Desktop as a Service (pilot project)
In addition to physical computers offered for individual use, classrooms, and laboratories, Concordia is running a pilot project to offer a virtual environment where faculty, staff and students can access a virtual computer to use certain applications anytime, anywhere and on any device on and off campus.
The pilot project will be offering three types environments for the fall 2020 semester:
- Open Use Lab - an open use virtual lab that all active faculty, staff, and students can access - it offers all applications that are generally installed on the computers in the Library
- Staff Computing - an environment available by request for staff - it replicates a Concordia office computer giving access to everyday staff services like email, internal webpages and applications, personal and shared drives, etc.
- Made-to-order – a custom built environment for very specific and/or unique requirements
During the pilot project, changes and adjustment might occur. Please contact the Service Desk for any comment or suggestions.
Click here to learn more about Windows Virtual Desktop, the technology powering the pilot project.
Who can use it?
Active faculty, staff, and students.
How much does it cost?
There is no cost associated with the access to the open use students and staff virtual computers.
How to get it
- Open Use Lab - Active faculty, staff, and students already have access to the teaching lab open use environment. Please consult the documentation section for the details.
- Staff Computing - Staff must make a request by contacting the IT Service Desk to get access to the staff environment. Availability is limited.
- Made-to-order - If you have a requirement that cannot be fulfilled by using the teaching lab or the staff environment, please open a ticket by contacting the IT Service Desk for a consultation.
- Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) is required when loging in.
Service availability
24/7
Documentation
The Concordia Open Use Lab can be accessed from any device that has an Internet connection and a Web browser (Microsoft Edge\Google Chrome\ Mozilla Firefox\Safari)
Important: To access the virtual computer environment, you first need to activate your Concordia Email (netname@live.concordia.ca or netname@mail.concordia.ca). If it hasn't been done already, follow these instructions.
Access the Concordia WVD environment, then enter your Concordia email address.
Enter your password on the Concordia login Page (this is the netname password, the same you use to access the Concordia student portal)
You will be presented with the virtual environment you have access to:
Select it then enter your netname and password to log in into a virtual computer:
Please note it might take up to a minute for your session to open.
The Concordia Open Use Lab can be accessed from any device that has an Internet connection and a Web browser (Microsoft Edge\Google Chrome\ Mozilla Firefox\Safari)
Important: To access the virtual computer environment, you first need to activate your Concordia Email (first.last@concordia.ca). If it hasn't been done already, follow these instructions.
Access the Concordia WVD environment, then enter your Concordia email address.
Enter your password on the Concordia login Page (this is the netname password, the same you use to access the Concordia student portal)
You will be presented with the virtual environment you have access to:
Select it then enter your netname and password to log in into a virtual computer:
Please note it might take up to a minute for your session to open.
The Staff Computing environment provides the following main features without the need of a VPN connection:
- full Office suite including Outlook
- access to the shared or departmental drives (mapping might be required)
- access to the home drive
- access to all Concordia websites and web apps
To request access, please open a ticket by sending an email to Service Desk or call 7613, explain why and how long the access is required.
Once approved, follow the instructions below to access the environment:
Access the Concordia WVD environment, then enter your Concordia email address.
Enter your password on the Concordia login Page (this is the netname password, the same you use to access the Concordia student portal)
Make sure you select the Staff Virtual Machine and not the open use one
Enter your netname and password to log in into a virtual computer:
Please note it might take up to a minute for your session to open.
If you have a requirement that cannot be fulfilled by using the open use or the staff environment, please open a ticket by sending an email to Service Desk and a consultant will contact you.
FAQ
No, active faculty, staff, and students must activate their Concordia email to use the service, see the following links with instructions for faculty & staff, or for students.
Please note that email activation may take 48 hours to complete.
No, a VPN connection is not required.
Please contact the Service Desk, we will get back to you to discuss your requirements and find a solution.
The DaaS pilot project is being offered for a limited duration during the Fall 2020 semester. Following the end of the pilot, decisions will be made to modify, continue, or discontinue the service.
During the pilot it is possible that the services require more maintenance than usual. Some resources might be limited or unavailable. Examples include: file transfer limitations, restrictions on the amount of data that can be saved on Desktop/Documents folder, or temporary profiles.
- Open Use Lab – Data and Windows profile settings are not persistent. Personal data and files should not be stored on the virtual desktop.
- Staff Computing - Data and Windows profile settings are persistent between sessions. Personal data and files should be stored on a network drive, but will not be lost when you disconnect from the service.
- Made-to-order – The data requirements will be taken into consideration during the design of made-to-order configurations.