Welcome to the DaDesktop Community Forum
Please feel free to post your Feature requests, bug reports, and site ideas concerning DaDesktop Online Learning Platform
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Remote Replica is a very useful new feature designed to replicate, or clone your Fresh Start Desktop to another server often in a different geographical location. Any changes to your machine will be silently and automatically copied in the background to the replica without requiring any further user input. Thus the Remote Replica is always ready if you need it.
New Documentation explaining useful ways how this feature can be used is now available as below :-
https://www.dadesktop.com/doc/remote-replica-1
Please let us know in the comments how you find this feature.
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We've recently introduced improvements so that if you need to resize your Fresh Start machines, you no longer need to make manual changes to extend the partition within the VM itself. This greatly simplifies the process and saves time.
This is the case for any standard NobleProg OS Templates, using either Windows or Linux. Custom templates may still need manual disk resizing which is detailed in the guide below.
An updated guide to resize Fresh Start desktops can be found here https://www.dadesktop.com/doc/resize-disk-of-fresh-start-desktop-in-course
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We will be releasing daily billing on 9th of May! It means you will have real time access to your next bill amount and breakdown!
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I'm very pleased to announce that we have released a Debian 11 (codenamed Bullseye) OS template for DaDesktop today.
This new template is being distributed to all DD nodes so will be available to every DaDesktop region shortly.DaDesktop Templates
As a note we support Windows, Ubuntu, CentOS and Debian officially but we're happy to provide custom templates for other operating systems such as Fedora if required.Please get in contact with us if you require assistance https://www.dadesktop.com/contact-us
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I recently provided some training on the DaDesktop platform to NobleProg staff to explain more about DD, and to provide a run through of how it works and a quick look at some of the newer features too.
The video can be found below:-
https://www.dadesktop.com/doc/dadesktop-basic-level-training-video
NB The video is just over 30mins long.
Topics Covered
Training courses
General layout of DaDesktop
DaDesktop For Work (DD4W) - Flexible Virtual desktop machines that can be spun up in seconds to work from.
FreshStart - What is the purpose of the FreshStart Machine?
Training Room
Recordings - Room recordings or Trainer Desktop Recordings
Snapshots
Remote Replica - Available for Standalone and dd4w machines, not for FreshStart nor course desktops currently
Chat
Multi-trainer capability - With example
Users in different geographical locations - For trainer, freshstart desktop and participants
Spool - Ability to keep course desktop after the course finishes
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Port forwarding allows exposing a port or ports of a desktop to the local network or the internet. It is commonly used with Remote Desktop Protocol.
This feature can be used for both DaDesktop Course machines (Super admin and own permissions required), DaDesktop For Work or Standalone machines. Please note, the interface may appear slightly differently for the different types of machines.
This feature has been improved by the addition of auto allocation of ports both TCP and UDP as well the maintaining the manual port forwards feature as originally introduced.
Screenshot_from_2022-04-13_16-25-34_1.png
For further details please see the DaDesktop Port Forward Documentation
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Hi all
There's been a lot of improvements and new features added to DaDesktop recently so I thought it was a good time to update you with the latest goings on with DaDesktop.
New Forum : forum.dadesktop.com
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Firstly, the new DaDesktop Forum, https://forum.dadesktop.com has been launched. The plan is that DaDesktop announcements, feature requests, bug fixes etc, will be presented and tracked in the open from now on.
The Tickets & Feature Requests category will include bug reports and new feature suggestions from Franchisees and the other users.
One example added this week, to give you an idea :- Accessibility - Pre Course readonly test should have audio test.
Franchisees will be able to login with their staff login as usual. Franchisees will also be subscribed to receive any new items added to the 'Announcements' category in the forum.
The forum is also open to course delegates and the public via their DaDesktop login.The site has been recently redeveloped to improve the SEO of the forum content available.
Any feedback for the forum is welcomed.
New and Improved DaDesktop Features
A newly requested feature is the use of 'Multi Trainers'. This means that DaDesktop now allows one or more trainers on all its courses.
The trainers will each have their own login to DD, and can control the ‘Trainer Desktop’ as if it were their own.
The idea is that both trainers will be on the Audio conference, swapping over at intervals as appropriate, but can take control of the Trainer Desktop as required. This will be especially useful on longer courses, or courses that just work better with input from two experts in their field to the course participants.vGPU - can now offer 3D graphics capability* on Windows and Linux machines on DaDesktop
A new Production DD node with this capability, hs2fi.npg.io has been set up, located in Europe.This enables NobleProg to host courses for applications such as CAD packages such as SketchUp which were not previously possible because a full graphics stack could not be configured. This server allows SketchUp or other graphic applications to be used or installed.
Please get in touch for further info.
Removal of CentOS8 DD Templates, as this OS is now End of Life. A drop in replacement such as AlmaLinux or RockyLinux will be added in its place suitable for Redhat Linux RHEL clone OS course requirements.
Seafile - A new storage system, Seafile on the NobleProg network has been set up. This allows you to upload files, even full virtual machines from your own laptop or desktop that can now be easily accessed inside the Trainer's desktop machine.
Improved Clipboard - you might remember that we much improved the clipboard functionality at the end of last year. This has been since been further improved.
Although it may appear to be a small feature, the ability to simply copy and paste from a machine into the DD Desktop was one of our most requested features to improve upon. It's particularly useful on courses where delegates require a lot of copying and pasting commands etc as part of their course.Likewise, ongoing updates are being made to the DaDesktop Documentation site to refine, update and improve the information held there.
There are many more smaller improvements coming through and also a number of wider improvements to the User Interface, some of which you may have seen already.
Full details of these will be posted on the next newsletter.If you have any queries about any of these new features or the new Forum, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.
Many thanks
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Julian Robbins
Cloud Support Manager / Troubleshooter -
CentOS 8 DaDesktop Templates have been removed due to a change in business model by CentOS.
A drop in replacement such as AlmaLinux or RockyLinux will be added in its place shortly, suitable for Redhat Linux RHEL clone course requirements.
Please note CentOS7 is still supported and will still be offered as a DD template.
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A newly requested feature is the use of 'Multi-trainers'. DaDesktop can now allow one or more trainers for all its courses.
The trainers will each have their own login to DaDesktop, and can control the ‘Trainer Desktop’ as if it were their own.
training-page004_0.png
The idea is that both trainers will be on the Audio conference, swapping over at intervals as appropriate, but can take control of the Trainer Desktop as required. This will be especially useful on longer courses, or courses that just work better with input from two experts in their field to the course participants.Read more about [Multi Trainers feature](https://www.dadesktop.com/doc/trainer-guide
https://www.dadesktop.com/doc/add-trainers) -
A new storage system, Seafile on the NobleProg network has been set up. This allows you to upload files, documents and even full virtual machines from your own laptop or desktop that can now be easily accessed inside the Trainer's desktop machine.
training-page008.png
The Seafile Docs server is accessible from anywhere, where you login via the SSO link and then upload course content etc, which can then be readily accessed within the DaDesktop Machines on a course. Trainers can use this feature to add content for a course. This tool can also be used to upload entire Virtual machines if they are to be used in a nested configuration using VirtualBox or Virt-Manager for example.Alternatively, you may wish to use a cloud storage application such as DropBox, Google Drive etc, but this is likely to be slower in use within the DaDesktop machine compared to using the NobleProg Seafile cloud storage system.
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We will be making regular updates here with new features and improvements to DaDesktop.
Upcoming features and bug-fixes will be announced on this forum.
We welcome any feedback and suggestions concerning these updates to DaDesktop.com
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We have some exciting new features coming up on DaDesktop.
The first one is an oft-requested feature where the username of the person controlling the mouse follows the mouse cursor when more than one user are connecting to same desktop. This is especially useful for multi-user scenarios, and also training activities where different users may be taking control of the mouse at different times.
mouse-with-user-shown.gif
If more than one user is connected to the desktop their usernames are shown in the centre bottom part of the screen.
mouse-with-name1.jpg
This feature can be enabled or disabled as you wish by clicking the ‘Info’ button at the bottom of the screen.
info.jpegThe feature above is available now.
Also coming up soon is a related feature for multi-user keyboard usage. The name of the user typing is shown for the user typing on the keyboard at that specific time. Although this feature isn’t available quite yet, this should be available very soon.
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This feature is only available in: DaDesktop Private Server (DDPS), DaDesktop On-Premise (DDOP) only.
Previously as highlighted the system would alert if there were not enough resources for CPU, memory and disk space during creation of VM’s in course creation.
IE If the course as created would mean that the CPU resource required is too high, a warning just for this parameter will be created on screen, making it much easier for the trainer to know what was causing the over resourcing issue compared to before. This has now been improved so that a warning is created instead specifically for each parameter. See below for an example of the new warning.
Over committed warning-yellow.png
In this case, the machine would need to be migrated to another server, reduced in size or to have overcommit co-coefficients changed in the server config.
If for example, over resourcing is happening with both CPU and disk space, then two warnings will be provided as they occur, so the trainer is much more aware of the boundaries that they need to work within.
Additionally, this also makes it simpler to make use of the temporary increasing of overcommitted co-efficients as a last resort, as only the parameter(s) that are causing the problem can be increased if necessary.link text![Over committed warning-yellow.png]
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For those trainers who need to use nested virtualisation for their courses, the following new page in our DaDesktop Docs will be very useful. Note this is very much a moving target so please get in touch with your course co-ordinator or DaDesktop Support if you have any issues
See this link for full details and notes [https://www.dadesktop.com/doc/dadesktop-nested-virtualization-compatibility)
Nested-virtualisation-chart.png
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We’ve introduced a new administration feature when dealing with DD templates. This makes it a cinch to delete many DaDesktop templates from a number of different servers in one operation.
Admin → OS Template → Distribution → Remove from …
Please see detailed documentation on this feature here
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A recently introduced new feature is the use of audio within DD4T - DaDesktop For Training.
This will open up many more possibilities of the types of courses and subjects that can be taught, and the general capabilities of DaDesktop, either Cloud DD4T, on Premise DDOP, or using a private DD node.
DD-Audio-now-available.gif
The audio mode is shown by the loudspeaker icon at the bottom left of the VM. Sound can be enabled and disabled by clicking on and off as required. When the icon is shown in green this indicates the audio is available.
For example, some ideas or examples of courses that could now be run include :-
Audio Signal Processing for Music Applications
Audio/Video editing courses
Psychoacoustics
Digital Sound Processing
3D Sound, Pre-processing and Post-processing of audio and video
Music production
Transcription services in the cloud
To work with sound on your DaDesktop VMs, you will need a template that has been tweaked and optimised to enable audio.
The audio templates currently only support audio out, ie the use of speakers in the VM but audio in/line in ie use of a mic with a VM is not yet supported.
Although standard templates are now available enabling the use of audio out of the box, if you have a particular requirement that does not work with the audio templates mentioned above, the following documentation will be of interest which explain the technical details in putting them together.
https://www.dadesktop.com/doc/creating-template-supporting-audio
Please get in touch if you have any further queries.
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A new feature that has been developed over the last few weeks is the ability to view certain course recordings dependent on availability.
This feature will be an excellent demonstration of the quality of the NobleProg and QuikCourse training courses taking place.
We are currently taking the opportunity to refine and improve the video playing features and quality. Further details and a full announcement will be coming up soon.
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We saw a couple of occasions where a password was required when the auto screen lock kicked in after the machine hadn’t been used for a little while.
As there is no user password here, the user could not get out of this password prompt and had to reboot the VM to continue working.I have updated the template so that the screenlock is no longer required, therefore avoiding this issue.
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DaDesktop Course (DD4T) and Work (DD4W) desktops are a great addition to remote working, but the original clipboard was an annoying sticking point for some. Previously, the browser security model meant that copying and pasting from your PC to inside a browser window was very difficult, and workaround solutions were not particularly elegant or easy to use.
Improved clipboard copy and paste was one of the most requested features from our course delegates and users of DD4W so we decided to take another look at what more could be done.
Fortunately a new clipboard API is available for many of the mainstream browser engines (currently except Safari, Firefox). This means that first class clipboard usage is now available in most browsers. eg Chrome, Edge, Opera.
When you connect to your Course or Stand-alone Desktop, a pop up similar to that shown below will appear. Click 'Allow’ . NB Images cannot be copied to the clipboard when using DaDesktop currently.
clipboard-request.png
If you click the small clipboard icon on the right hand side of the address bar, you can change the clipboard settings for this site
clipboardread.png
Usage is pretty simple
On Windows VM Desktop, use clipboard copy and paste as usual from your PC, ie Windows or Linux On Linux VM Desktop, Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V is used for copying and pasting (Right click ‘Paste’ option doesn’t appear) On a Mac host, copy as usual and press Shift + Ctrl + V, or mouse middle click, to paste.Note for users of incompatible browsers, such as Firefox, IE or Safari, you can still use the original clipboard tool.
Notes
We did find a few small instances where the clipboard didn’t work fully. When using a Windows DaDesktop machine, it worked flawlessly with no issues.
When pasting into a Linux Desktop, we found that pasting into LibreOffice did not work, and paste was not offered as an option when right clicking, therefore just use Ctrl-X, C and Ctrl-V to cut, copy and paste as required. Pasting into a Pluma Linux terminal did not work, but this is fixed by using a different terminal ie xfce-terminal instead. sudo apt install xfce-terminal will install this.
Please get in touch with us if you require further support with this feature.
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We’ve been asked numerous times if we can present courses using DaDesktop that require accelerated graphics stacks ie 3D applications.
These may include CAD applications eg CATIA, Cortona or SketchUp, Gaming engines such as Unity and Machine Learning applications.
3D-applications running on daDesktop.jpeg
Because of the complications in offering a full hardware graphic accelerated stack virtually, this has not been easily available previously. With our Linux guest machines in DaDesktop we can already provide some limited support for virtualised accelerated graphics stack within the guest using LLVMpipe, but providing similar solutions for Windows Desktops within DaDesktop has been more difficult.
We’ve been working hard on a new feature that exposes the vGPU capability within Intel Server graphic chipsets using their Graphics Virtualisation Technology GVT-G capabilities. Basically this means that an entire accelerated graphics capability can be provided in Windows and Linux Desktop machines with very few compatibility issues.
Currently, we are rolling out the infrastructure for these new server types, so vGPU capabilities will be more widely available early next year.
Please contact us for further details.
Announcing DaDesktop Virtual GPU capability for Desktops
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We’ve been asked numerous times if we can present courses using DaDesktop that require accelerated graphics stacks ie 3D applications.
These may include CAD applications eg CATIA, Cortona or SketchUp, Gaming engines such as Unity and Machine Learning applications.
Because of the complications in offering a full hardware graphic accelerated stack virtually, this has not been easily available previously. With our Linux guest machines in DaDesktop we can already provide some limited support for virtualised accelerated graphics stack within the guest using LLVMpipe, but providing similar solutions for Windows Desktops within DaDesktop has been more difficult.
We’ve been working hard on a new feature that exposes the vGPU capability within Intel Server graphic chipsets using their Graphics Virtualisation Technology GVT-G capabilities. Basically this means that an entire accelerated graphics capability can be provided in Windows and Linux Desktop machines with very few compatibility issues.
Currently, we are rolling out the infrastructure for these new server types, so vGPU capabilities will be more widely available early next year.
Please contact us for further details.