Overview of Secure Desktops
The Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Secure Desktops service allows an administrator to create a set of identically configured virtual desktops, which individual users can then securely access.
Secure Desktops is ideal for organizations that need to provide employees with controlled access to a preconfigured desktop environment. An administrator can create pools of desktops in their tenancy, based on existing compute shapes or custom images. All configuration for the desktop and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is completed by the administrator, making it possible for non-technical users to securely access and use a virtual desktop for their day-to-day work. Secure Desktops controls all access to the virtual desktops, protecting Oracle Cloud Infrastructure resources and customer data from malicious client activity.
The Secure Desktops service provides:
- A way to create and maintain a large number of identical desktops.
- Controlled access to a virtual desktop for potentially non-technical users.
- Data security by storing data on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure resources and not on an individual client device.
A virtual desktop provides:
- Access to applications on a different operating system than your client device. For instance, you may have a Linux device, but need to access software that only runs on Windows.
- Access to more powerful resources, such as more CPUs and memory, storage, and so on.
- Increased data security in the event your client device is lost or crashes.
- Desktop mobility as the desktop is available wherever you can connect to the internet.
Resource Usage
Each desktop consists of underlying Oracle Cloud Infrastructure resources (such as a compute instance and block volume). Use of these resources counts towards Oracle Cloud Infrastructure usage for cost and billing.
The state of desktops within the pool affects resource usage. Desktops in the ACTIVE state mean the underlying compute instance is running and using resources. To manage resource usage and reduce costs, you can modify the pool's schedule, manually stop desktops, or manually delete desktops. Always use the Secure Desktops service to stop and delete desktops. Do not delete the underlying compute instance directly.
Shutting down the OS manually within the desktop does not stop the underlying compute instance. A desktop with a shutdown OS continues to run in the ACTIVE state and therefore continues to incur costs.
Additionally, users should not manually shut down their desktops as they will lose access and require desktop administrator intervention. See Error message after shutting down the desktop.
Availability
Secure Desktops is available in the following Oracle Cloud Infrastructure commercial regions:
- Australia East (Sydney)
- Australia Southeast (Melbourne)
- Brazil East (Sao Paulo)
- Canada Southeast (Toronto)
- France Central (Paris)
- Germany Central (Frankfurt)
- India West (Mumbai)
- Italy Northwest (Milan)
- Japan East (Tokyo)
- Mexico Central (Queretaro)
- Netherlands Northwest (Amsterdam)
- Saudi Arabia West (Jeddah)
- Singapore (Singapore)
- South Africa Central (Johannesburg)
- South Korea Central (Seoul)
- Switzerland North (Zurich)
- UAE East (Dubai)
- UK West (Newport)
- UK South (London)
- US East (Ashburn)
- US West (Phoenix)
- US West (San Jose)
See About Regions and Availability Domains for the list of available regions, along with associated locations, region identifiers, region keys, and availability domains.
Resource Identifiers
Most types of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure resources have a unique, Oracle-assigned identifier called an Oracle Cloud ID (OCID). For information about the OCID format and additional ways to identify your resources, see Resource Identifiers.
Authorization and Authentication
Each service in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure integrates with IAM for authentication and authorization, for all interfaces (the Console, SDK or CLI, and REST API).
An administrator in your organization must set up groups, compartments, and policies that control user access to specific services, resources, and functions. For example, the policies control who can create new users, create and manage the cloud network, launch instances, create buckets, download objects, etc. For more information, see Getting Started with Policies. For specific details about writing policies for Secure Desktops, see Secure Desktop Policies.
If you are a desktop user who needs to use the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure resources that your company owns, contact your administrator to set up a user ID for you. The administrator can confirm which compartment or compartments you should be using.
Limits on Secure Desktops Resources
Secure Desktops has various default limits.
| Resource | Monthly or Annual Universal Credits | Pay-as-You-Go or Promo |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop pools per tenancy | 5 | Not available |
| Desktops per pool | 240 (minimum 10 required) |
Not available |
Quotas for Secure Desktops
Secure Desktops administrators can set quota policies to enforce restrictions on the number of resources used.
For information about how Oracle Cloud Infrastructure handles quotas, see Compartment Quotas.
Family name: secure-desktops
| Resource Name | Scope | Description |
|---|---|---|
| desktop-pool-count | Tenancy | Number of desktop pools |
| desktops-per-pool-count | Desktop Pool | Number of desktops per pool |
Example Quota Statement for Secure Desktops
Set secure-desktops quota desktop-pool-count to <value> in compartment <compartment_name>