Virtual desktop

The Virtual Desktop service gives you access to your University Windows desktop whether you are on or off campus or on the move. You will also have access to all your files and commonly used software.

There are two ways to open your virtual desktop: the Windows Desktop Client, which offers full functionality and best performance, or the web client version which is best for convenience as it can be opened from a web browser.

About the Virtual Desktop service

This service is for general usage, such as browsing the web, working with university applications and accessing files. 

It is not for running large compute intensive jobs over a prolonged period of time. Tasks of this nature will perform poorly on the service and work may be lost due to the service logging out disconnected sessions after a period of time. 

If you require more compute intensive resources, please contact the IT Team (itservicedesk@surrey.ac.uk) with additional details. We can then evaluate your requirements and see how best they can be facilitated.

Which workspace do I use?

You may be presented with more than one workspace, depending on the course you are undertaking. It is important to understand the differences between them so that you use the workspace best suited for your needs. Each one contains a different selection of academic software suites and resources.

Virtual Workspace

The virtual workspace is the main offering which will allow you to reach most of the academic software available at the University. Web browsing, editing and creating Microsoft Office documents, as well as university software access is all available here. Your files are stored and presented via Microsoft OneDrive and can be used with any number of software suites available in the workspace. The full list of software is as follows:

  • 365 Apps
  • Acrobat reader
  • FileOpen Client
  • Endnote
  • SPSS Stats 29.0.1
  • SPSS Amos 29
  • SPSS Modeler 18.4
  • Jamovi
  • R
  • R Studio
  • PowerBI Desktop
  • Nvivo 12
  • Nvivo R1
  • Google Chrome
  • Capture
  • Eclispe IDE for Java Developers
  • Anaconda3
  • Laragon
  • Python 3.11
  • Python Packages (numpy, pandas, pandas-profiling, sweetviz, matplotlib, seaborn, plotly, fitter, jupyterlab, notebook, voila)
  • ChemDraw/ChemOffice 22.0.2
  • Sap GUI
  • Matlab 2023a 
Enhanced Workspace

The Enhanced Workspace is a more specific environment mostly offering access to specialised academic software packages. This can be used to work on files and code specific to your course.

However, it is worth noting that this is not a compute-based environment and is not suitable for running prolonged tasks on. Doing so will give poor performance and may negatively impact other users of the service. Misuse of this workspace will result is access being removed.

There is a limited selection of software packages available in the Enhanced Workspace, compared to the Virtual Workspace as this should only be used for course-specific packages. This includes the following which is available:

  • 365 Apps
  • Adobe Reader
  • FileOpen Client
  • Anaconda3
  • Ansys 2023r1
  • Aspen 12.1
  • AutoCAD 2024
  • Capture 2023
  • CST Studio Suite 2023
  • Eclipse IDE for Java Developers
  • Endnote x21
  • ESA SNAP
  • Gephi
  • IBM SPSS Amos 29
  • IBM SPSS Modeler 18.4
  • IBM
  • SPSS Stats 29.0.1
  • Jamovi
  • JMOL
  • Laragon
  • Matlab 2023a
  • SQL Management Studio
  • Power BI Desktop
  • Python 3.11
  • Python Packages (numpy, pandas, pandas-profiling, sweetviz, matplotlib, seaborn, plotly, fitter, jupyterlab, notebook, voila)
  • R
  • R Studio
  • Solidworks 2023
  • Vscode
  • Visual studio community 2022
  • Mathmatica 13.3
  • Origin 2023
  • Mendeley Reference Manager
  • Zotero
  • QGIS
  • SolidEdge 2023.

In addition to offering the above software packages, the environment also includes enhanced GPU capabilities. This should give improved performance for software such as AutoCAD and SolidWorks which can better utilise graphics hardware.

Accessing virtual desktop from a web browser

Please note this service requires MFA as part of the login process.

To login through your web browser:

  1. Visit: https://workspaces.surrey.ac.uk
  2. Login using your username and password, followed by approving your MFA using your secondary authentication device (e.g. mobile phone)
  3. Select Virtual Workspace
  4. Your university desktop will load, and you will be able to being to use services as you would on campus.

Full instructions are available in our Virtual Desktop Service guide (PDF).

Installing the virtual desktop client  

If you use the virtual desktop service regularly it is a good idea to install the client app. This makes it easier to login and start using the service as well as give you additional features such as mapped drives so you can copy files easily and experience better overall performance.

  1. Visit Get started with the Remote Desktop app
  2. Select the client for your platform using the links on the left side of the page
  3. Download and run the application on your device
  4. A shortcut will appear, so you can launch the client from your device in the future
  5. If you are using a Windows device, you can select the ‘Subscribe’ button and login with your university and MFA credentials. If you are using macOS: once the client is installed, you will be prompted to subscribe or ‘Add Workspace’. The Workspace URL to add is ‘rdweb.wvd.microsoft.com’. You can then login using your credentials and access your resources.

Full instructions are available in our Virtual Desktop Service guide (PDF).

Using a Thin Client device

Many open access and study areas use smaller minicomputers to connect to the remote desktop service. These are quiet, power efficient devices which allow you to access your remote desktop like an ordinary device. The login process is simple and secure, which you can read about on our Thin Client guide (PDF). 

Using OneDrive in the Virtual Desktop

Microsoft OneDrive is the primary method of storing your files within the virtual desktop. Please ensure that all your work is saved to OneDrive only. Otherwise, there is a good chance you may lose work if it is saved in any other location. We cannot guarantee file recovery if you save work to anywhere other than your desktop, documents or OneDrive directly.

User data on the Virtual Desktop

Any user data saved to the Virtual Desktop is not protected or recoverable so therefore please ensure you save your files to OneDrive.

Any user profile data, such as download files or application settings will be removed if you have not accessed the Virtual Desktop service in 1 month.

Virtual Desktop operating hours

The Virtual Desktop service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, however at 10pm each day any active virtual desktops will be powered down. If you have an active desktop running at this time you will be prompted to save any work and asked to log out of the desktop.

Any issues with the Virtual Desktop service should be reported via email to itsupport@surrey.ac.uk and we will respond between 8am – 6pm Monday to Friday (excluding University closure days).

Virtual Desktop availability

Like the physical student labs there is a limited number of Virtual Desktops on a first come first served basis. Lab availability can be checked using Lab Computer Availability - University Of Surrey and search for AVD.

If the Virtual Desktop workspace is full please try again later.

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