What is the Whitman Remote Desktop experience?
Whitman Remote Desktop is a Windows Server-based infrastructure that makes software and remote desktop sessions available to Whitman persons over the internet, and accessible from any device.
To distill it extremely, it allows people to remotely connect to a computer just like one of our Lab computers..
Why do we have it?
We have Whitman Remote Desktop for three reasons:
- Because there are some software titles which, due to licensing terms and restrictions, we cannot give freely to Whitman folks for their personal computers.
- Because there are some Whitman folks who desire or need to use Apple computers for some things, but they also need access to Windows-only software.
- It's the best way to make certain software packages available in a way that keeps the user experience smooth and positive.
Who can use it?
Whitman Students, faculty, and staff.
*Please note - if you are a Whitman Faculty teaching a course in which non-Whitman students are enrolled, and are using software which is available only in Whitman, please send an email to wsmhelp@syr.edu with a list of those non-Whitman students so we can grant them access.
What software is available on Whitman Remote Desktop?
Since Whitman Remote Desktop is intended to be a lab experience, all the software available in our labs is also available on Whitman Remote Desktop.
There are two Desktop connections you'll see when you go to connect:
Whitman Remote Desktop, and Excel Cert Prep.
The Excel Cert Prep connection is designed specifically for Whitman folks who want to prepare for the Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Certification Exam.
Whitman Remote Desktop will look just like our labs.
The following software titles are installed and available in Whitman Remote Desktop:
- Argus Enterprise
- Caseware IDEA
- JDA Pro Floor Planning
- JMP Pro
- MathWorks MatLab
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Microsoft Powerpoint
- Microsoft PowerBI
- Microsoft Project
- Microsoft Visio
- Microsoft Word
- MiniTab
- Palisade DecisionTools Suite:
- @Risk
- Evolver
- NeuralTools
- PrecisionTree
- StatTools
- TopRank
- R Statistucs
- SAP
- Tableau Desktop
- XLStat
The following software titles are installed and available in Excel Cert Prep:
- Microsoft Office 2016
- Gmetrix
What should you know about Whitman Remote Desktop?
For Everybody:
The most important thing to know is if you're using Whitman Remote Desktop from off-campus, you should connect to SURA, or the SU VPN on Mac.
The second most important thing to know about Whitman Remote Desktop is that you don't need to use it if you're on a Whitman-owned computer, because with one small exception, everything that's on Whitman Remote Desktop is available in the labs.
The third thing is that using Whitman Remote Desktop is just like using a Lab computer - so your access to your G and H Drives will be presented to you on Whitman Remote Desktop.
For Faculty:
Whitman Remote Desktop is a great way to make sure that your students can participate in class. If you need computers in your classroom, and there are no laptop carts available, students can use their personal computers to connect to Whitman Remote Desktop and follow along with the class. The software that's available in our labs is there because you teach with it. So, if you need software to be used for teaching, please email wsmhelp@syr.edu so we can help you move things along.
If you're utilizing software in the classroom which is in our labs, it would be a good idea to include a mention of Whitman Remote Desktop in your syllabi, and a link to this page so that students can get set up. It might also be a good ideas to remind students to bring their laptops with them so that they can follow along in class.
For Students:
Whitman Remote Desktop is a great way for you to be able to participate in course work, complete homework from the comfort of your dorm room or apartment, or anywhere else if you can't get to one of our labs. The software in our labs is there because your extremely hard-working faculty have requested that it be there because it's part of your coursework. We have finite lab space, so if none is available, if a laptop cart can't be delivered to your classroom (because these are also a finite resource) or if the weather is bad enough that classes are cancelled, you can still take care of your academic responsibilities.
How do you use Whitman Remote Desktop?
The Ideal Experience
The ideal experience using Whitman Remote Desktop is to open your favorite web browser and go to https://remote.whitman.syr.edu. At this webpage, you will be asked to log in using your SU NetID and Password. Once you've logged in, you will see an icon called "Whitman Remote Desktop". Click that, check the box that says "Don't ask me again for connections to this computer", and click "Allow". You will be connected to a complete Remote Desktop Experience within your web browser that will give you access to your Desktop, H Drive, and Applications available on any Whitman lab computer.
Configuring your personal computer
If you find for some reason that using a web browser is not to your liking, or doesn't work as well, you can also use your own computer, by installing and configuring a client application. Please read below for information and instructions.
Before we explain this - generally speaking, we at Whitman assume that if you're using Whitman Remote Desktop that you're using a personally-owned computer that you have Admin rights to use. If you are using a work-owned computer on which you do NOT have admin rights, connecting to Whitman Remote Desktop may be more difficult.
Now that that's been said, you can connect Whitman Remote Desktop two ways:
- If from a private computer (as in one which is a person's personal property), you can configure the computer to connect to Whitman Remote Desktop using either an app (macOS) or built-in tools (Windows).
- If from a public computer on which you can't install software, using a web browser, you can log into https://remote.whitman.syr.edu/rdweb