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    Guacamole Bastion Host

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    Sold by: netCUBED 
    Deployed on AWS
    Free Trial
    Browser based remote access tool that provides easy access to hosts in all your VPCs, across accounts and regions. Windows desktops and Linux hosts are supported. No client software needed, a modern browser is all you need.
    4.5

    Overview

    Now with AWS SSO, SAML 2.0 and Cognito integration for Single-Sign on!

    Guacamole is a browser based remote access tool that provides easy access to hosts in all your VPCs, across accounts and regions. Access to Windows desktops (RDP), Linux terminals (SSH) and Kubernetes Pods is supported. No client software needed, a modern browser is all you need. This also enables administrators in corporate environments behind restrictive proxies to access remote servers on AWS.

    This product ships with version 1.6.0 of the popular open-source HTML5 RDP and SSH client Apache Guacamole and GuAWS, an agent that queries your AWS environment to automatically discover running instances.

    GuAWS is continuously scanning your VPC for new instances using the AWS API. It also scans across VPC, account and regional boundaries where VPC Transit Gateways or VPC Peering Connections are used. Your servers are organized by VPC and security group which makes it easy to find the right instance and manage access. Additionally, connections opened by users are logged to CloudWatch Logs.

    A user management system provides fine grained access control to individual groups or instances. Single sign-on authentication can easily be added through Amazon Cognito or other OpenID compliant providers such as Auth0, Okta or Duo. Multi-Factor authentication is provided by the built-in TOTP plugin that works with Google Authenticator or similar apps. Follow the Setup Instructions link in the sidebar for additional details.

    Highlights

    • AUTO DISCOVERY: Automatically discovers new resources in all your VPCs, cross-region, cross-account.
    • AUDIT LOGS: Every connection is logged to CloudWatch Logs for traceability and audit needs.
    • SINGLE SIGN-ON AND MFA: Enable Multi-Factor Authentication and Single Sign-On for a seamless and secure user experience.

    Details

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    Delivery method

    Delivery option
    64-bit (x86) Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

    Latest version

    Operating system
    AmazonLinux 2023

    Deployed on AWS
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    Pricing

    Free trial

    Try this product free for 5 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.

    Guacamole Bastion Host

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    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.

    Usage costs (94)

     Info
    • ...
    Dimension
    Cost/hour
    m5n.large
    Recommended
    $0.08
    r3.2xlarge
    $0.358
    r5n.24xlarge
    $2.66
    m4.10xlarge
    $1.217
    t3a.2xlarge
    $0.25
    c5n.large
    $0.122
    r4.2xlarge
    $0.291
    m5.xlarge
    $0.14
    r3.4xlarge
    $0.69
    m4.xlarge
    $0.14

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    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.

    Usage information

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    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

    Additional details

    Usage instructions

    Access the application via a browser at https://[public_dns]/. The default user is guacadmin, the default password is the instance ID.

    Most browsers will display a certificate warning. This warning is letting you know that the certificate was self-signed instead of signed by a trusted Certificate Authority. You can safely ignore the warning as it doesn't impact the security of the connection by clicking on "Continue to this webpage" (Internet Explorer) or "Advanced" and then "Proceed to website" (Chrome).

    To connect to the underlying operating system of the EC2 instance connect via SSH with the username ec2-user.

    Support

    Vendor support

    For paid support, email sales@netcubed.de  for further information. Free support is provided via support@netcubed.de . For free support, we do not provide a guaranteed response time, however we do our best to respond to questions within one business day.

    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.

    Product comparison

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    Accolades

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    Top
    25
    In Migration
    Top
    10
    In Financial Services
    Top
    25
    In Application Development, Network Infrastructure

    Customer reviews

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    Sentiment is AI generated from actual customer reviews on AWS and G2
    Reviews
    Functionality
    Ease of use
    Customer service
    Cost effectiveness
    Positive reviews
    Mixed reviews
    Negative reviews

    Overview

     Info
    AI generated from product descriptions
    Remote Access Protocol Support
    Supports RDP for Windows desktops, SSH for Linux terminals, and access to Kubernetes Pods through a browser-based interface
    Automatic Resource Discovery
    Continuously scans VPCs using AWS API to automatically discover running instances across VPC, account, and regional boundaries where VPC Transit Gateways or VPC Peering Connections are used
    Authentication and Authorization
    Integrates with AWS SSO, SAML 2.0, Amazon Cognito, and OpenID compliant providers; includes TOTP-based multi-factor authentication compatible with Google Authenticator
    Audit and Logging
    Logs all user connections to CloudWatch Logs for traceability and audit compliance
    Fine-Grained Access Control
    Provides user management system with granular access control to individual groups or instances, with automatic organization by VPC and security group
    Centralized Identity and Access Visibility
    Provides centralized view of identities, accounts, entitlements, and privileged access across IT estate with threat detection capabilities for compromised identities and privileged access misuse
    Privileged Credential Management
    Manages privileged passwords, accounts, credentials, secrets, and sessions for human and machine identities with complete control and security enforcement
    Privileged Remote Access Control
    Enables granular control, management, and auditing of remote privileged access for employees, vendors, developers, and cloud operations engineers with zero trust enforcement
    Endpoint Privilege Management
    Enforces least privilege on Windows, macOS, and Linux systems by removing local admin rights, replacing sudo with centrally managed solutions, and preventing malware and phishing attacks
    Threat Detection and Analytics
    Delivers advanced discovery, intelligence, and deep contextual analytics to detect threats across entire identity estate and identify hidden attack paths
    Load Balancing and Traffic Management
    Intelligent L4-L7 load balancing with SSL/TLS offloading and programmatic traffic manipulation capabilities
    Global Server Load Balancing
    Global server load balancing and high-performance DNS services for directing users to optimal app servers
    DDoS and Network Security
    Multi-layered DDoS protection and network security with resource and network attack mitigation
    Web Application Firewall
    WAF protection against application layer threats including L7 DoS, bot attacks, and OWASP top 10 attack types with regulatory compliance support for PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and FIPS 140-2
    Application Access and Authentication
    Application authentication supporting SAML, OAuth, and OIDC protocols with SSL VPN, Single-Sign-On, and Multi-Factor Authentication capabilities

    Contract

     Info
    Standard contract
    No
    No
    No

    Customer reviews

    Ratings and reviews

     Info
    4.5
    19 ratings
    5 star
    4 star
    3 star
    2 star
    1 star
    74%
    21%
    0%
    0%
    5%
    13 AWS reviews
    |
    6 external reviews
    External reviews are from PeerSpot .
    Ciro Bessa

    Secure remote desktops have replaced costly streaming and now provide reliable web access

    Reviewed on May 26, 2026
    Review from a verified AWS customer

    What is our primary use case?

    My main use case for Apache Guacamole  is that I replaced AWS  AppStream. A quick and specific example of how this replacement took place in my environment is that I needed to use Windows servers to run a cloud application that is a legacy application and only runs on Windows Desktop. I used Apache Guacamole  with Microsoft Remote  Desktop and Apache Guacamole sharing a Windows session with an end user.

    What is most valuable?

    In my opinion, the best features that Apache Guacamole offers are being free, providing a web-based remote Windows session service, and allowing remote printing of files.

    Apache Guacamole has had a positive impact on my organization due to the very low cost and the security of having a desktop provisioning interface running on Windows and Linux as well. Having Linux in front ends up making the Windows desktop a bit more secure against an external counterattack.

    What needs improvement?

    I did not see any need for improvement for Apache Guacamole.

    I think that in the visual interface it would be interesting to make it easier to change the background. I already think the solution is very good, but if there were the option to change the visual details a bit more, it would be interesting.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Apache Guacamole for a year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Apache Guacamole is stable in my experience, as I have not had any problems with it.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I still have not had the need to scale Apache Guacamole, but I believe it is possible to put other servers to do the same service if there is a need to scale.

    How are customer service and support?

    I did not need to call customer support for Apache Guacamole, considering I use the community version.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I was previously using AWS  AppStream, which was no longer very satisfactory, and the cost was very high, which is why I switched.

    How was the initial setup?

    I did not acquire Apache Guacamole through the AWS Marketplace . I downloaded it directly from the website and installed it on an EC2 .

    What about the implementation team?

    My company does not have any business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

    What was our ROI?

    I have already obtained a return on investment because before, I was spending 250 dollars per month for five users on AWS with AppStream, and now I spend more or less about 80 dollars between a Windows EC2  and a Linux EC2.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    I did not spend anything on pricing, setup costs, and licensing because I used the community version and I am running the free version for a few users.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    I did not evaluate other options before choosing Apache Guacamole.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would advise other people considering using Apache Guacamole that it is really worth using and I liked it a lot. It surprised me. I have no other comments about Apache Guacamole before we finish. I gave this review a rating of 10.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud

    If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

    Amazon Web Services (AWS)
    Karsh Trivedi

    Browser-based access has transformed how I host large CTF events and manage cloud VMs securely

    Reviewed on May 19, 2026
    Review from a verified AWS customer

    What is our primary use case?

    My main use case for Apache Guacamole  is to provide VNC sessions to VMs on AWS  cloud while my CTFs are running. While using Apache Guacamole  in my CTF or performing a particular challenge, I use it to give access to a VM on a cloud-based EC2  server to the participants, which helps them perform certain actions and capture the required flags on it.

    Additionally, I sometimes use Apache Guacamole for sandboxing and accessing my sandbox for malware analysis. Pretty much any VM I create on the cloud that I want to give client or user-based access to, I use Apache Guacamole for it.

    What is most valuable?

    In my experience, the best features Apache Guacamole offers are its stability, working seamlessly with both VNC and RDP. The browser-based terminal or interface helps a lot when I do not need to add specific clients or install specific services on my desktop to access cloud machines.

    The browser-based access of Apache Guacamole has impacted my workflow positively as it provides seamless access, making it easier. I have faced some difficulties when copying and pasting data at points, but apart from that, the stability is great and cursor movements are in real-time with very low latency.

    Apache Guacamole has positively impacted my organization by making my life easier when I need to set up separate VMs or machines for my CTF, especially when hosting CTFs with hundreds of participants accessing VMs at the same time. It provides easy access to spin up VMs and grant access via the browser with low hassle for setting up things.

    Thanks to Apache Guacamole, I managed around fifty VMs at the same time last time, which saved me a lot of time due to its dynamic spawn and termination.

    What needs improvement?

    Currently, I do not have anything to say regarding improvements for Apache Guacamole. The data sharing part could be improved a bit better, as I feel it may be an issue on my side, but I would feel better if Apache focuses on it and increases support for copy-pasting or enhances the user experience for copying and pasting data into the VMs.

    Regarding improvements, I think the granularity of data control could be enhanced. For instance, if I want to prevent copy-pasting of data on some machines or restrict certain activities in accordance with data management or data integrity policy, if that can be improved or implemented, it would be better.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Apache Guacamole for one and a half years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Apache Guacamole is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Apache Guacamole's scalability is good.

    How are customer service and support?

    I have not interacted with customer support, but the documentation is pretty much on point and does not require much contact with support.

    How was the initial setup?

    My experience with pricing and licensing has been straightforward as I am using the open-source or community edition, so both were free.

    What was our ROI?

    I cannot provide direct metrics on return on investment, but Apache Guacamole has certainly made my life easier in deploying VMs and other setups.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    I am using the open-source version of Apache Guacamole and did not purchase it through the AWS Marketplace .

    What other advice do I have?

    My advice for others looking into using Apache Guacamole is that it is a good tool. You need to have a bit of a learning curve, and the community support is also great. I would rate this product a ten out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Hybrid Cloud

    If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

    reviewer2817777

    Web access to private desktops has streamlined user access and reduces support workload

    Reviewed on Apr 18, 2026
    Review provided by PeerSpot

    What is our primary use case?

    My main use case for Apache Guacamole  is exposing private Windows instances to users and managing access.

    A specific example of how I use Apache Guacamole  to expose private Windows instances and manage access is that we have Windows instances on a private IP in Azure , and then we deploy Apache Guacamole on Kubernetes  and then expose it to our users on a public web URL.

    What is most valuable?

    The best features Apache Guacamole offers include exposing private sites where everything appears on the web.

    When I say everything appears on the web, I mean the ability to access remote desktops and apps through a browser, and that has helped my workflow because users do not need to install any software. I deploy the web application, give the URL to users, and then we are done.

    Regarding the features, user management is valuable, security is valuable, role-based access management is valuable, and the ability to add a Windows machine, Linux machine, and containers as well. As an admin, I can check other users and current sessions, which are nice features.

    Apache Guacamole has positively impacted our organization because we are able to give access to Windows instances easily. This easy access has changed things for our team and our users by reducing support tickets and time.

    What needs improvement?

    Apache Guacamole does not need any improvement as it is working well. It would be nice if support for Kubernetes  could be better, but this may not be a use case for all, though some may use it.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Apache Guacamole for almost three to four years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Apache Guacamole is very stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Its scalability is excellent as it scales and works without any issues.

    How are customer service and support?

    I did not require any customer support as I could figure everything out on my own.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I did not previously use a different solution, as Guacamole was the first one.

    How was the initial setup?

    My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that Apache Guacamole is free, so there is no licensing cost. Setup is easy as I pull out Docker  containers, make a deployment, and then deploy to Kubernetes.

    What was our ROI?

    I have seen a return on investment in terms of time saved.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    Before choosing Apache Guacamole, I did not evaluate other options as Guacamole was the first one.

    What other advice do I have?

    The advice I would give to others looking into using Apache Guacamole is to deploy and start using it. I gave this review a rating of ten out of ten.

    Irfaan Rahim

    Multi-user access has improved roster management and staff workflows run much faster

    Reviewed on Mar 18, 2026
    Review from a verified AWS customer

    What is our primary use case?

    We do use the multi-user capabilities of Apache Guacamole  as it's actually for airline staff. They are able to log in and check their roster, do things like sign on for duties, and put for leave, put for flights.

    What is most valuable?

    From what I saw of the administrative interface, it is user-friendly and helps to simplify work processes. It's not very difficult to go with it. You can just set everything up and get it running quickly.

    One of the advantages is that it helps to simplify and fasten the processes, so the workflow goes much faster.

    What needs improvement?

    I'm quite happy with Apache Guacamole  actually. I think maybe a bit of AI would be nice for improvement.

    AI functionality helps a lot, and in the future, we should focus more on AI.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with my team in our organization for about 20 years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Overall, I think Apache Guacamole is a stable solution and a stable product.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Apache Guacamole is scalable as well, as we have in excess of a thousand users and it's quite a heavy app. You get a lot of people using it at the same time and the load is just perfect. It handles the load.

    I would imagine about maybe 400 or 500 users can use it simultaneously in my environment.

    How are customer service and support?

    I have not had any contact with Apache staff or anybody on their side for support. But I do have a colleague who is always in touch with Oracle, Apache, and IBM.

    I'm sure it was fine based on my colleague's reports because everything is working just fine. I imagine that it's working and doing its job.

    I would rate the support for Apache Guacamole at eight.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We're still using MQ  series from IBM as we have not tried any new solutions or switched to some other vendors in the past year. We have worked with Apache products as I downloaded a couple of reports on Apache Kafka .

    How was the initial setup?

    I don't know exactly if there were any challenges during the implementation of the product, but I'm sure it was straightforward. It probably took a few days, as I think we did spend a few days on the implementation.

    What about the implementation team?

    There are about four people involved in my team that are responsible for the deployment of Apache Guacamole in particular.

    There are four engineers involved, where two are administrators, one is a developer, and the other one is a network specialist.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    I think the licensing cost is affordable. We actually use it ourselves, and we also have our customers on Apache Guacamole as well. It's easy to use and user-friendly. The cost is not a factor really, as it is easy to use.

    Price can be referred to as one of the advantages, one of the strong sides of the solution.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    I am not familiar with the product Kpow for Apache Kafka . I haven't worked with Apache SkyWalking  or maybe Apache Guacamole, but Guacamole actually sounds familiar. I'm actually not directly involved in the administration of the web applications.

    Sashank Palaparthi

    Remote access has simplified daily work and offers strong recording while needing better USB support

    Reviewed on Feb 13, 2026
    Review provided by PeerSpot

    What is our primary use case?

    Apache Guacamole  is primarily used for remote access.

    What is most valuable?

    I find the most valuable features of Apache Guacamole  to be remote access and presentation recording.

    The clientless nature of Apache Guacamole has helped simplify remote desktop access because no installation is required. This is another valuable aspect of the solution.

    Apache Guacamole has impacted my organization positively.

    What needs improvement?

    In my opinion, Apache Guacamole can be improved with USB access, a native client, and enhanced browser access, which would be beneficial.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with Apache Guacamole for approximately seven years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I have not experienced any problems with the stability or performance of Apache Guacamole.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I do not see any types of companies to which I would not recommend Apache Guacamole. Small companies and large companies alike can benefit from it. Given the VMware pricing challenges that companies are facing, organizations would be moving toward Apache Guacamole, and it scales quite well. I do not see a reason why large companies cannot use it.

    How are customer service and support?

    Apache Guacamole provides sufficient information on the internet through documentation. The community is quite good, and community-wise, the support is decent.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Before Apache Guacamole, I worked with similar products including Citrix, VMware, Acorps, and VMware Horizon .

    How was the initial setup?

    Apache Guacamole is easy to use and install. Installation hardly takes five minutes.

    What about the implementation team?

    We built our product on top of Apache Guacamole with many other extensions, extending the functionality of Apache Guacamole.

    What was our ROI?

    The metrics I use to measure the effectiveness of Apache Guacamole in our enterprise environment are the number of customers, as our organization offers a product based on Apache Guacamole.

    What other advice do I have?

    I do not use Apache Guacamole's UI; we build our own on top of Apache Guacamole using the SDK.

    We do not use the administrative interface of Apache Guacamole; we build our own.

    I do not utilize Apache Guacamole's on-demand session control.

    I have not used their FX protocol specifically, but internally, the performance is less compared to PCoIP, particularly in GPU cases.

    I believe Apache Guacamole is the best option on the market at the moment because it is free.

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