Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Guide

To make software more readily available to current SIU students, faculty and staff, we have virtualized that software to be accessible from personal devices.

Instructions

Use the VMware Horizon Client to access a virtual computer lab or application from your personal device.  Entitlement varies by affiliation (department, courses, etc.).

1. Install VDI Client

Download and install the VMware Horizon Client for your personal device(s).

2. Connect to VDI Server

Open the VMware Horizon Client, click Add Server and enter the name of the Connection Server (https://vdi.siu.edu), then click Connect.

3. Login to VDI Server

Enter your SIU Network ID (SIU85xxxxxxx) or e-mail address (somebody@siu.edu) and password, then click Login.

4. Use Duo Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Enter a Duo passcode or select a listed option, then click Login.

5. Select Virtual Computer or Application

Double-click a virtual computer lab or application. Standard virtual computer labs include:

IT-CLCLabs:

• Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Respondus Lockdown Browser
• miscellaneous common software

GIS and Geospatial Analysis: Each academic term, this virtual computer lab is automatically assigned to all instructors of record and enrolled students.

• ArcGIS CityEngine 2021.1
• ArcGIS Desktop 10.8.2
• ArcGIS Pro 2.9
• ERDAS IMAGINE 2022
• Microsoft Office 365
• EndNote 20 plug-ins
• Julia
• Python
• R
• RStudio
• Visual Studio Code

Statistical Analysis & Computational Math: Each academic term, this virtual computer lab is automatically assigned to all instructors of record and enrolled students.

• JMP Pro 16
• Mathematica 13.0
• MATLAB 2021b
• SAS 9.4M7
• SPSS Amos 28
• SPSS Statistics 28
• Microsoft Office 365
• EndNote 20 plug-ins
• JAGS
• Julia
• Python
• R
• RStudio
• Visual Studio Code

6. Save Your Work

Save your work to your device on Network Drive (Z:), to an external device or file share at another drive letter, or to a cloud drive like OneDrive.  All work saved to the virtual drive (C:) will be lost and irrecoverable.

7. Logout

Sign out of the virtual computer or close the virtual application, then disconnect from the connection server.  Idle sessions will automatically disconnect at ~20 minutes of inactivity.  Disconnected sessions will automatically sign out at ~60 minutes (~20 minutes inactivity plus ~40 minutes disconnected).

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