Access Requirements

When connecting to a Windows VCL environment:

A Remote Access Client is required.

Remote Desktop Connection Clients
  • Windows – Remote Desktop Connection is included in Windows
  • Mac OS X – Install Microsoft Remote Desktop from the Apple App Store
  • Linux – The client required is called freerdp. Most modern distro’s include this package, if not the tool can be downloaded from a third party site:
  • Chrome OS – Install Microsoft Remote Desktop from the Google Play Store

Information on the usage of the Remote Desktop Clients can be found here

Ericom Blaze: RDP Acceleration
  • The Ericom Blaze client is an rdp accelerator that exceeds the default remote desktop connection protocol
    • Installed in select VCL images, such as Solidworks, Matlab, AutoCad, etc
    • It requires a client to be downloaded (links for download are displayed on the Connect dialog for reservations with Blaze installed)
    • The clients are available for
      • Windows
      • Linux
      • Mac OSX
      • IOS, and android devices (search for ericom in Apple App Store or Google Play)

When connecting to a Linux VCL environment:

An ssh client plus an X windows system is required.

SSH (Secure Shell) client
  • Windows – Putty lightweight ssh client.
  • Mac OS X – a native ssh client is available in the OS. Open a Terminal window:
    • Enter: ssh -X <yourusername>@<IP address provided on "Connect page">
  • Linux- normally a native ssh client is available in the OS. Open a Terminal window:
    • Enter: ssh -X <yourusername>@<IP address provided on "Connect page">
  • Chrome OS – there are multiple SSH clients available for Chrome OS on the Google Play Store
X11 – X Window System
Remote Desktop Connection Client

Microsoft Remote Desktop can also be used to connect to Linux environments if the environment has xRDP connection method enabled.

  • Windows – Remote Desktop Connection is included in Windows
  • Mac OS X – Install Microsoft Remote Desktop from the Apple App Store
  • Chrome OS – Install Microsoft Remote Desktop from the Google Play Store

Information on the usage of the Microsoft Remote Desktop Client can be found here