs WorkSpaces with CAC smart card authentication. Which protocol do you choose?" The answer is WSP — PCoIP does not support smart card (CAC/PIV) authentication. Follow up by noting that WSP also handles poor network conditions better, making it the modern default for new deployments unless legacy Zero Client hardware mandates PCoIP.