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CloudLabs

From Swarthmore Knowledge Base

Online access to software

Faculty, Students

Web


No

Property Value
Description Online access to software
Access Faculty, Students
Platform Web

CloudLabs is a service that makes software available through a web browser.  It can be used to provide software to students that can only be installed on college owned computers or allow Mac users to run Windows software.   You can connect to Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive to load and save your working files like you would on a public lab computer.

Access CloudLabs

Access to CloudLabs is assigned by enrollment to specific classes that utilize remote access to lab software. Contact ITS through the support portal (Support : Swarthmore Service Portal ) if you are enrolled in one of these classes but do not have access.

Sign In:

Visit the CloudLabs portal and choose sign in with Work or School Account

CloudLabs by Spektra Systems sign-in page. Options include Work or School Account, Microsoft Account, LinkedIn, and Google. The Work or School Account option is highlighted with a red circle.

Sign in with your Swarthmore email address and credentials.

Microsoft sign-in dialog box. The email input field is highlighted with a red circle. Below the field are links to 'Create one!' and 'Can't access your account?', followed by 'Back' and 'Next' buttons.

Lab Actions

Once logged in, navigate to the My Virtual Machine section to view all the VM Labs assigned to you.

  1. Launch Lab: Before using the lab, you must launch it. This action is a one-time process that deploys a VM Lab instance and assigns it to you. This process may around 5 minutes to complete. Launching is only possible if the lab admin has enabled lab access.
    CloudLabs dashboard showing the My Virtual Machine tab with two lab cards labeled MyLab-02 and MyLab-01, each with a blue Launch button, the MyLab-02 Launch button highlighted with a red box
    After clicking on Launch read the message displayed in the pop-up carefully, and then click Launch again to confirm.
    Modal warning that labs are for education and training only, showing 1-minute lab preparation time and lab expiry date of Dec 31, 2025, with the blue "Launch" button highlighted.
  2. Start/Stop VM: These options are available if lab access is enabled. You can stop the VM when it is not in use, or it will deactivate after a period of inactivity.
    CloudLabs My Virtual Machine dashboard showing two virtual machines with one labeled 'MyLab-02' running and the toggle switch set to on, and the other labeled 'MyLab-01' with a Launch button.
  3. Connect to VM: Click the “Connect” button to access your VM once it is running. If Direct Web Connect is enabled, you will be able to access your VM directly using a web browser. Otherwise, connection details for RDP or SSH will be displayed, which you can use to establish a connection to the VM Lab instance.
    CloudLabs dashboard showing two virtual machines, with MyLab-02 running and a blue monitor icon highlighted next to the 'VM Running' toggle, and MyLab-01 available to launch.

All data stored in CloudLabs will be deleted at the end of the semester.  Save all your files to Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive to avoid losing data.

Troubleshooting

After logging out, it may take up to 5 minutes to shut down an old session and start a new session.  You may need to wait a while before being able to log back in.

If you encounter any issues, please contact ITS to let us know.

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