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Nested virtualization for WorkSpaces Personal - Amazon WorkSpaces
Supported configurationsPrerequisitesEnable or disable nested virtualizationRecommendationsKnown limitationsBehavior during lifecycle operations

Nested virtualization for WorkSpaces Personal

Nested virtualization allows you to run hypervisors such as Hyper-V and KVM inside your WorkSpace. This enables you to use development tools and workflows that require hardware virtualization support, including:

  • Docker Desktop

  • Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2)

  • Android Studio emulators

  • QEMU

With nested virtualization enabled, your WorkSpace gains processor-level virtualization support, allowing a hypervisor running inside the WorkSpace to create and manage virtual machines.

For more information about how nested virtualization works at the infrastructure level, see Use nested virtualization to run hypervisors in Amazon EC2 instances in the Amazon EC2 User Guide.

Supported configurations

Note

There is no additional cost for using nested virtualization. For pricing information, see Amazon WorkSpaces pricing.

Nested virtualization is supported with the following configurations:

Licensing models

  • Public (AWS-provided) bundles

  • Bring Your Own License (BYOL)

  • Bring Your Own Protocol (BYOP)

Operating systems

  • Windows Server 2019

  • Windows Server 2022

  • Windows Server 2025

  • Windows 11

  • Ubuntu 22.04 and newer

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and newer

  • Rocky 8 and newer

Protocol

  • DCV (WSP)

  • Bring Your Own Protocol (BYOP)

Bundle sizes

  • Most non-GPU bundle sizes (Standard, Performance, Power, PowerPro, GeneralPurpose). The Value bundle is not supported.

Regions

  • All AWS Regions where WorkSpaces Personal is available, excluding the China (Ningxia) Region and the Israel (Tel Aviv) Region.

Prerequisites

Before you enable nested virtualization on a WorkSpace, ensure the following requirements are met:

  • The WorkSpace must use either DCV (WSP) or Bring Your Own Protocol (BYOP). WorkSpaces using the PCoIP protocol are not supported.

  • The WorkSpace must use a non-GPU bundle.

  • The WorkSpace must not use the Value bundle size.

  • The WorkSpace must run a supported operating system: Windows Server 2019 or later, Windows 11, Ubuntu 22.04 or later, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 or later, or Rocky 8 or later. WorkSpaces based on Windows Server 2016, Windows 10, and Amazon Linux 2 do not support nested virtualization.

Enable or disable nested virtualization

You can enable or disable nested virtualization using the AWS Management Console, AWS CLI, or Amazon WorkSpaces API.

To enable nested virtualization during WorkSpace creation

  1. Open the WorkSpaces AWS Management Console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/workspaces/v2/home.

  2. Follow the steps to create a WorkSpace.

  3. Under Customization, expand the Nested virtualization section.

  4. Select Enable Nested Virtualization.

  5. Complete the remaining steps to create the WorkSpace.

To enable or disable nested virtualization on an existing WorkSpace using the AWS Management Console

  1. Open the WorkSpaces AWS Management Console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/workspaces/v2/home.

  2. In the navigation pane, choose WorkSpaces.

  3. Select the WorkSpace.

  4. Choose Actions, and then choose Enable Nested Virtualization or Disable Nested Virtualization.

The modification may take several minutes to complete. During the modification, the WorkSpace status shows as Modifying. After the modification completes, start the WorkSpace to use nested virtualization.

Tip

To verify the current nested virtualization state of a WorkSpace, select it in the AWS Management Console. In the detail view, the Summary section displays a Nested Virtualization field showing either Enabled or Disabled.

To enable or disable nested virtualization using the AWS CLI

  1. (Optional) Use the describe-workspaces command to verify the current state of the WorkSpace. The response includes a NestedVirtualizationEnabled property with a value of true or false.

    aws workspaces describe-workspaces \
    --workspace-id ws-example123456 \
    --region us-west-2

    Example output (relevant fields):

    {
    "Workspaces": [
        {
            "WorkspaceId": "ws-example123456",
            "State": "STOPPED",
            "WorkspaceProperties": {
                "RunningMode": "AUTO_STOP",
                "RunningModeAutoStopTimeoutInMinutes": 60,
                "RootVolumeSizeGib": 175,
                "UserVolumeSizeGib": 100,
                "ComputeTypeName": "POWER",
                "Protocols": [
                    "WSP"
                ],
                "NestedVirtualizationEnabled": true
            },
            "ModificationStates": []
        }
    ]
}

  2. Use the modify-workspace-properties command with the NestedVirtualizationEnabled property.

    To enable:

    aws workspaces modify-workspace-properties \
    --workspace-id ws-example123456 \
    --region us-west-2 \
    --workspace-properties NestedVirtualizationEnabled=true

    To disable:

    aws workspaces modify-workspace-properties \
    --workspace-id ws-example123456 \
    --region us-west-2 \
    --workspace-properties NestedVirtualizationEnabled=false

  3. Use the describe-workspaces command to verify that the modification completed successfully and the NestedVirtualizationEnabled property shows the expected value.

To enable or disable nested virtualization using AWS Tools for PowerShell

  1. (Optional) Use the Get-WKSWorkspace cmdlet to check the current nested virtualization state:

    (Get-WKSWorkspace -WorkspaceId $WORKSPACE_ID -Region $REGION).WorkspaceProperties.NestedVirtualizationEnabled

    This returns True or False.

  2. Use the Edit-WKSWorkspaceProperty cmdlet.

    To enable:

    Edit-WKSWorkspaceProperty -Region $REGION -WorkspaceId $WORKSPACE_ID `
    -WorkspaceProperties_NestedVirtualizationEnabled $true

    To disable:

    Edit-WKSWorkspaceProperty -Region $REGION -WorkspaceId $WORKSPACE_ID `
    -WorkspaceProperties_NestedVirtualizationEnabled $false

  3. Use the Get-WKSWorkspace cmdlet to verify the modification completed successfully:

    (Get-WKSWorkspace -WorkspaceId $WORKSPACE_ID -Region $REGION).WorkspaceProperties.NestedVirtualizationEnabled
To enable or disable nested virtualization using the API

Use the ModifyWorkspaceProperties API action with the NestedVirtualizationEnabled parameter set to true or false.

To check the current state, use the DescribeWorkspaces API action and inspect the NestedVirtualizationEnabled property in the response.

Recommendations

  • Use Power (4 vCPU) or higher bundle sizes. While nested virtualization is supported on most non-GPU bundle sizes, hypervisors and nested virtual machines consume additional compute resources. For the best experience, we recommend Power or larger bundles.

  • Validate application performance. Test and validate your workloads with nested virtualization enabled to make sure they meet your performance requirements.

Known limitations

  • AutoStop mode with Windows Server 2025 and Windows 11 24H2/25H2 — WorkSpaces configured with AutoStop running mode that have nested virtualization enabled on Windows Server 2025 or Windows 11 24H2/25H2 perform a full reboot instead of hibernating when the WorkSpace times out. This results in longer resume times and loss of the user's prior session, including any unsaved work. If you require fast resume and/or session persistence, use AlwaysOn running mode for these WorkSpaces.

  • GPU-based bundles — Nested virtualization is not supported on GPU WorkSpaces.

  • Unsupported operating systems — Nested virtualization is not supported on WorkSpaces running Windows Server 2016, Windows 10, or Amazon Linux 2.

  • Standby WorkSpaces — Nested virtualization is not supported on Standby WorkSpaces.

Behavior during lifecycle operations

The nested virtualization setting is preserved during the following WorkSpace lifecycle operations:

  • Restore — When you restore a WorkSpace, the nested virtualization setting is preserved and applied to the restored WorkSpace.

  • Rebuild — When you rebuild a WorkSpace, the nested virtualization setting is preserved and applied to the rebuilt WorkSpace.

  • Migrate — When you migrate a WorkSpace to a new bundle, the nested virtualization setting is carried over to the migrated WorkSpace, as long as the new bundle is compatible with nested virtualization.