Welcome to the University of Toledo Virtual Lab
If this is your first time using the VLab, please spend a few minutes reading the "Getting Started" topics below. When you're ready, be sure to look at the advanced topics to make the most of your VLab experience.
"With desktop and applications virtualization you bring the lab to the students instead of bringing the students to the lab..." Click here to read the full letter from Dr. Godfrey Ovwigho, Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer.
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READY TO CONNECT? | |
Traditionally, student labs have offered students the use of computer hardware and software they might not otherwise have access to. More and more students now have computers of their own at home, in their dorm rooms, or traveling with them from class to class. Application software, however, is still cost prohibitive for many students, especially when a particular package is only needed for a class or two. Because of this, a student with his or her own laptop is forced to visit a student lab to make use of a particular piece of software.
This is where the virtual lab comes in. With nothing more than a broadband internet connection and a web browser, students can access virtual machines loaded with all of the software they need to be successful…from anywhere in the world! What's even better is that the virtual lab is open 24/7 and 365 days a year.
If you are in a class that's participating in the virtual lab then you've already got access! Simply follow the instructions below to log in to the virtual lab. All of the virtual labs you've got access to will be displayed. If you feel you should have access to a particular virtual lab but do not see it in the list, please contact the IT Helpdesk at x2400.
The following is a list of supported operating systems and web browsers. In addition, you should have a high-speed internet connection. Dial-up connections will not work well with the virtual lab.
To log in to the virtual lab simply click the “Connect to Virtual Lab” link. You'll be prompted for a user name and password. These are your UTAD credentials - the same user name and password you use to log in to physical lab computers and e-mail.
If this is the first time you've logged in you'll be prompted to install an ActiveX control.
The installation is required and just takes a minute or two. You should then see a screen like this. Simply click "Install" and wait for the installation to complete.
Once the client installation is complete you'll be presented with a screen that looks like this:
The list of virtual labs displayed will be different for everyone and is based on your class registration. Simply click on the virtual lab you'd like to access and then click "Connect".
That's it! In a few seconds you'll be in control of a virtual machine fully loaded with the applications you need.
Back to Top Traditional printing is not currently available in the Virtual Lab. This is a feature that will be coming in future revisions. In the meantime, the Virtual Lab has been equipped with the Adobe PDF printer. This printer gives you the ability to turn your documents into PDFs. These files can then be e-mailed, saved to your local hard drive, or saved to your "H" drive for later printing.
To use the Adobe PDF printer to create a PDF of your Microsoft Word document follow these instructions:
Any changes made to the Virtual Lab environment are lost when you log out of your session. This is done to ensure a properly working environment for everyone. Because of this, it is imperative that you do not save your work to the virtual hard drive. Instead, you should save your work to either your computer's local hard drive (if you are accessing the Virtual Lab from a personal computer) or to your "H" drive.
This graphic displays the contents of Windows Explorer: 
The first three items, Floppy, Local Disk, and CD Drive represent the drives in the Virtual Lab computer. You should not save anything to these drives.
The next two drives, "H" and "Z" are mapped network drives. When you authenticate to the Virtual Lab your standard network drive mappings will show up. You can work with these drive mappings just as you would if you were on campus.
The last three drives you see have strange names such as "D on MCOjsvmwinxpsp2". These drives are actually being redirected from the local computer you are using to access the virtual lab. For the purposes of this documentation, I used a computer named MCOjsvmwinxpsp2 to access the Virtual Lab. That computer has a "C" (hard drive), "D" ("CD-ROM drive) and "A" (Floppy drive). Because the drives are being redirected to the Virtual Lab computer, I can access files from my personal computer in the Virtual Lab. Likewise, I can create new documents in the Virtual Lab and save them to the hard drive of my personal computer.
In the scenario we just discussed "D on MCOjsvmwinxpsp2" is actually the CD-ROM drive from my host computer. Therefore I can access files on my personal device from the Virtual Lab computer. Any locally attached drives on your personal computer should show up in the Virtual Lab computer. This includes any external USB drives.