Virtual Desktop Enviroment
To improve the security of our services, we will only offer
access to VDI via VPN from 01.03.2023.
What is changing and why:
The VDI is currently accessible worldwide via the internet. Although this is
convenient for users, hackers could use security gaps
to penetrate the university's network. For this
reason, direct access from the internet is disabled. In order to still
be able to work with the VDI from outside (home office, hotel, etc.),
a connection via VPN will be necessary in future.
Instructions and information on VPN can be found here.
Service description
The ITS offers a mobile digital workplace for students and employees of the University of Kassel. This service is provided via a virtual desktop infrastructure(VDI). Via the VDI, we can offer fully virtualized desktop workstations with various applications under Windows. The advantage of VDI is that a virtual desktop can be accessed worldwide from any physical end device. The virtual desktops are located in the university network, which means that internal resources (data, network drives, etc.) can also be accessed. In addition, the virtual desktops are maintained centrally and you do not have to worry about installing and configuring an application on your physical end device. The virtual desktops are grouped into pools and are always in the same state within their pool. The complete VDI is provided via servers in the ITS.
In some cases, a complete working environment under Windows is not required. We can therefore also offer individual applications in virtualized form.
Important: As the virtual desktops are automatically deleted after logging off, no permanent changes can be made to them. Adjustments must always be applied centrally to the pool and affect all virtual desktops. This also deletes locally stored data. Data must therefore be saved on network drives that are accessible in the virtual desktops.
Use cases
The VDI can cover many different use cases. If you are unsure whether your project can be implemented, please contact ITS to find a joint solution. Some examples of typical use cases are listed below:
- You work from home and would like to access internal university data and use university applications from there.
- You want to use university applications without installing them on your end device.
- You cannot use certain applications on your end device for technical/licensing reasons.
- You would like to dissolve a physical pool room of Faculties / departments / facilities and replace it with a virtual pool room that is accessible worldwide.
- You would like to offer a virtual environment to support the physical workstations of an institution.
- A virtual working environment should be made available to participants for training / tutorials / courses.
- For final theses / research, you need a virtual working environment that is accessible worldwide and guarantees access to internal university data.
Installing the access software
To be able to access the VDI from your end device, you need the VMware Horizon Client access software. You can download the latest version for your operating system from the website https://vdi.uni-kassel.de.
After you have downloaded and installed the VMware Horizon Client for your operating system, add the connection server vdi.uni-kassel.de via the Add server button in order to be able to connect to the VDI of the University of Kassel.
Then connect to the server vdi.uni-kassel.de and log in with your user account(university account).
Once you have successfully logged in, an overview of the available virtual desktops appears. These are available to you depending on your access authorizations. The view can therefore vary.
You have the option of making settings on the display for each pool separately and then connecting to it.
