You may hear this system referred to as Virtual Labs, Online Labs, vLabs, VMs, Virtual Machines or Proxmox.

General Questions:

What is a Virtual Lab?

A virtual lab is a virtual computer that has been made available to you to learn a specific software title or topic. This virtual computer is a fully functioning computer with the appropriate software installed for your course and appropriate content for you to learn and complete exercises with. It is your own personal learning environment to assist in learning your specific software title.

I need help navigating the Virtual Lab environment, who should I reach out to for help?

Before reaching out for help, there is a Student Handbook/Guide created to help you in navigating the Virtual Lab environment. You can find this here:

https://trios-tekservices.atlassian.net/l/cp/9owSZqQb

If you are still having difficulty, your instructor is your first point of contact for an overview session.

How can I submit my assignment if I cannot copy the file outside of the Virtual Lab?

The virtual lab system is a fully functioning computer. You can log in to Brightspace directly, or your email/OneDrive. Your instructor or the assignment instructions will direct you how the assignment should be submitted.

How do I login to my Virtual Lab Environment?

Instructions on logging in and using the Virtual Lab Environment for the first time can be found here:

Virtual Labs - Student Handbook

Who has access to my Virtual Lab environment?

As a student, you Virtual Lab is accessible by yourself, your instructor, and any other designates your instructor requires, such as a program coordinator, faculty head or teachers aid. Members of the IT Support and Operations Team also have access to all Virtual Labs in the system.

No other students can access your Virtual Lab environment.

I was given a different link to use than some of my classmates, is this normal?

This is perfectly normal and will happen regularly. The system is large and to properly balance everyone and give the best experience possible different students, in the same class, learning the same topic, may receive (and will likely receive) different links to use when logging in.

It is very important to use the link you have been provided as it is how you will get the best experience possible on the platform.

I don’t have the right software that I need inside my Virtual Lab, what do I do?

Confirm with your instructor which software title you need.
Log into and Book up the Virtual Lab, confirm what Icons are on the desktop.
If there is none matching your required software title, open a ticket with the Global Service Desk to reprovision your Virtual Lab.
Student Service Requests | Virtual Labs

Provisioning and Assigning:

As a student, when should I receive access to my Virtual Lab?

We consider Student Virtual Labs as “Just In Time” Provisioned, meaning; students are typically provisioned with access to their Virtual Lab within 24 hours of the Virtual Lab requirement, but can be as late as a couple hours before the start of the module requiring access.

As an Instructor, when should I receive access to my Virtual Lab?

Instructors are typically provisioned with access to their Virtual Lab within 7-10 days of the Virtual Lab requirement to allow for appropriate time for preparing for class.

How long do I have access to my Virtual Lab?

Virtual labs are typically accessible by students and instructors for up to 5 days after the scheduled end date for the module that requires access.

What time of day can I access my Virtual Lab?

It is intended that the virtual labs platform be accessible 24/7 and we work diligently to keep any outages due to updates as minimally disruptive as possible.

When does my Virtual Lab go to sleep?

Each virtual lab will go to sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity. Inactivity is defined as no mouse movement or keystrokes being captured by the Virtual Lab window.

Why does my Virtual Lab go to sleep?

Your virtual lab goes to sleep to allow other people using their Virtual Lab to be able to use the resources consumed by your formerly running lab. This allows for a better experience for all users of the platform.

I was expecting a Virtual Lab to be provisioned, but one was not, what do I do now?

Confirm with your instructor that a Virtual Lab is indeed required for the current topic. If one is required, there is a number of possibilities as to why it was not provisioned, but the best way to request one be provisioned is through a ticket with the Global Service Desk. Your instructor can also place this request for you.

Student Service Requests | Virtual Labs

Using the System

How do I power up my Virtual Lab?

Instructions to power on your Virtual Lab can be found here:

https://trios-tekservices.atlassian.net/l/cp/7c10dD0w

What do the buttons and controls beside my screen do (NoVNC)?

A description of the different NoVNC Controls can be found here:

https://trios-tekservices.atlassian.net/l/cp/Pwv2kreK

What happens when my Virtual Lab goes to sleep?

When a virtual lab goes to sleep, it is much like how your own computer would go to sleep. The Lab is put into an extremely low power state and the Disks are put to sleep. This can sometimes cause the software inside the VM to stop responding as expected when waking back up, and looking like its lagging or slow.

The software inside the Virtual Lab is asking for a password or login, where do I find it?

There are a few different software titles that require a username and/or a password in order to access them. Below is a list of the titles requiring credentials and where you can attain them:

Quickbooks - Password to access company files is in the text book and also known to the instructor.
Kroll - The Instructor will provide you with an appropriate username and password combination.
Telus Health/PS Suite - The Instructor will provide you with an appropriate username and password combination.
ACL - The Instructor will provide you with an appropriate username and password combination.

I’m done with my Virtual Lab for the day, what should I do?

You have a couple of options. First and the recommended way is to shut down your lab gracefully. This ensures the best possible experience when accessing the resource again the next time. An alternative is to just log off and allow the Virtual Lab to go to sleep.

Troubleshooting

The software in my virtual lab is asking me to update, should I install the updates?

Not unless your are explicitly directed to by your instructor or the IT Team. The version of the software inside the Virtual Labs are specific to the text books they use. Updating the software may cause undesirable effects or create differences between what is in the book and on the screen.

The software inside my Virtual Lab is not loading, what can I do?

Follow the basic troubleshooting steps to reboot.

If it will still not load the software after the reboot you will need to open a ticket with the Global Service Desk.