1. Registering for Azure Lab Services
Open your CCC student email
Find and review the email from “azure-noreply@microsoft.com” in your CCC email inbox.
Click the “Register for the lab” link.
If prompted, sign in with your CCC credentials.
2. Running and Logging into the Azure Lab Virtual Machine
If prompted, sign in with your CCC credentials.
Find the virtual machine you wish to start and click on the slider next to the word Stopped to start. The machine should now say “Starting…”.
Depending on your computer, follow Step 3A for a Windows-based computer, or 3B for a macOS-based computer.
3A. Connect to a virtual machine with a Windows-based computer.
Follow either of the two options below. The second option allows more customizability for multiple monitors and lets you save specialized settings and the credentials.
EITHER…
Wait until the status of the virtual machine is at “Running” then click on the icon to download an RDP file to your computer. If you get a warning that the file could harm your device, click Keep since this is a trusted site.
Go to the location on your PC where the file was saved. The default name of the file is HW-ArchitectureSP23.rdp. Double-click to run it.
OR…
Wait until the status of the virtual machine is at “Running” then click the horizontal ellipses icon, click “Show RDP information”, then click “Copy” in the Remote desktop information dialog box which appears.
Open the Remote Desktop Connection application on your computer.
Paste the RDP information in the field next to “Computer:”.
Click Show Options.
Set the username to “~\student” (without the quotation marks).
Click the checkbox next to “Allow me to save credentials”
For even more options, follow these steps:
If you are using multiple monitors and wish to use them all, click on the “Display” tab and click the checkbox next to “Use all my monitors for the remote session”.
If you are experiencing lagging, reduce the color quality (lower bits = less data transfer needs).
If you wish to share resources with the virtual machine, such as printers, drives, webcams, etc., click on the “Resources” tab and then select the resources you want to see in the virtual machine. Click “More…” to enable additional resources.
In the “General” tab, Click Save As… to save your preferences, name the file, and place the connection file in a convenient location.
Click Connect and jump to the Credentials section for the password.
3B. Connect to a virtual machine with a macOS-based computer
Follow the steps below:
Download and install Microsoft Remote Desktop from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-remote-desktop/id1295203466?mt=12
Wait until the status of the virtual machine is at “Running” then click on the icon to download an RDP file to your computer. If you get a warning that the file could harm your device, click Keep since this is a trusted site.
Go to the location on your Mac where the file was saved. The default name of the file is HW-ArchitectureSP23.rdp. Double-click to run it.
If you receive a security warning, click Continue.
Enter the credentials. Jump to the Credentials section for the password.
Stopping and Logging Out of the Azure Lab Virtual Machine. Usage hours are tracked within Azure and billed to the college, so it is important to ensure you do not go over your allotment. This allows everyone equal access to the virtual lab.
4. When you have finished using the virtual machine, always perform the following steps to be sure you are not consuming hours while not using the virtual machine. This will prevent you from going over your allocated hours.
Double-click on the “Logoff” icon on the desktop.
In the “My virtual machines” page at https://labs.azure.com/virtualmachines, click the slider so the virtual machine’s status says “Stopping…”
You may now close the web browser page.
Requesting Additional Lab Hours
To request additional lab hours, send an email to hwc_helpdesk@ccc.edu, and additional hours will be applied to your account.
Data Retention
To prevent data loss, always save your files to a third-party online file storage platform such as Google Drive or one OneDrive. It is not recommended to save data to your local computer unless it is backed up. Do not save important data in the virtual environment. Data will be overwritten and lost at any time, access to the virtual lab is removed once a semester is over, and data cannot be recovered in the virtual lab.
Support
To report issues with your Azure account, or if you never received the enrollment email, please send an email to hwc_helpdesk@ccc.edu and note the course name/number you are enrolled in.