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, Internet Explorer 11, 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

If you are 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.

Browsers

A modern web browser that supports WebSocket technology. This includes:

Notes

  • Skytap supports the most current, and the three previously released versions of Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.
  • Skytap requires a secure connection using TLS v1.1 or v1.2, which the above browsers include by default.
  • Skytap does not support Internet Explorer in compatibility view. For more information about disabling compatibility view, see the Microsoft article: Fix site display problems with Compatibility View.
  • Because Chrome supports the WebP image format, Chrome users should see a significant reduction in bandwidth usage when accessing VMs with the browser client.

Port Ranges and IP Addresses

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.

Bandwidth

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 18Mbit/s (1.2 Mbps for each concurrent browser session with a VM x 15 sessions).

To use audio-enabled VMs, we recommend at least 1.5 Mbit/s (187.5 Kbyte/s) for each audio-enabled VM browser session.

Notes

  • To estimate the bandwidth of your connection, see Testing bandwidth and latency with Speedtest.
  • Actual bandwidth consumption may depend on how you use your VMs. For example, working within a command line interface requires fewer network resources, but using Flash and video requires much more bandwidth than the minimums recommended above.
  • More connections to the same VM cause slower performance for each user. We recommend no more than 10 simultaneous browser client sessions per 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 18Mbit/s (1.2 Mbps for each concurrent browser session with a VM x 15 sessions).

Latency

Latency of 150ms or less is strongly recommended. Latencies above 250ms 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?

VM requirements

The browser client works best when the VM has the latest version of VMware Tools installed (11.0.5 build 15389592).

Notes

For help with the browser client, see Help with your Skytap VMs.

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