The LabStats Remote Desktop Access Dashboard is a dashboard that can be used by students to find an available computer on campus. It also provides them with a mechanism to remotely log into that computer without any special knowledge needed.
How much does it cost?
The Remote Access Dashboard is available at no additional cost to LabStats users. If you already have LabStats installed on campus computers, reach out to support for assistance in getting it set up.
If you do not have LabStats yet, schedule a walkthrough, and see how the Remote Access Dashboard works.
Is it available for LabStats Cloud and On-Premise users?
If you’re using LabStats in the cloud, you can get started with the Remote Access Dashboard right away.
The Dashboard is available for On-Prem customers, however, there is an important note: While you would be hosting LabStats within your on-prem environment, the Remote Access Dashboard would still be hosted by LabStats. We would need an API key and URL from your instance along with the Group IDs for each group you want displayed on the dashboard. Reach out to support for more information
Can I embed the Remote Access Dashboard in an existing webpage?
Yes, you can embed this Dashboard in another webpage (using an “iframe”), or you can link directly to it.
What prevents the student from skipping going to the website and just connecting via the published IP?
Because of the way RDP connections work, it is possible for a student to use the dashboard once, and then skip the Dashboard and connect straight to the IP. However, the dashboard is the only way to ensure the computer you’re trying to connect to is not already in use, so we anticipate students returning to the dashboard every time they need to connect to a computer.
Can I try this with a couple of groups and then later add more?
Yes you can! The methods will differ slightly for cloud versus on-premises environments. Note with either environment if your group was created the same day you are looking to add it to the dashboard, it will not display any computers until the following day.
- For cloud environments, when you set up the dashboard it will ask you to check the box for any groups you want to add to the dashboard. Simply return to that edit page and check additional boxes to add more groups to that existing page.
- For on-premises environments, reach out to support with the additional Group IDs that you want to add to your dashboard. You can find your group ID by navigating to the group you want to add and looking at the Group Detail view. It will also display the group ID in the URL of the group page itself.
Does this authenticate users by the school’s domain name?
No. This dashboard does not authenticate. The authentication happens in the Remote Desktop connection itself using school/university systems, as well as with the VPN connection (if applicable).
This dashboard surfaces the available computers (spreading the load across the computers while doing that), and creates an RDP file pre-filled with connection information to simplify the process for the student.
At that point RDP on school/university computers takes over and requires whatever authentication was set up on their end. In this way, LabStats facilitates getting students into the school/university computer systems, but it leaves authentication up to the school for maximum flexibility.
What is the best way for schools to show students what applications are available in a specific lab?
Currently, organizing computers by lab will help students find appropriate software. If they normally access statistics software in the Mathematics or Engineering Lab, they should expect to find it on the computers in that group. You can also request a custom message or banner to be displayed on the dashboard explaining what software is available. Reach out to support for more information
Does this require VPN access for the remote users?
No, it does not. A VPN is not necessary, but it is a possibility.
Instead, you could use a remote desktop gateway or you could make your computers available directly through the internet by adding firewall exceptions for RDP access and by using static IP addresses. Both of these options reduce the amount of additional traffic that would be sent through your network and potentially reduce the risk of direct network access.
RD Gateway
According to Microsoft, “end users can connect to internal network resources securely from outside the corporate firewall through RD Gateway.” To learn more about RD Gateways and why Microsoft recommends using them, read Remote Desktop Services – Access from Anywhere.
How to Set Up an RD Gateway
Follow Microsoft’s set up guide: Deploy Your Remote Desktop Environment.
Will this show computers that are not assigned to groups?
It will only display computers in groups. Note that if you move computers into a new group the same day you are looking at the dashboard, they will not show up until the following day.
Will students be able to connect to VDI machines remotely?
Yes, VDI machines should behave the same way as a physical machine.
What about the LabStats API?
If your team is looking for a custom solution, check out our powerful API. You can use the LabStats API to securely connect LabStats data to a wide range of in-house solutions.
LabStats API Documentation and Testing Sandbox
https://api.labstats.com/index.html
LabStats Support Documentation on the API
Is it possible to add or remove computers from this dashboard?
You can choose which groups are displayed (groups generally reflect the computer labs you have on campus). Any computers that are part of the displayed groups will show up on the dashboard as long as they are online and available. Note that by default only Windows computers will show up on the dashboard. If you would like to enable macOS computers to show up as well, please reach out to support for additional assistance.
