Transcript Slide 1

Access software from anywhere the Internet is accessible ….
Cindy Saylor
Assistant CIO for Information Technologies
Division of Information Technology
UNC Pembroke

A virtual computing lab (VCL) is a computing
environment that provides on-demand
reservation-based remote access to software
applications. The VCL is intended to address
the increasing needs of both local and
distance students and faculty and staff by
providing 24/7 access to needed programs to
accomplish coursework and work products.

Students, faculty and staff can now access
specific UNCP-licensed software programs
from any Internet-accessible computer
without having to worry whether a program
will run properly on their personal computer
or having to come to campus to gain access.
Users can log into UNCP’s VCL from on or off
campus and choose software from an
“image” designed for accessibility 24/7.

The process is simple. Just follow these steps
to get connected:
 Go to http://www.uncp.edu/doit/vcl/.
(Internet Explorer is recommended.)
 Click on ‘Make a Reservation’.
 Verify you have the appropriate remote desktop
connection software installed on your computer.
 Follow the directions for connecting.
 Close your connection when finished.

Make a VCL reservation. Users can log into the VCL anytime.
However, you are encouraged to make a reservation ahead of time
to avoid the waiting period necessary to prepare the software you
requested. During busy periods, the wait can be as long as 20
minutes.

Access requirements for the VCL. To use the VCL, you need a
computer with an active Internet connection and the appropriate
remote desktop connection software. Please visit the Access
Requirements for the VCL webpage for details on remote desktop
connection software and download links.

When ending your VCL session, please be sure to close your
connection. You will need to close your session so that the
software “image” you were using can be made available to other
students , faculty and staff.

A valid account. A valid and activated UNCP account is required
to access the VCL.

A computer with an Internet connection. A broadband
connection is recommended as some of the applications are
graphic intensive and require faster connections. Dial-up modem
access is not recommended for user satisfaction.

A remote desktop connection is required. As the user is
connecting to a Windows VCL environment, a remote desktop
connection client is required.
 Windows – Remote Desktop Connection is included in Windows XP
and Vista.
 Mac OS X – Remote Desktop Connection may be included with your
operating system software or it can be downloaded from Mactopia:
▪ http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/remote-desktop





In your browser, visit http://www.uncp.edu/doit/vcl/.
Click on ‘Make a Reservation’.
Select from the institution drop-down list ‘UNC
Pembroke’ and click on ‘Remember Me’
Enter your UNCP username / password as directed.
Click on ‘New Reservation’ to create a future
reservation or to begin the process of connecting to
an application now. Note: any reservation selected for
immediate access may take up to 20 minutes to load
and connect. Reservations made for future access will
load faster as the processing on the VCL end will begin
15 minutes before you log in.
Select the application you want to use from the dropdown list.
 Select ‘Now’ or ‘Later’ and then select the desired day
and time from the respective drop-down lists.
 Select the duration of time you need from the drop-down
box: 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours or 6 hours; then
click on ‘Create Reservation’.
 If a reservation for ‘Now’ is selected, wait for the
information including IP address, username, and
password. The username and password will been needed
to access the VCL via RDP, so make sure to document the
temporary password for easy access. The password is case
sensitive and must be entered manually (cannot be copied
and pasted).


If making an immediate reservation, you
should see a declining wait time (count down)
until your reservation is ready. This could take
as long as 20 minutes if it is a busy time for
the VCL. After the wait time for your
reservation has expired, you will see a button
that says ‘Connect!’ From this point on you
have 10 minutes to click ‘Connect!’ before
your reservation expires. If this happens, you
can create another reservation.

Windows Firefox users having trouble
opening the RDP file:
 Click on the ‘Get RDP’ link.
 Choose ‘Open with’ when prompted and then
click on ‘Browse’. Select ‘Browse’ again in the
‘Choose Helper Application’.
 Navigate to C:\Windows\System32 and select
mstsc.exe and click on ‘Open’ to open the file.
 Now click on ‘Open’ when you download an RDP
file; it will open a connection to the VCL.
Enter temporary password here …
Netdrive

There are three options via NetDrive for saving your files on a Windows XP
computer:




Your UNCP Personal or Shared Account








Your UNCP personal or shared account
Local hard drive (C:/)
External hard drive
Note: You do NOT need to set up NetDrive if you are using the VCL on campus.
Double-click the NetDrive shortcut on the remote desktop to open the program
Click on ‘File’ and select ‘Site Manager’
Select the drive you want to map for saving files: I:/ users folder; J:/ student folder; K:/shared
folder
Click on ‘Save’ and ‘Connect’ to access the desired drive.
Close the NetDrive window by clicking on the ‘X’ in the upper right corner of the NetDrive
window.
When ready to save a file, proceed as normal when saving, but remember to ‘Save As’ and
select the drive letter you mapped above.
Note: You may see NetDrive’s“Quote command returned error” … Ignore the
error message as the file did save, but you may want to confirm it.
UNCP
password

Local Hard Drive through NetDrive:
 When ready to save a file to your local C: Drive, you want to make sure you do
not save it to the remote desktop C:/ drive.
 Proceed to save the file as normal, but remember to ‘Save As’ and select the
C:/ drive letter that corresponds to the name of your computer (i.e,,
UNCP_DOIT_03827, LENOVO_X301, etc.).

External Storage Device
 If planning to save files to an external storage unit (flash drive) then insert the
drive before connecting to the remote desktop to verify that the drive is
recognized.
 When ready to save a file to the external storage unit, proceed to save the file
as normal, but remember to ‘Save As’ and select the drive letter that
corresponds to the name of the external storage device (i.e., Sony_USB).
 You will need to map the UNCP account drive every time the VCL is accessed.

NOTE: DO NOT leave your work on the VCL desktop. Any files/data left on
the VCL desktop will be lost after 15 minutes when the connection closes.

Click on ‘Current Reservations’ while logged
into the VCL page. Find your reservation, and
click the Edit button. From the Duration
drop-down box, choose a longer time. Then
click Confirm Changes. You will only be able
to extend the length if the computer your
reservation is on has time available before
the next reservation. There is a limit for the
maximum reservation time.
Disconnect …


















Adobe Acrobat Professional 9 with Office 2007
Camtasia/Snag-It with Office 2007
Dreamweaver 8 for faculty/staff
Dreamweaver 8 for students
Eco/EvoBeaker 1.01
InDesign CS4
Microsoft Office 2003
Microsoft Office 2007
Microsoft Project 2007
Microsoft Publisher 2007
PaintShop Pro 6
PhotoShop Elements for faculty/staff
PhotoShop Elements for students
SAS 9.1.3
SPSS v. 18
Studio 8 MX for students
Visio 2007
…. more to come ….

About the Virtual Computing Initiative
 The Virtual Computing Lab was developed by a
joint venture between North Carolina State
University and IBM in 2004.
 UNCP became a partner with NCSU in 2009 to
share in the virtual computing environment.

Check out VCL FAQ website at
www.uncp.edu/doit/vcl/faq/.

Contact Cindy Saylor at [email protected] or
910.521.6265.

Contact the DoIT Helpdesk at
[email protected] or 910.521.6260.