Virtual desktops · Advanced plan
Developers and build machines
A full toolchain with administrator rights, running builds and tests without borrowing cycles from the laptop you are typing on.
A second machine that does the heavy part
An IDE, a build that pins every core for a few minutes, a test suite, a local database, two or three containers or services, and a browser with the documentation open. On the laptop that is a fan running all day and a battery that does not last the afternoon. On an Advanced desktop it is a machine with twenty gigabytes of memory and sixteen virtual cores that sits in a browser tab and does not care how long the build takes.
Administrator rights are included, so the toolchain installs the way it wants to: services, drivers, environment variables, the registry, whatever the installer asks for.
What developers use it for
- Windows-specific builds and tests from a Mac or Linux laptop.
- A clean, persistent Windows environment that is not the laptop, so nothing on it is accidental.
- Long-running jobs that carry on after the browser tab is closed.
- A machine a contractor or a colleague can be given a login to, and taken away from, without touching their own hardware.
Where a desktop stops and a server starts
Advanced is a desktop: a Windows 11 machine a person works at. If what you need is a Windows Server to host a service that answers requests from the internet, that is a VPS, and it is sized and licensed differently. Nested virtualization - running your own virtual machines inside the desktop - is not supported on the desktop plans; a dedicated server is the right product for that.
The plan for this: Advanced
20 GB of memory, 16 virtual cores, 80 GB system drive and 100 GB data drive, for $49.95 a month, on a server-class host that keeps the desktop quick from any device. The other three packages are the same desktop with more or less memory and processing power.
Common questions
Can I run Docker or WSL on it?
Nested virtualization is not supported on the desktop plans, which rules out Hyper-V-based containers and WSL 2 on the desktop. Tooling that does not need a nested hypervisor runs normally. If you need virtualization inside the machine, a dedicated server is the right product.
Does a build keep running if I disconnect?
Yes. Disconnecting closes the window on your side and leaves the session running. Signing out closes your programs; disconnecting does not.
Can I reach it from the command line rather than a browser?
The desktop accepts standard Remote Desktop connections, and once you have administrator rights you can install whatever remote-access tooling you prefer on it.
Start on Advanced this afternoon
Sign up, check your email, open the link. A fast Windows 11 desktop on a server-class host, with no contract and no minimum term, and support included around the clock.
