Help

Download

The Remote Labs Client is available for Windows and OS X. Please check the System Requirements for more information.

Operating System

Version

Download

OS X

10.9 or later

Please note: macOS 11.x (Big Sur) and newer versions are currently not supported

Installation and Configuration

Step 1: Download and Install the Client

In order to make sure that the Remote Labs Client works with your device, please read the System Requirements. Afterwards, please Download the right version for your OS in the Download area and open the file. Follow the installation routine. The picture below shows the installation dialogue for Windows.

imgo3

Step 2: Adjust the Settings

Open the client by clicking the Remote Labs Client icon in the start menu.
After the client has been opened the first time you will be asked to adjust the window resolution for remote connections as well as the keyboard layout.

Please Note: The Keyboard Layout affects the remote desktop sessions only. The terminal sessions are using your local keyboard settings.
When working with VNC connections, the keyboard layout has to be adjusted on the target machine.

Additionally a connection test will be performed to assure that all neccesary servers can be accessed. If you encounter a red result please check your firewall settings and click Recheck to test again. The picture below shows the settings dialogue for Windows.
You can open the settings window later by clicking on the settings_symbol button.

rlc_1.1.1

Step 3: Log In

You will be directed to the actual login page of your Remote Labs Service. Please log into your lab by typing your username and password.

Step 4: Start Your Lab!

You are ready to start working on your lab now. Please follow the Guide.

System Requirements

Please make sure that your device complies with the following system requirements.

1. General Description

The Fast Lane Remote Lab Services use the following major technology:

Remote Desktop sessions and console access to various types of server systems used in the Remote Lab environments is provided by X2GO Client. The installation and update process is handled by the Remote Labs Client.

2. Facility Requirements

Bandwith

56 kBit/s or higher multiplied with the number of Student- PCs. We recommend for 1-4 Pods: 400kBit/s, for 5-8 Pods: 700kBit/s and for 8-16 Pods: 1MBit/s.
*If you are using a shared line e.g. for parallel trainings, ensure that you have enough bandwidth for each class.

Proxy

It is not possible to access the Fast Lane Remote Lab System directly using a Proxy.
Please contact our Support for further help.

Security

Firewalls must allow the client to establish outbound TCP connections to:

217.111.2.43 (rl1ham-x2goproxy) Port 443
213.61.206.196 (rl1bbi-x2goproxy) Port 443
217.110.100.69 (rl1ffm-x2goproxy) Port 443
213.203.255.55 rlclient.com Port 80 and 443
213.203.255.56 rl1.labs.rlclient.com Port 80 and 443

3. Minimum System Requirements for Microsoft Windows based Client Systems

OS

Microsoft Windows 7 and higher

Screen

Minimum Resolution of 1024 x 768 px
We recommend to use at least 22” displays and resolution of 1920×1080 px

Security

Personal firewalls must allow the client to establish TCP connections

Software

Fast Lane Remote Labs Client

Adobe Acrobat Reader 11 or higher for viewing the course material

Hardware

1 GHz Processor or higher with at least 1 GB RAM

4. Minimum System Requirements for Apple OS X based Client Systems

OS

OS X 10.9 and higher up to 10.15

Screen

Minimum Resolution of 1024 x 768 px
We recommend to use at least 22” displays and resolution of 1920×1080 px

Hardware

1 GHz Processor or higher with at least 1 GB RAM

Software

Fast Lane Remote Labs Client

Security

Personal firewalls must allow the client to establish TCP connections

Remotelabs Guide

This guide is designed for trainers and students without any prior experience who want to get started with the Remote Lab Service.

1. Install and Configure

Please download, install and configure the Remote Labs Client and log into your Remote Labs Service. Read Installation and Configuration for clear instructions.

2. Start Page

After your login, you will reach the Start page. Basic information on your lab will be displayed. Please check the Notes-document for more information on your lab.

01_start

3. How to Start Working on a Lab

Please click on Network Diagram(s) -> Pod x. You will be directed to your network diagram. Click on a device to access it.

02_diagram

4. Lab Administration

On the Lab Administration page a list of devices and the option to clear them is displayed.

03_admin

5. Further Help and Support

Please use the help content provided on the Landing Page. Additionally we offer personal support for trainers through our trouble ticket system. Please select “Support Tickets” after logging into your lab.

Need further help?

General FAQ

What is the Remote Labs Client?

The Remote Labs Client is a native application to guarantee easy lab access when working with the Fast Lane Remote Labs Services. You do not need to install any additional software as the client comes with everything you need to work on your lab.

With which OS does the client work with?

Currently the Remote Labs Client works with Windows and OS X.

How can I find out where my lab is located?

The access data sent by Fast Lane will come with a Labname such as „L-Labname-X123“. The X represents the location of the lab and is one of the following: H=Hamburg, B=Berlin, F=Frankfurt.
If the access data subject starts with REMOTELABS- the lab is located in Frankfurt.
If you have not gotten your access data, please contact the support team and ask them directly.

How can I change the keyboard layout, screen resolution and terminal font size?

You can change them in the Remote Labs Client settings area. Click the settings_symbol button on the right side to open the window.

Technical FAQ

What kind of software is installed locally and how can I delete it?

The Remote Labs Client will be installed on your device and can simply be removed by deinstallation. Installation and configuration paths for Windows and Mac are:

Windows:
Installation Path: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\FastLane\RemoteLabsClient\
Configuration Files Path: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\.fastlane

Mac:
Installation Path: /Applications/
Configuration Files Path: /Users/%USERNAME%/.fastlane

What kind of technology does the Remote Labs Client use?

The Remote Labs Client works with the remote desktop solution X2Go. Read more here.

When I try connecting to a device I get the message Error [15] No master session found. A master session has to be established first.

You are logged in with the trainer account which is not able to connect to devices without an established student session. Please use the student account to connect to devices. The trainer account can only ghost sessions from students.

I am logged out. How can I send “Ctrl” + “Alt” + “Del” to login again?

Press <F8>, then “Send ctrl-alt-del”.

I’m not able to connect to any device in my lab using a proxy.

It is not possible to access the Fast Lane Remote Lab System directly using a Proxy. If a Proxy must be used due to company policies, please see the proxy section in the System Requirements.

How can I clear lines using Remotelabs 1.0?

When you are logged in as a trainer you can clear lines using Lab Administration in the menu. This only concerns Remotelabs 1.0.

When I try to connect I get a message that there is an existing session but I cannot clear it.

Please check if there is a local firewall blocking your access.

How do I send a break signal in the console client?

Press <Alt> + <b> to send a break signal. Or you can press <Ctrl> + <right click> for special commands.

How do I copy and paste text in the console client?

Using Remotelabs 1.0: To copy text from the console client, select the text with your left mouse button. To paste into the console client, simply right click with your mouse.

How do I send “Ctrl” + “SHIFT” + “6” in the console client?

Press <CTRL> + <SHIFT> + <X>

I cannot move X2Go windows upward properly on my Mac device when working with two screens.

This problem can be solved by changing your screen arrangement. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Displays and then click Arrangement. You will see the arrangement of your screens indicated by two blue boxes. The primary screen will have a white bar at the top of the blue box. From this point, you have to options to solve the problem.

1. Select the blue box with the bigger resolution as primary screen.

2. In case you would like to keep the resolution of the primary screen bigger than the resolution of the secondary screen, you need to arrange the blue boxes in a way so they align at the bottom.

screens

What do the symbols in the lab topology mean?

Please check the list below for an explanation of the symbols.

01_RDP RDP connection
02_VNC VNC connection
03_Serial Serial connection
04_XDMCP XDMCP connection
05_poweroff Device is powered off. Click to power it on.
06_poweron Device is powered on. Click to power it off.
07_reset Reset device

For trainers only: What is the shadowing feature?

The shadowing feature can be used by a trainer to log into a students POD in order to help the student. Please read the instructions on how to establish a shadow session below.

lupe_

Step 1 –  Student establishes Master Session connecting to a device

Ask the student to establish a connection to a device. The shadow feature will not work if the student is not connected!

Step 2 – Trainer establishes Shadow Session connecting to the same device 

– Log into the lab as a trainer and click on “Lab”. Select the students POD in the dropdown menu in the right upper corner.

– Establish a connection to the same device as the student.

– You can now help the student using the shadowing feature

Hint: If you are getting a “No Desktop found” error when trying to establish a shadowing session, please check if the student has already established a connection to a device.

Are there any other ports that are used and not mentioned in the system requirements?

There are dynamically generated local ports for localhost sockets. They do not establish an outside connection and therefore do not need to be allowed on your firewall.

What are the keyboard-shortcuts for zooming?

CTRL and + (zoom in)
CTRL and – (zoom out)
CTRL and 0 (default, 100%)
CTRL and D (default, 100%)

What is the Connection Test for?

The Connection Test assures that all necessary servers can be accessed. Using Windows, it can be found in the “Settings” menu, using OS X, in the “Preferences” menu. The image below shows the Connection Test for Windows.

rlc_1.1.1

Release Notes

The following improvements and new features have been made and added. The latest changes are on top.

1.1.8 Remote Labs Client (Release date 2017/05/15)

+ Removes links and access to RL2.0
+ Connection test reworked to match current infrastructure changes
+ Improved Keymappings on macOS

1.1.5 Remote Labs Client (Release date 2016/03/21)

+ Save log feature via menu bar / help
+ 4k display support
+ DPI support
+ Direct links to RL1.0 and RL2.0 via menu bar
+ Improved Keymapping for VNC-Connections

1.1.2 Remote Labs Client (Release date 2015/10/12)

+ Changed System Check access IPs

1.1.1 Remote Labs Client (Release date 2015/10/05)

+ Improved System Check that checks simulated remote lab device connections
+ Improved scroll bar behavior for smaller screen size resolutions
+ Improved terminal windows settings
+ Apple Mac OS X El Capitan support

1.0.8 Remote Labs Client (Release date 2015/09/07)

+ Issue *.dll not found fixed
+ Putty window size optimization for ssh/telnet connections
+ Shortcut improvements (Zoom in/out)
+ Minor Bugfixes
+ Search function within the Remote Labs Client accessible via menu

1.0.3 Remote Labs Client (Release date 2015/07/29)

+ Settings and connection test directly accessible through the symbol bar
+ Concurrent connection issues fixed (error message: failed to create SSH proxy tunnel)

1.0.0 Remote Labs Client (Release date 2015/07/25)

+ Release

Known Issues

1. Remote Labs Client installation process stops

If the installation process stops and doesn’t continue (e.g. picture below) please check your desktop firewall or antivirus program. Some users encountered issues with Avast Antivirus and the software doesn’t show a message and blocks the installation process hidden for the user.
In order to install the Remote Labs Client (RLC) please stop your desktop firewall or antivirus programm for the installation and reactivate it afterwards.

RLC Installer Blocked

2. Missing *.dll

Sometimes the Remote Labs Client (RLC) can’t start because *.dll (e.g. Qt5Core.dll) is missing from your computer. In order to get the RLC running you can copy all *.dll files from the installation path to your System32 folder under your windows installation.

From: C:\Users%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\FastLane\RemoteLabsClient\

To: C:\Windows\System32\

Users of Windows x64 have to copy the *.dll files to the following folder as well:

To: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\

3. Remote Labs Client won’t open Putty / Terminal connections

If the Remote Labs Client won’t open Putty / Terminal connections with the following log output:

x2go-INFO (1): Starting x2goclient…
x2go-INFO (1): libssh version:0.6.4
x2go-INFO (3): Started x2goclient.
x2go-INFO (1): Starting x2goclient in hidden mode…
x2go-INFO (8): Starting connection to server: rl1ffm-x2goserver02
x2go-INFO (12): Connection established.
x2go-INFO (9): Opening Session, starting command.
x2go-WARNING (5): Waiting for proxy to exit.
x2go-WARNING (6): Failed, killing the proxy.
x2go-INFO (6): Closing x2goclient…
x2go-INFO (7): Closed x2goclient.

Due to an updated “libz” file from Apple you have to delete the existing one in the Remote Labs Client Installation.

The Remote Labs Client needs to be started an you can delete the following two files (and empty them from the Recycle Bin).

/Applications/RemoteLabsClient.app/Contents/Resources/x2go/x2goclient.app/Contents/Frameworks/libz.1.dylib

$HOME/.fastlane/x2go/x2goclient.app/Contents/Frameworks/libz.1.dylib

 

Note:

The Quickest Way to Show/Hide Hidden Files

Since the release of macOS Sierra, when in Finder, it is now possible to use the shortcut:

CMD + SHIFT + .

Further Help

Support

Our support team is available 6am-2am (CET* / CEST**) from Monday-Friday. Weekday nights are covered by our on-call service 2am-6am (CET* / CEST**).

* Central European Time (UTC+1)
** Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)

Please contact us via:

Trouble Ticket System

In case you are a trainer and need further help, please check the Trouble Ticket System once you logged in. If you are a student, please ask your trainer for help.

Contact

If you would like to know more about our Remote Lab Service offerings please either contact us via telephone or e-Mail.

Fast Lane Europe

Fast Lane America

Phone: +49 (0)40 25334618
eMail: info@flane.de
Website: http://flane.de

Phone: +(1) 855 778 7246
eMail: info@fastlaneus.com
Website: http://fastlaneus.com