Create a Stack in Amazon AppStream 2.0

To set up and create a stack

1. In the left navigation pane, choose Stacks, and then choose Create Stack.

2. For Step 1: Stack Details, Under Stack details, enter a unique name identifier for the stack. Optionally, you can do the following:

   • Display name — Enter a name to display for the stack (maximum of 100 characters).

   • Description— Enter a description for the stack (maximum of 256 characters).

   • Redirect URL — Specify a URL to which users are redirected after their streaming sessions end.

   • Feedback URL — Specify a URL to which users are redirected after they click the Send Feedback link to submit feedback about their application streaming experience. If you do not specify a URL, this link is not displayed.

   • Fleet — Select an existing fleet or create a new one to associate with your stack.

   • Streaming Protocol Preference — Specify the streaming protocol you’d like your stack to prefer, UDP or TCP. UDP is currently only supported in the Windows native client. For more information, see System Requirements and Feature Support (AppStream 2.0 Client).

   • Tags — Choose Add Tag, and type the key and value for the tag. To add more tags, repeat this step. For more information, see Tagging Your Amazon AppStream 2.0 Resources.

   • VPC Endpoints (Advanced) — You can create a private link, which is an interface VPC endpoint (interface endpoint), in your virtual private cloud (VPC). To start creating the interface endpoint, select Create VPC Endpoint. Selecting this link opens the VPC console. To finish creating the endpoint, follow steps 3 through 6 in To create an interface endpoint, in Tutorial: Creating and Streaming from Interface VPC Endpoints.

     After you create the interface endpoint, you can use it to keep streaming traffic within your VPC.

   • Embed AppStream 2.0 (Optional) — To embed an AppStream 2.0 streaming session in a webpage, specify the domain to host the embedded streaming session. Embedded streaming sessions are only supported over HTTPS [TCP port 443].

     Note

     You must meet prerequisites and perform additional steps to configure embedded AppStream 2.0 streaming sessions. For more information, see Embed Amazon AppStream 2.0 Streaming Sessions.

3. Choose Next.

4. For Step 2: Enable Storage, you can provide persistent storage for your users by choosing one or more of the following:

   • Home Folders — Users can save their files to their home folder and access existing files in their home folder during application streaming sessions. For information about requirements for enabling home folders, see Enable Home Folders for Your AppStream 2.0 Users.

   • Google Drive for Google Workspace — Users can link their Google Drive for Google Workspace account to AppStream 2.0. During application streaming sessions, they can sign in to their Google Drive account, save files to Google Drive, and access their existing files in Google Drive. You can enable Google Drive for accounts in Google Workspace domains only, not for personal Gmail accounts.

     Note

     Enabling Google Drive is not supported for Linux-based stacks or stacks associated with multi-session fleets.

     Note

     After you select Enable Google Drive, type the name of at least one organizational domain that is associated with your Google Workspace account. Access to Google Drive during application streaming sessions is limited to users that are in the domains that you specify. You can specify up to 10 domains. For more information about requirements for enabling Google Drive, see Enable Google Drive for Your AppStream 2.0 Users.

   • OneDrive for Business — Users can link their OneDrive for Business account to AppStream 2.0. During application streaming sessions, they can sign in to their OneDrive account, save files to OneDrive, and access their existing files in OneDrive. You can enable OneDrive for accounts in OneDrive domains only, not for personal accounts.

     Note

     Enabling OneDrive is not supported for Linux-based stacks or stacks associated with multi-session fleets..

     Note

     After you select Enable OneDrive, enter the name of least one organizational domain that is associated with your OneDrive account. Access to OneDrive during application streaming sessions is limited to users that are in the domains that you specify. You can specify up to 10 domains. For more information about requirements for enabling OneDrive, see Enable OneDrive for Your AppStream 2.0 Users.

5. Choose Next.

6. For Step 3: User Settings, configure the following settings. When you're done, choose Review.

   Clipboard, file transfer, print to local device, and authentication permissions:

   Note

   Smart card sign in for Active Directory is currently not available for multi-session fleets.

   • Clipboard — By default, users can copy and paste data between their local device and streaming applications. You can limit Clipboard options so that users can paste data to their remote streaming session only or copy data to their local device only. You can also disable Clipboard options entirely. Users can still copy and paste between applications in their streaming session. You can choose Copy to local device character limit or Paste to remote session character limit or both to limit the amount of data that users can copy or paste when using the clipboard, either in or out of their AppStream 2.0 streaming session. The value can be between 1 and 20,971,520 (20 MB), and defaults to the maximum value when unspecified.

   • File transfer — By default, users can upload and download files between their local device and streaming session. You can limit file transfer options so that users can upload files to their streaming session only or download files to their local device only. You can also disable file transfer entirely.

     Important

     If your users require AppStream 2.0 file system redirection to access local drives and folders during their streaming sessions, you must enable both file upload and download. To use file system redirection, your users must have AppStream 2.0 client version 1.0.480 or later installed. For more information, see Enable File System Redirection for Your AppStream 2.0 Users.

   • Print to local device — By default, users can print to their local device from within a streaming application. When they choose Print in the application, they can download a .pdf file that they can print to a local printer. You can disable this option to prevent users from printing to a local device.

   • Password sign in for Active Directory — Users can enter their Active Directory domain password to sign in to an AppStream 2.0 streaming instance that is joined to an Active Directory domain.

     You can also enable Smart card sign in for Active Directory. At least one authentication must be enabled.

   • Smart card sign in for Active Directory — Users can use a smart card reader and smart card connected to their local computer to sign in to an AppStream 2.0 streaming instance that is joined to an Active Directory domain.

     You can also enable Password sign in for Active Directory. At least one authentication method must be enabled.

   Note

   Clipboard, file transfer, and print to local device settings — These settings control only whether users can use AppStream 2.0 data transfer features. If your image provides access to a browser, network printer, or other remote resource, your users might be able to transfer data to or from their streaming session in other ways.

   Authentication settings — These settings control only the authentication method that can be used for Windows sign in to an AppStream 2.0 streaming instance (fleet or image builder). They do not control the authentication method that can be used for in-session authentication, after a user signs in to a streaming instance. For information about configuration requirements for using smart cards for Windows sign in and in-session authentication, see Smart Cards. These settings are not supported for Linux-based stacks.

   Time zone:

   • Set time zone automatically for remote session — This setting syncs the time zone used for streaming to match the time zone set on the user's device. Users can override this and set their own preferred time zone.

   Application settings persistence:

   • Enable Application Settings Persistence — Users' application customizations and Windows settings are automatically saved after each streaming session and applied during the next session. These settings are saved to an Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) bucket in your account, within the AWS Region in which application settings persistence is enabled.

   • Settings Group — The settings group determines which saved application settings are used for a streaming session from this stack. If the same settings group is applied to another stack, both stacks use the same application settings. By default, the settings group value is the name of the stack.

   Note

   For information about requirements for enabling and administering application settings persistence, see Enable Application Settings Persistence for Your AppStream 2.0 Users.

7. For Step 4: Review, confirm the details for the stack. To change the configuration for any section, choose Edit and make the needed changes. After you finish reviewing the configuration details, choose Create.