CS 1063 Introduction to Computer Programming I:
Getting on VDI from Home
There are two ways to use VDI from home:
- Install a VDI client
- Run from a browser
In either case you start by pointing your browser to
vdi.cs.utsa.edu
You may get a warning message saying that the site is not safe. Ignore it.
You will be given two choices:
- Install VMWare Horizon View Client
- VMWare Horizon View HTML Access
Install View Client
If you install the View Client, it will put an icon on your desktop from which you can get run VDI.
There are VDI clients for a large number of environments: windows (32 bit and 64 bit), Mac, IOS, Android, etc.
Choose the correct one for your environment.
When you run the VDI client, enter the connection server: vdi.cs.utsa.edu and connect.
Again you may be told that the connection is insure. Just continue.
You will be prompted for your username and password.
Most clients will save the connection server address and your username so that you will only need to enter these once.
Run from browser
If you choose this option, you will be prompted for your username and password.
The VDI session will run inside of your browser.
What is VDI
VDI stands for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure.
The VDI that we are using gives you remote access to a Windows 7 desktop.
Each time you start VDI you get a "clean" Windows 7 desktop.
VDI will start with three drives attached: C:, E:, and V:.
Anything you store in the C: or E: drive will be deleted before the next time you start VDI.
The V: drive is persistent, and what you store there will remain until you delete it.
Store all of your programs on the V: drive.
Please note that the V: drive is not backed up, so that in the case of a disk failure, its contents may be lost.
It is your responsibility to back up all important data that you store on the V: drive.
One simple way to do this is to store backups on a cloud server such as Google Drive or Dropbox.