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7lbd ("Seven Layer Bean Dip") allows users to launch and access a Microsoft Windows Desktop via Open OnDemand without requiring any additional Windows infrastructure. It treats Microsoft Windows as "just another Open OnDemand application," similar to JupyterLab, MATLAB, or VSCode, and provides users with access to their files in a secure and isolated environment.
- Run Windows VMs on cluster nodes and make interactive sessions available through Open OnDemand.
- Utilizes 3 different optional methods to deliver a desktop; web-based RDP for speed and convenience, web-based VNC console access intended for systems administrators, and direct RDP access through various standard clients through a custom proxy for maximum performance and utility.
- The Windows VM, desktop visualization processes, and the integrated samba server all run in a network namespace, limiting job network traffic to job processes only.
- User files on the host node are available through an integrated samba server.
- Access into the network namespace is provided only for an incoming guacamole connection, or from an RDP client accessed through the custom proxy. .
The getting started guide walks a systems administrator though the first few steps of the installation process to allow a preview into the technology without committing to a full installation. It allows a simplified technology preview to see if the performance and features of the system match expectations before spending the time to complete the necessary security and Open OnDemand integration tasks. It builds and compiles the code and allows it to be run interactively outside of an Open OnDemand Slurm job. The getting started preview only focuses on getting a Windows VM running on a cluster node and accessing it through a guacamole web session. It does not include any of the security features that come with a network namespace, or accessing the VM through the custom proxy.
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