East Carolina University
 
Computing@ECU
Information Technology & Computing Services


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ITCS Title
VCL Connect



 

General Instructions

Step 1. Request a Reservation

  1. Click on Option 1 and log in with your Pirate Id and Passphrase
  2. Choose New Reservation and complete the information such as time, software applications, software image, etc.
  3. Click the Create Reservation button at the bottom of the screen.

Pending reservations can be confirmed, edited or deleted by clicking the Current Reservations link.

Step 2. Connect to the VCL Computer

  1. At the time of your reservation, navigate back to the Make a Reservation page.
  2. Click the Current Reservations link.
  3. Choose the configuration for your computer below for instructions on how to connect using Windows, Mac or Linux.

You have 15 minutes from the start time of a reservation to log on. After 15 minutes a new reservation is required.

Step 3. Save Your Work

All files created using a VCL image must be saved on the user's computer, not the VCL computer.

Step 4. Disconnect from the VCL

Once you finish working with a VCL image, disconnect by clicking Start (in the VCL window) and then choosing Disconnect.

If the reservation time has not yet expired, also End the reservation from the Current Reservations page. This will release the software image to another user.

Choose your computer's configuration below
for specific connection instructions

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Connect Your Windows Computer to the VCL Windows Computer

  1. Click Current Reservations link.
  2. Click the Connect button.
  3. Note the IP address and password (you may wish to write this down).
  4. Click the Get RDP File button.
  5. Click the Open option.
  6. Click Connect again (if applicable). The remote desktop window will open with a login dialog box.
  7. Type the reservation password (see No. 2 above) and click OK.

Users with older versions of the Windows operating system (Windows 2000, for example) will need to download and install the free Remote Desktop Program (RDP) from the Microsoft Download Center. Windows XP and Vista already have this software.

If the Remote Desktop Connection does not automatically open using the steps above, go to Start > Programs > Accessories > Remote Desktop Connection to manually enter the IP address and login information for the VCL reservation.

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Connect Your Windows Computer to the VCL Linux Computer

  1. Download and install a Secure Shell (SSH) program. See below for links to two reliable SSH clients.
  2. Open the VCL home page and click Current Reservations.
  3. Click the Connect button.
  4. Note the IP address and password (you may wish to write this down).
  5. Enter the IP address as the hostname and the login username and password for the reservation to connect.
If you don’t have an SSH client you can download several different ones. Here are a couple:

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Connect Your Mac Computer to the VCL Windows Computer

  1. Download and install the Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac OS X from the Microsoft Download Center.
  2. Open the VCL home page and click Current Reservations.
  3. Click the Connect button.
  4. Note the IP address and password (you may wish to write this down).
  5. Click the Get RDP File button.
  6. Click Connect again (if applicable). The remote desktop window will open with a login dialog box.
  7. Type the reservation password (see No. 3 above) and click OK.

Also see the printable pdf instructions for downloading the Remote Desktop Connection Client for Macintosh

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Connect Your Linux Computer to the VCL Windows Machine

Linux machines require you to download the rdesktop software to connect to a Windows computer. Visit the rdesktop Web site for download instructions.

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Connect Your Linux Computer to the VCL Linux Computer

Linux machines come with a native SSH client so you won’t need to download or install anything unless you know your Operating System doesn’t have the package installed. To use it you typically type:

ssh [-l login_name] hostname [command]

Where the hostname is the IP address. Additionally there are several other options you can incorporate when connecting.

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Save Your Work - Windows or Mac Connected to Windows

Method 1. Save Files to Your Hard Drive

  1. Choose Save As.
  2. Select any of the mapped drives on your computer.
  3. Mapped drives show the drive letter and then the name of the computer. Example: C on A1BCDE2. Any drive mapped on the user's computer, such as the C drive, Piratedrive (Drive U) or a flash drive, will appear in the Save As list on the VCL Windows machine.


Method 2. Save Files to the User's Piratedrive Folder

  1. Double-click the Piratedrive icon on the VCL desktop. A login dialog box will appear. Note that the PirateID and status (faculty, staff or student) is already completed in the dialog box.
  2. Enter your PirateID and passphrase.
  3. Choose OK.
  4. Drag and drop the file/s in the Piratedrive folder.


Method 3. Save Files to the User's Piratedrive Folder Via OneStop

  1. Open a browser on the remote desktop and navigate to the ECU home page.
  2. Click the OneStop icon on the ECU home page (upper right corner) and log in.
  3. Go to Tools > Personal > Pirate Drive to upload the files to the Piratedrive folder.

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Save Your Work - You are Connected to a Linux Computer

Method 1. Save Files to Your Hard Drive Via SFTP Transfer

Your SSH client should transfer files through SFTP. One SSH client that allows drag and drop is Bitvise Tunnelier. This program can be downloaded at http://www.bitvise.com/.

Method 2. Save Files to the User's Piratedrive Folder Via OneStop

See Method 3 above.

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