Sold by: Arara Solutions
Deployed on AWS
Free Trial
AWS Free Tier
Amazon Linux 2 AMI with a full MATE graphical desktop environment, pre-configured
for remote access via VNC and xRDP. Ready-to-use GUI instance for development,
administration, and browser-based workflows on AWS. Maintained and supported by
Arara Solutions.
Overview
Overview
Arara Solutions presents a production-ready Amazon Linux 2 Amazon Machine Image (AMI) pre-installed with the MATE desktop environment and configured for remote graphical access via both VNC and xRDP. This image eliminates the multi-step process of installing and configuring a desktop environment on a headless cloud instance, giving you a fully functional graphical Linux desktop accessible from any VNC viewer or Remote Desktop client within minutes of launch.
Who It Is For
This AMI is designed for developers, system administrators, cloud architects, and technical teams who need a graphical Linux desktop hosted on AWS EC2. Common use cases include interactive development and testing workflows that benefit from a GUI, remote administration of AWS resources using graphical tools, browser-based access to internal web applications or dashboards, lightweight virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) scenarios, and educational or lab environments where a graphical interface simplifies the user experience.
AWS Integration
The instance operates natively within the AWS EC2 ecosystem and is compatible with a wide range of AWS services. AWS Systems Manager (SSM) Session Manager can be used alongside SSH or RDP for secure instance access without exposing additional ports. Amazon CloudWatch Agent can be installed post-launch for metrics and log collection. EBS volumes can be encrypted at launch using AWS Key Management Service (KMS) customer-managed keys. Security Groups provide network-level access control for VNC (TCP 5901) and RDP (TCP 3389) ports, enabling granular control over who can reach the desktop remotely.
Why Choose This Image
Setting up a graphical desktop environment on a cloud Linux instance from scratch involves installing the right package groups, configuring display managers, setting up VNC and xRDP services, managing startup scripts, and troubleshooting compatibility between components. Arara Solutions handles all of this complexity, delivering a pre-configured, tested AMI where the desktop environment is ready to use immediately after launch. The VNC password is set securely per instance via cloud-init, and both VNC and xRDP services start automatically on boot.
Highlights
- Easy remote access via VNC or RDP
- Intuitive and attractive Mate desktop environment
- Highly responsive GUI (Graphical User Interface) via Internet
Details
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Delivery method
Delivery option
64-bit (x86) Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
Latest version
Operating system
AmazonLinux 2
Deployed on AWS
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Features and programs
Financing for AWS Marketplace purchases
AWS Marketplace now accepts line of credit payments through the PNC Vendor Finance program. This program is available to select AWS customers in the US, excluding NV, NC, ND, TN, & VT.
Pricing
Free trial
Try this product free for 11 days according to the free trial terms set by the vendor. Usage-based pricing is in effect for usage beyond the free trial terms. Your free trial gets automatically converted to a paid subscription when the trial ends, but may be canceled any time before that.
Pricing is based on actual usage, with charges varying according to how much you consume. Subscriptions have no end date and may be canceled any time.
Additional AWS infrastructure costs may apply. Use the AWS Pricing Calculator to estimate your infrastructure costs.
If you are an AWS Free Tier customer with a free plan, you are eligible to subscribe to this offer. You can use free credits to cover the cost of eligible AWS infrastructure. See AWS Free Tier for more details. If you created an AWS account before July 15th, 2025, and qualify for the Legacy AWS Free Tier, Amazon EC2 charges for Micro instances are free for up to 750 hours per month. See Legacy AWS Free Tier for more details.
Dimension | Cost/hour |
|---|---|
t3.large Recommended | $0.01 |
t2.micro | $0.01 |
t3.micro | $0.01 |
g4dn.2xlarge | $0.01 |
c4.8xlarge | $0.01 |
i3en.xlarge | $0.01 |
c5ad.24xlarge | $0.01 |
i3en.6xlarge | $0.01 |
c4.large | $0.01 |
c5ad.4xlarge | $0.01 |
Dimensions summary
You pay by the hour for the Amazon Linux 2 desktop image, with no upfront commitment. The price you pay depends on which Amazon EC2 instance type you run. Each dimension maps to a specific instance size, from small shared instances to large compute, memory, storage, GPU, and bare-metal options. Larger instances with more CPU, memory, or specialized hardware carry higher hourly rates. You choose the instance that fits your workload, and billing scales with the number of hours you keep it running.
Top-of-mind questions for buyers
You get the Amazon Linux 2 image with the Mate desktop, running on the Amazon EC2 instance type you select. Each dimension maps to one instance size with fixed CPU, memory, and hardware. You access it remotely through VNC or RDP. The rate covers the software license per hour.
The software charge meters running hours only. A fully stopped instance does not accrue the hourly software fee. Charges resume when you start it again. Note that stopped instances may still incur underlying AWS storage costs for attached volumes, which are billed separately by AWS.
There are no overage charges or tiers. You change capacity by launching a different instance type from the list. Each type has its own hourly rate. To scale up, stop your current instance and relaunch on a larger size, then pay that size's rate for the hours you run it.
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Vendor refund policy
Instance billed by hour of actual use, terminate at any time and it will stop incurring charges. No refunds available.
Legal
Vendor terms and conditions
Upon subscribing to this product, you must acknowledge and agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the vendor's End User License Agreement (EULA) .
Content disclaimer
Vendors are responsible for their product descriptions and other product content. AWS does not warrant that vendors' product descriptions or other product content are accurate, complete, reliable, current, or error-free.
Delivery details
64-bit (x86) Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
An AMI is a virtual image that provides the information required to launch an instance. Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instances are virtual servers on which you can run your applications and workloads, offering varying combinations of CPU, memory, storage, and networking resources. You can launch as many instances from as many different AMIs as you need.
Version release notes
Updated AMI with latest security patches and improvements
Additional details
Usage instructions
- Launch the instance either via AWS MarketPlace wizard or EC2 console
SSH Access
- Configure the Security Group to open Inbound TCP port 22 from your location or a trusted CIDR range.
- Use an SSH client (for example: https://www.putty.org ) to connect to the instance's IP on port 22.
- Authenticate to the instance using the key pair selected during the instance launch. The user name is ec2-user.
VNC Remote Desktop Access
- Configure the Security Group to open Inbound TCP port 5901 from your location or a trusted CIDR range.
- Use a VNC viewer (e.g., TigerVNC Viewer, RealVNC) to connect to: <instance-public-ip>:5901
- The VNC password is set automatically at first boot via cloud-init. It is derived from the EC2 instance ID (characters 3-10). You can retrieve it by connecting via SSH first.
- (Ex: for the instance id i-1a2b3c4d5e6f7g8h9 , the password would be 1a2b3c4d)
xRDP Remote Desktop Access (Alternative)
- Configure the Security Group to open Inbound TCP port 3389 from your location or a trusted CIDR range.
- Use an RDP client (e.g., Microsoft Remote Desktop) to connect to: <instance-public-ip>:3389
- Username: ec2-user
- Password: same as the VNC password (derived from the instance ID).
- (Ex: for the instance id i-1a2b3c4d5e6f7g8h9 , the password would be 1a2b3c4d)
Additional Information
Monitoring the Health of the instance
- Navigate to your Amazon EC2 console and verify that you're in the correct region.
- Choose Instance and select your launched instance.
- Select the server to display your metadata page and choose the Status checks tab at the bottom of the page to review if your status checks passed or failed.
Data Encryption
- This image does not provide encryption by default at the Operating System or Application level, customers are encouraged to enable EBS encryption during the Instance Launch: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSEncryption.html
- EBS Encryption using the Default key enables key rotation
- More details: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSEncryption.html#kms-key-rotation
- Using EBS encryption, the decryption is done automatically when using the instance.
- Customer data can be saved anywhere in the instance, however it is a good practice to save user data (including sensitive data) in the /home/<user-name> directory.
Resources
Vendor resources
Support
Vendor support
Arara Solution provides limited support for launching and connecting to your instance. http://arara.solutions/support/ or support@arara.solutions
AWS infrastructure support
AWS Support is a one-on-one, fast-response support channel that is staffed 24x7x365 with experienced and technical support engineers. The service helps customers of all sizes and technical abilities to successfully utilize the products and features provided by Amazon Web Services.
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