Access requirements
Contents
Quick start: Basic access requirements
To use Skytap virtual machines, you need:
- A modern browser – A modern web browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Safari.
- A good network connection – A good network connection for connecting to VMs. This means:
- At least 1.2 Mbps for each concurrent browser session with a VM.
- Low latency (150ms or less) to the region where your VMs are located.
See if you meet the requirements
-
Use Connectivity Checker to test your browser and network access.
For instructions, see Using the Connectivity Checker.
-
Use Speedtest to test your bandwidth and latency to Skytap regions.
For instructions, see Testing bandwidth and latency with Speedtest.
If you’re on a restricted network, or if you want additional information about these requirements, see the sections below.
Detailed Skytap website access requirements
Requirements for accessing https://cloud.skytap.com
Requirement
Description
Operating Systems
You can access Skytap from any operating system that supports any of the following browsers. This includes most versions of Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, macOS, and most major Linux distributions.
IP addresses and port ranges
To access the Skytap web interface, you need direct access to the HTTPS/SSL port (TCP/IP port 443) at cloud.skytap.com (76.191.118.28). Test access here.
Contact your network administrator if you don’t have access to these sites.
Some services may require additional open ports. For more information, see What IP addresses and port ranges does Skytap use?
Detailed requirements for accessing Skytap VM desktops
Requirements for accessing VMs with the SRA browser client
(as a signed in Skytap user or through a sharing portal)
Requirement
Description
Browser
You must meet the browser requirements defined in Access requirements above.
The SRA browser client is optimized for use with desktop and laptop computers. We recommend using the SRA client with mouse and keyboard, rather than a touch interface.
Minimum download speed of 1.2 Mbps for each concurrent browser session with a VM.
For example, if you have 15 students, each using the browser client from the same physical location at the same time, the minimum recommended amount of bandwidth is 18 Mbit/s (1.2 Mbps for each concurrent browser session with a VM × 15 sessions).
Notes
- To estimate the bandwidth of your connection, see Testing bandwidth and latency with Speedtest.
- Actual bandwidth consumption varies with how you use your VMs. For example, working within a command line interface requires fewer network resources, but images and video require significantly higher bandwidth.
- More connections to the same VM cause slower performance for each user. We recommend no more than ten simultaneous browser client sessions per VM.
- For audio-enabled VMs, we recommend at least 1.5 Mbit/s (187.5 KByte/s) for each audio-enabled VM browser session.
Latency
Latency of 150 ms or less is strongly recommended. Latencies above 250 ms may not provide acceptable performance.
IP addresses and port ranges
For more information about the specific IP addresses and port ranges used by the browser client, see What IP addresses and port ranges does Skytap use?
The browser client works best when the VM has the latest version of VMware Tools installed (11.0.5 build 15389592).
Notes
- To check the version of VMware Tools installed on a VM, see http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003947.
- To install or upgrade VMware Tools, see Installing and upgrading VMware Tools on Windows VMs or Installing and upgrading VMware Tools on Linux VMs.
For help with the browser client, see Help with your Skytap VMs.