Deploy Windows 11 on the AWS Cloud

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Deploy Windows 11 on the AWS Cloud

He, Qing 0

I plan to deploy Windows 11 on the AWS Cloud for a month. I wonder which version of Windows 11 supports BYOL licensing and allows deployment on the AWS Cloud. and any other requirements for deployment to the AWS Cloud, such as Dedicated Hosts or Dedicated Instances, etc.

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Answer 1

Quinn.HP 9,625 Independent Advisor

Hello, I'm Quinn and here to help!

To deploy Windows 11 on AWS using BYOL, the only supported edition is Windows 11 Enterprise, and only if it's licensed through Microsoft Volume Licensing with Software Assurance or Windows VDA rights. The following are requirements for AWS Deployment:

Windows 11 Enterprise (Volume License only, not retail or OEM).
Licensing: Must include Software Assurance or VDA rights allowing virtualization on third-party clouds.
Infrastructure: Must run on Amazon EC2 Dedicated Hosts. Dedicated Instances and Shared Tenancy are not permitted under Microsoft’s licensing terms
Deployment: Use VM Import/Export to upload your licensed Windows 11 image.
Though optional, you can use AWS License Manager to track license compliance.

Additionally, Shared (multi-tenant) instances are not allowed due to Microsoft’s outsourcing restrictions. For more details, you can also check these articles:

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/workspaces/latest/adminguide/byol-windows-images.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/dedicated-hosts-overview.html

Note: These links point to official AWS documentation, not Microsoft-owned websites. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

He, Qing 0 Reputation points

2025-11-21T03:35:16.3333333+00:00
Hi Quinn，

Thanks for the reply.

In addition to using VM Import/Export to import VM images, there is also a way to import Windows ISO disk images directly through Image Builder. Details refer this link：

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/us_en/imagebuilder/latest/userguide/import-iso-disk.html

Image Builder supports the ISO disk images of Windows 11 Enterprise version 24H2/23H2/22H2 (x64).

but it does not support the following ISO disk images:

・ Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) images

・ ISO disk images created from the Windows Media Creation Tool

・ Evaluation images

・ Multi-edition ISO

I want to use Image Builder for deployment and try to find the download link of above versions.

Then I find the 'list of the downloads available by subscription level' under tab 'Software Downloads' in the following link .

https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/subscriptions/support/?tab=software-downloads

The list is in the answer to the 1st question.

Here is the download link: https://aka.ms/vss_products_list

There are 3 types products provided for Windows 11 Enterprise version 24H2/23H2/22H2.

I checked the Info of them under tab 'Downloads' in Visual Studio Subscriptions.

Windows 11 (consumer editions), version 22H2 or 23H2 or 24H2 It does not contain Windows 11 Enterprise.

Windows 11 (business editions), version 22H2 or 23H2 or 24H2 It contains Windows 11 Enterprise, but multi-edition.

Windows 11 IoT Enterprise, version 22H2 or 23H2 or 24H2 It's not multi-edition, but looks to include some other features. I'm not sure if it can be supported by Image Builder.

Question 1:

Is there any ISO downloads only for one of Windows 11 Enterprise versions 22H2 / 23H2 / 24H2, not be Multi-edition ISO and no other features?

Where can I find downloads and how does my company get the license?

Question 2:

If misconfiguration, I may need to deploy multiple times. This may violate Microsoft's rule of frequent redeployment within 90 days.

Can I request a written exception from Microsoft?

Could you provide the corresponding contact email?

Question 3:

In the 'list of the downloads available by subscription level', there are many subscription levels in the 2nd row.

For example, 'Visual Studio Enterprise Volume Licensing' , 'Visual Studio Enterprise with GitHub Enterprise' and so on.

Only the so-called "volume licensing" subscription level supports AWS deployments, right?

For example, 'Visual Studio Enterprise Volume Licensing' , 'Visual Studio Professional Volume Licensing'