Azure Labs is a pre-defined lab space within a cloud-hosted virtual machine. Azure Labs is only available in some select courses that include but is not limited to ITT-430, ITT-111, CYB-320, ITT-121, ITT-375, and ITT-380. Faculty will need to set up the labs in Azure Labs before students can start using the virtual machines. Select the appropriate section below to learn more about how to use Azure Labs.
Before you begin, take note of the following reminders with Azure Labs.
- Azure Labs has been set up and approved by the Course Lead.
- If you need to make any changes to the lab, inform the Course Lead. They will note your request and incorporate it into the lab template for the next term.
- If you make any changes to an active lab, this will result in loss of all data and work completed by the students. Students will also need to re-register for the new lab that has the updates and will need to restart the work they have completed.
- Access to Azure Labs will be provided 2 business days before the class starts.
- The Labs will be terminated 14 days after the class ends and students will no longer have access to the virtual machines.
- To access Azure Labs, navigate to labs.azure.com.
- Select Sign In in the top-right corner and then sign in with your GCU email address and password.
- Once signed in, you should see your lab named after your class.
It is important to make sure that your Azure Lab is prepared for the class to ensure that students don’t have any problems using the system.
Before you start your courses, you will need to make sure Azure Labs is ready for your class.
- First, start by logging into Azure Labs by navigating to labs.azure.com.
- Once logged in, confirm that the lab for your class is available in the Azure Labs portal. You will see that the lab is named after your class.
NOTE If the lab is not displaying, check out the FAQ “Why can’t I see my labs?” below for more information. - You should have also received an email to register for your lab. We recommend launching your virtual machine to familiarize yourself with the layout so that you can help students who experience any problems.
Once your class starts, you will still need to be making sure that the lab is working for the students.
- You will need to make sure that all active students are in the lab.
- When the class starts, students should receive an email to register for the lab. If a student joins the class after the stat date, add them using the Add Users feature. Steps for adding the user can be found in the Managing Users section of this article.
Once you sign into Azure labs, you will be able to see the status and change settings for the lab.
To view the lab overview, select the lab that you want to view the details of.
Once you click on the lab, you will see the lab’s dashboard. The dashboard provides an overview of the cost and billing related to your lab. It also provides important details and statistics about the lab’s usage and performance.
On the left-side of the screen, you will have access to the menu. From the menu, you can view the template of the lab, virtual machine status, users, and the settings.
Clicking on Template from the menu will provide requirements and specifications for the virtual machine used in the course.
Selecting Virtual Machine Pool will provide access to a list of virtual machine users and their current state. You can view the quota hours allocated to each student. Any unregistered users will be displayed as unassigned until they register for the lab. You will also be able to access the student’s virtual machine from this page.
The Users page displays the list of students enrolled in your class. You can add or remove users from within this section of the lab. If a student joins the class after the start date, you can add them by following the steps in the Managing Users section of this article.
The Settings tab will give you access to see the settings that were put into place regarding automatic shutdown and disconnection of the virtual machines.
As the instructor of the class, you have the ability to manage users in the lab environment. You may need to add students as they join your class or remove them as they drop the class. The following sections will walk you through how to add, remove, or invite students as needed.
- Navigate to labs.azure.com.
- Select the lab that you would like to change.
- From the left-hand navigation menu, select Users.
- Once on the Users page, select Add users from the top menu.
- Select Add by email address.
- Next, enter the student’s GCU email address in the box located in the center of the page. Once you add the email address of the students, click Add.
- Navigate to labs.azure.com.
- Select the lab that you would like to change.
- From the left-hand navigation menu, select Users.
- Next, search for the student that you wish to remove from the lab. Once you find the student, check the circle next to the student’s name. If you need to remove multiple people, make sure to place a check mark next to each student that you would like to remove.
- Once you select all the students that you would like to remove, select Delete.
- You will then see a confirmation window appear. Select Delete to finish removing the student(s) from the lab.
Students will receive the invite to register for the lab at the most 2 business days before the start of the class; and they will need to register before they can begin working with the virtual machine. Sometimes, students may experience problems during the registration process or never get the registration email. As the instructor of the class, you can resend the invite link to the students. Follow these steps to send the invite link to the student:
- Navigate to labs.azure.com.
- Select the lab that you would like to change.
- From the left-hand navigation menu, select Users.
- Next, search for the student that you wish to send the invite to. Once you find the student, check the circle next to the student’s name. If you need to invite multiple people, make sure to place a check mark next to each student that you would like to invite.
- Once you select all the students, select Invite.
- Before sending the invitations, you can add a message that can be sent along with the invite. Once you are ready to send the invite, select Send.
- Once the invite is sent, you can see the date that the invitation was sent and the student’s registrations status. As soon as they register for the lab, the status will switch to registered. There is no need to resend the invitation email once the student is registered.
Azure Labs restricts students from over using the lab by setting quotas on how long they can use the lab. You can manually adjust the quota if the students need longer time with the system. Follow the steps below to adjust the student’s quota.
- Navigate to labs.azure.com.
- Select the lab that you would like to change.
- From the left-hand navigation menu, select Users.
- Select a user and then click on Adjust Quota.
- Add 20 Hours to the user’s quota.
NOTE Add increments of 20 hours until you reach a total of 160 hours. If you need to add more than 160 hours, reach out to GCU Technical Support to request more hours. - After applying the additional hours, select Apply.
Before you can access your lab, you will need to register your account. You can register your account no sooner than 2 days before your course starts. After that time, you can register your account to access the lab. To register your account, follow the steps below:
- Navigate to labs.azure.com.
- Select the lab that you would like to change.
- From the left-hand navigation menu, select Users.
- On the top-right corner, select Registration Link.
- A window with a registration link will appear. Select Copy and then Done to copy the link.
- Open a new tab and paste the URL into the address bar.
- Once the registration page loads, you can sign in with your GCU email and password. After signing in, you will see the lab displayed showing that you were able to successfully register for the lab.
There are two ways that you can turn on the virtual machine. The first way allows you to turn on your virtual machine and the second way allows you to turn on the machine for anyone in the lab.
- In Azure Labs, click the monitor icon in the top right corner.
- Find the lab that you would like to access. Once you find the lab, click the toggle option to turn the machine on.
- The status will change to “Starting” and then eventually change to “Running”. Once the virtual machine is running, click the monitor icon in the bottom-right corner.
- Once the machine is running, the Remote Desktop Protocol file will download. Check out the article Azure Labs for Students to see how to open the downloaded file.
- Navigate to labs.azure.com.
- Select the lab that you would like to change.
- From the left-hand navigation menu, select Virtual machine pool.
- If you are turning on your virtual machine, locate your email in the list. If you are turning on the machine for a student, locate their GCU email.
- Once you find the machine that you would like to start, click the toggle under the State column.
- A window will appear confirming that you want to start the virtual machine. Click Start to continue.
- The status will change to “Starting”, and then eventually change to “Running”. Once the virtual machine is running, the Remote Desktop Protocol file will download.
- Once the Remote Desktop Protocol file downloads, review the steps in the Azure Labs for Students article to access the virtual machine.
FAQ
If you can’t see your labs, make sure that you are accessing Azure Labs no sooner than 2 days before the course start date. If you still cannot view your labs, you may be in the wrong tenant. To switch your tenant, select GCU Employees in the top right corner and then select Grand Canyon University from the dropdown menu.
The password you used to create the Azure Labs account will stay the same even if you reset your GCU account password. If you ever forget your Azure Labs password, click the “Forgot your password?” option on the login page to reset it.