Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
Information about VDI at the School of Nursing
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is defined as the hosting of desktop environments on a central server. Desktops are run on virtual machines (VMs) and are delivered to users over the network to a Thin Client, Windows desktop application or in a browser window. Additionally, VDI can be used to provide applications, hosted on a virtual server, to users from any location. Below you will find information and instructions about this service.
Included Applications:
Adobe Acrobat DC Adobe Creative Cloud Atlas.ti NVivo R – 32/64 Bit & R Studio SAS SPSS & SPSS Amos |
Stata IC Microsoft Access Microsoft Excel Microsoft Powerpoint Microsoft Word |
The Windows App is installed on all School of Nursing devices. Open the Windows App by double clicking the below icon:
Once the application launches, you should see two options. Select the blue connect button on the Nursing Windows Desktop. You will need to enter your pennkey password to connect to the Virtual Desktop.
Once the virtual desktop has loaded, click the Windows icon on the bottom taskbar, next to the search bar. Here, you can view all the applications included on the VDI.
How to Access VDI from a Web Browser
To access the VDI from your web browser, navigate to https://virtual.nursing.upenn.edu.
Select the blue connect button on the Nursing Windows Desktop.
You will be asked to log-in with your pennkey credentials to authenticate.
Once the virtual desktop has loaded, click the Windows icon on the bottom taskbar, next to the search bar. Here, you can view all the applications included on the VDI.
How to Download Windows App onto a Personal Machine
To download the Windows App for your personal machine, navigate to https://virtual.nursing.upenn.edu.
In the bottom left corner, you will see a download icon, which will allow you to download the appropriate version of the Windows App for your personal device. Be sure to select the right operating system based on the computer you are downloading onto.
From there, please proceed with installing the Windows app for your personal device. Once installed, please launch the app. Upon first launch, you may be prompted with a “Sign in” button as shown below. Please click “Sign in” to proceed.
A popup will appear asking to sign in with an email address as shown below:
To proceed, please use the Pennkey@upenn.edu format to enter your email address. For example, if your Pennkey username is janedoe, then use janedoe@upenn.edu to proceed. Once you’ve entered your email address in the correct format, click Next.
You will see a Penn logon screen next asking for a Password. In this window, please enter your Pennkey password, then click “Sign in”.
Once your logon process has finished, you will be greeted with this screen upon your first login:
You can keep clicking Next and then Done to review this or click Skip to go directly to the main screen. From here, please go back to the top of this article to follow the steps to access your virtual desktop.
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