Remotely Access CAEN Windows Computers
- Eligible members of the College of Engineering may access the CAEN Lab Software Environment for Windows remotely via the campus Virtual Sites service.
- By using Virtual Sites, the Engineering community can make use of the same engineering software and services that are available in CAEN computer labs.
Connecting to Virtual Sites
To begin using a CAEN Windows computer remotely, click the Connect Now button to open the Virtual Sites web page:
You will be presented with options for the computers you may access. For a CAEN Windows computer, click the Engineering option:
Next, click the Request Connection button and you will be connected. Note: You may be asked to open a file; simply click OK and Remote Desktop Connection should open:
Once connected, you will be presented with a login screen and prompted for your U-M uniqname and UMICH.EDU Kerberos password; similar to when you log in at a CAEN computer lab.
Accessing Online File Storage
Upon login, Virtual CAEN computers will automatically connect to several file storage locations, mounted as network drives, exactly as is done on Windows computers in CAEN computer labs. These drives include:
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H: - ITS IFS Personal Home Directory (e.g. \\afs\umich.edu\user\u\n\uniqname)
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J: - CAEN Course Storage Space (e.g. \\caen-course.engin.umich.edu)
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K: - ITS IFS Course Directories (e.g. \\afs\umich.edu\class)
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N: - CAEN Individual Storage Space (e.g. \\storage.engin.umich.edu\home)
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R: - ITS IFS Root (e.g. \\afs\umich.edu)
- S: - CAEN Software Repository
The network drives will appear under the Computer icon, as shown below:
Be sure to save your data often, but do not save important files to the remote computer's desktop. Saving to your ITS IFS Space via the H: drive, or your CAEN online file storage via the N: drive, will ensure you will have access to the files after your connection to the remote computer is terminated.
Connection Time Limits
Once a connection is made to a CAEN computer via Virtual Sites, the following session time limits are in effect:
- Any session that is disconnected (i.e. connection closed, but user not logged out) for 15 minutes will be terminated.
- Any session that remains idle (i.e. logged in with no user interaction) for 2 hours will be terminated.
- All active sessions are terminated after 24 hours.
In addition, once a connection is made to any computer on Virtual Sites, the system will continue to assign the same computer to you for 15 minutes. This is a "safety" protocol that ensures individuals who accidentally close their Remote Desktop window may still access their work by immediately reconnecting to the same host. If you wish to connect to a different Virtual Sites computer, you must wait at least 15 minutes before you will be assigned a new computer.
Access Restrictions
While CAEN maintains access to the individual CAEN computers hosted on Virtual Sites, access to the Virtual Sites main login page is maintained by ITS. Individuals who ITS deems are not eligible for access to Virtual Sites (e.g. visiting scholars) will not be able to use these CAEN computers. Visit the ITS Virtual Sites instructions for additional information on these access restrictions.
