Hardened Microsoft Windows Server 2019, 2022 and 2025 AMIs on AWS: Guide

Overview

This page is the entry point for the cloudimg Hardened AMIs for Microsoft Windows Server 2019, 2022 & 2025 AWS Marketplace listing. The listing is a single product that offers several products and releases as separate software versions. Subscribe once, then choose the version you want from the Software version list at launch, and open its guide below for the full setup and connection walk-through.

What cloudimg adds to every version - Every image is built by cloudimg from the Windows Server base, fully patched at build time with every cumulative update available. - Each image is generalised with Sysprep, so every instance gets a unique Administrator password and machine identity. - Build residue is removed before capture.

Pricing is metered hourly per EC2 instance type and is the same for every version in this listing. The recommended instance type is m5.large.

How to pick a version

1. Open the listing on AWS Marketplace and choose View purchase options, then Subscribe. One subscription covers every product and release in the listing, and the free trial starts with it.
2. Once the subscription is active, choose Launch your software.
3. Choose One-click launch from AWS Marketplace (or Launch from EC2 Console for full control), then in Version choose the product and release you want. Each version is a separate software version, named <product> <release> <edition> - <date>, for example Windows Server 2022 Datacenter - YYYY-MM-DD. The date is when that version was added to the listing.
4. Choose your Region and an instance type (m5.large is recommended), your EC2 key pair and a security group that opens Remote Desktop (3389) from your own network only, then choose Launch.
5. After launch, open the product's guide below for first login.

You can run several products from the same subscription: launch one instance per product, each from its own software version.

Releases and variants in this listing, newest release first:

• Windows Server: 2022 (Datacenter)

Security model

Every version in this listing follows the same model:

• Fully patched. Every update Windows Update offers is installed when the image is built; the build fails if any update is still pending or a reboot is owed.
• A unique Administrator password on every instance. EC2Launch sets a random password on first boot; read it with Get Windows password and your EC2 key pair. There is no default or shared password.
• Nothing shared between instances. Each image is generalised with Sysprep, so the machine SID, computer name and Remote Desktop certificate are created on each instance.
• IMDSv2. Instance metadata requires a session token.
• Only Remote Desktop (3389). Open it in your security group to your own network only; the Windows Firewall allows inbound Remote Desktop only.
• Microsoft Security Baseline (Member Server) for Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: applied with Microsoft's LGPO tool and audited with HardeningKitty; the guide shows the report and the rules waived for EC2.

Choose your product

How to tell which version you launched

The version you chose is shown on the instance's launch record in the EC2 console (AMI name and description) and in your AWS Marketplace subscription. On the instance itself, Get-ComputerInfo -Property OsName, OsVersion in PowerShell shows the Windows Server release and build. Open the matching guide above for the rest of the walk-through.

Support

cloudimg provides 24/7 support for every version in this listing via the AWS Marketplace support channel. Raise a ticket through the Marketplace console or email support@cloudimg.co.uk.

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