A valid account - this can be an NCSU account, an account from one of our participating academic partners, or a generic VCL account (requires approval).

A computer with an internet connection. We recommend a broadband connection, some of the applications environment are graphic intensive and require faster connections. Dail-up modem has been tested and is being used but is not recommended for user satisfaction.

If connecting to a Windows VCL environment - a Remote Desktop Connection client is required.

Remote Desktop Connection Clients

The basic steps of using the Virtual Computing Lab.

Step 1 - You will need a valid account. This can be an NCSU account, an account from one of our academic partners, or a standalone VCL account.

Step 2 - Depending on your personal computer's operating system, you might need additional connection software such as Remote Desktop Connection or ssh(secure shell appilication). For details please see Additional access requirements.

Step 3 - Start the reservation process:

1. Click the 'Make a Reservation' or 'New Reservation' link.
2. If you are not already authenicated, you will be presented with a login screen. Select your affiliation and proceed to login.
3. Once authenicated and based on you level of access, you will be presented with a menu of VCL application environments to choose from.
4. Select the VCL application environment you would like to use.
5. Select the time you would like to start the reservation, for an immediate session select 'Now'.
6. Select the duration of your reservation, by default the initial duration is 1 hour. Once the reservation is active it can be extended to a total of 6 hours. Under special cases longer durations are available.
7. Submit your request.
8. You will be taken to the Current reservations page. Here you will see a pending signal while the assigned compute node is being prepared.
   

Though the details of VCL can get complicated, the concepts behind it are simple.

One of the primary goals of VCL is to deliver a dedicated compute environment to a user for a limited time. This can range from something as simple as a virtual machine running an office suite to a machine room blade running high end software (i.e. a CAD,GIS,statistical package or an Enterprise level application) to a cluster of interconnected physical (bare metal) compute nodes. For years both ITECS (technical suppport for the College of Engineering) and the Central IT department, now called Office of Information Technology, struggled to efficently provide remote access to high end computers for researchers and students.

The following URL will allow you to change your selection:
https://vcl.ncsu.edu/scheduling/index.php?mode=selectauth&clearselection=1

The technologies implemented in the VCL project have the flexibilty to allow for remote access to many different operating systems loaded with varying software. The infrastructure is flexible enough to allow access to Windows/Macintosh lab environments, as well as departmental computing resources, though these have not yet been implemented and will only be implemented if the education process is furthered by their inclusion in the VCL Project.

• On a Windows XP environment you have administrative rights.
• On a Realm Unix/Linux lab machine you have the same rights as you have in the computer labs.
• On a Non-Realm Red Hat Enterprise Linux environment you have elevated rights.