Ubuntu Pro Lands on WorkSpaces Elastic Fleets, Licence Lean Linux Desktops on Demand

Leaner Smarter EUC for Modern Enterprises

If you run end user computing (EUC) at scale, you’ve probably lived this story: a project spins up, a cohort of contractors arrives, or a seasonal peak hits, so you provision more virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) capacity “just in case”. Three months later, half those desktops sit idle, but the licence meter keeps running and the operational drag (patching, directory dependencies, image sprawl, support tickets) never really goes away.

This is where a more modern pattern helps: ephemeral, non-persistent desktop streaming sessions you can turn on only when users need them, without inheriting the full weight of traditional VDI.

The shift: from “desktops you own” to “sessions you stream”

Amazon WorkSpaces Applications Elastic fleets are a pool of streaming instances that AWS manages for you. When users launch their desktop or app experience, WorkSpaces Applications assigns capacity from that pool and streams the session to the user. AWS describes Elastic fleets as a managed pool that removes the need for capacity planning and scaling policies.

A few details matter for enterprise architects:

• Pay for sessions, not idle capacity. Elastic fleet streaming is charged only for the duration of the streaming session, billed in seconds with a 15-minute minimum.
• Apps and desktops are delivered using app blocks (VHDs). At launch, the app block is downloaded and mounted to the streaming instance.
• No domain join for Elastic fleets. AWS documentation is blunt here: “Amazon Linux 2 fleets, image builders, elastic fleets, and app block builders currently do not support domain join.”
• Identity can be decoupled from Active Directory (AD). WorkSpaces Applications supports SAML federation and offers a built-in User Pool as an alternative to managing users through Active Directory or SAML.

Net result, Elastic fleets are built for variable user populations and organisations that want to reduce directory coupling, persistent desktop overhead, and licence noise.

The December 2025 unlock: Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS on Elastic fleets

On 18 December 2025, AWS announced that WorkSpaces Applications Elastic fleets now support Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS.

This matters because it pairs an “only-pay-when-used” streaming model with a Linux desktop baseline designed for enterprise security and long-term maintenance.

AWS also added Ubuntu Pro 24.04 explicitly into the platform surface area, for example, the WorkSpaces Applications API lists UBUNTU_PRO_2404 as a supported platform for Elastic fleets.

In the wake of re:Invent 2025’s WorkSpaces focus on VDI modernisation and workplace transformation, this December release is a practical extension, a simpler, licence-lean way to deliver desktops for transient workforces.

Why Ubuntu Pro and why it’s different from “generic Linux”

Ubuntu Pro is Canonical’s enterprise offering for Ubuntu, focused on security maintenance and compliance readiness. Canonical positions Ubuntu Pro around long term security maintenance, kernel livepatching, and compliance tooling (for example, FIPS enablement and certifications).

For many IT leaders, the appeal is straightforward:

• Long term security maintenance. Canonical emphasises extended maintenance and expanded security coverage.
• Support for compliance postures. Ubuntu Pro documentation highlights compliance artefacts (for example, Common Criteria) and security profiles (for example, CIS and DISA STIG references).

Please note that Ubuntu Pro is designed to extend security maintenance and support compliance-oriented controls (including Common Criteria references and security profile tooling). That can be especially valuable for healthcare and government environments, where the “upgrade every year” approach conflicts with validation and change-control reality.

Licence reality check: where the savings can show up fast

With Windows-based streaming desktops, you may incur Microsoft Remote Desktop Services subscriber access licence (RDS SAL) costs. AWS pricing for WorkSpaces Applications states that each user who starts a session on Microsoft Windows Server is charged an RDS SAL fee for that month (for example, $4.19 per user per month for single-session fleets; $6.42 for multi-session).

AWS ties the RDS SAL fee to fleets running the Microsoft Windows Server operating system.

Simple benchmark (licence overhead only):
If 1,000 contractors each start at least one Windows Server streaming session in a month, the RDS SAL line item alone can be about $4,190 per month (1,000 × $4.19) before you’ve counted compute, storage, or image build overhead.

Moving those transient users to Ubuntu Pro 24.04 Elastic fleets can remove the Windows Server specific SAL line item, while still giving users a full desktop experience.

WorkSpaces “standard” vs Elastic fleets: where each fits

Call to action: build a funded EUC POC with Noventiq

If you’re trying to simplify VDI, reduce licence overhead, or modernise contractor access, a structured EUC Proof of Concept is a practical path:

• Pick one high-impact cohort (for example, 200 contractors, a finance shared service team, a university lab).
• Stand up Ubuntu Pro 24.04 Elastic fleets with SSO and PrivateLink where required.
• Validate user experience (latency, peripherals), security controls, and the cost model against your current VDI baseline.
• Decide whether to scale or blend with persistent WorkSpaces where it makes sense.

As an AWS EUC partner, Noventiq can align this with AWS funding motions and, where relevant, connect it to broader migration programmes so EUC becomes an accelerator, not a parallel initiative.

👉 Book your meeting to discuss your potential next step