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Department of Computer Science

Technical Services and Support

Using CS WebLogin to Access iLab Machines

WebLogin  is an Apache Guacamole Remote Desktop Gateway for CS Resources.  It allows users to access CS machines using a web browser without any special client installation.

Important: WebLogin uses your Rutgers netid and CS Password. If you have not done so, please Activate your iLab account and Set your CS password before logging in.

Using WebLogin

To use WebLogin go to weblogin.cs.rutgers.edu and enter your Rutgers NetId and CS password in the login screen below.

Note: if you had enabled Two Factor Authentication (2FA) on CS System, please append your 2FA token at the end of your password.

Upon login, you are presented with a list of all iLab machines.  For a list of iLab machines specifications and status, see iLab Machine Status page.

Clicking on a name of the machine will connect you the Linux graphical interface. By default, MATE Desktop is used and connection is set at 24 bits color.

Note for Two Factor Authentication (2FA) Users:

Due to timebased of 2FA tokens, users with 2FA enabled, will encounter error when clicking the host link.

Please click on the button to continue and it will present you with login windows where you can login with your password and your 2FA token appended after your password.

Advanced login options

Using default window manager

If you would like to use the default Ubuntu window manager (Gnome Desktop), instead of clicking on the machine name in the list, type the machine name, example: top.cs.rutgers.edu is the connection box  [enter connection URI]   top.cs.rutgers.edu
 and click the button on the right.

Using your own options

You can also add other options as shown in example below:
rdp://top.cs.rutgers.edu?ignore-cert=true&color-depth=24&initial-program=/usr/bin/mate-session

The above command set to use 24 bits color depth and use Mate as session manager.

Note: Gnome Desktop manager does not work reliably with Remote Desktop and often crashes preventing future login. Important: Gnome session does not allow multiple logins to iLab machines.

Connecting to ssh terminal

if you would like to connect to ssh connection to top.cs.rutgers.edu, type in the connection box [enter connection URI] ssh://top.cs.rutgers.edu and click the button on the right.

For more info, see  weblogin info.

Known issues

These are known issues with connecting with WebLogins.

    • Sound does not work correctly. Restaring pulse audio via: pulseaudio -k in terminal window may fix it. However this does not always work especially on Ubuntu 22 machine. Please use X2GO if you need sound.
    • By default, when you open a session, the session screen resolution is based on your browser window size. You can resize your browser  but it does not increase the resolution. To set your preferred session screen resolution permanently, adjust it in  Preferences/Displays/Resolutions. This setting is saved in ~/.config/monitor.xml. Removing this file will undo your default display resolution.
    • On WindowOS browsers, pressing    closes your window/tab. This can accidentally close your session.  To avoid this, install an AddOns or Extension named Disable keyboard shortcuts
    • You can not do multiple login on the same machine but you can login to another iLab machines simultaneously. Please be aware that there are programs that can not run multiple instance of itself. Example: NetBeans, Firefox, Eclipse, InteliJ IDEA etc.
    • Local folder sharing are not supported.
    • Audio is supported. If you have issues, clear your browser cache, quit and rerun the browser.
    • By default, MATE Desktop is used. If you want other desktop, see Advanced Login Option above.
    • If you don’t properly logout, you may not be able to reconnect to the same machine until it timed out hours later. Don’t forget to logout!
    • If you use it, Gnome Desktop manager does not work reliably with Remote Desktop and often crashes preventing future login.
    • If you use it, Gnome Desktop does not allow multiple logins to iLab machines and you will get no connection.
    • For more info, see  weblogin info.

Logging out

Because the connection is on a web browser, often without realizing one would close a browser tab or windows without logging out of the iLab machines. This will cause issues on future login.

Important: Closing the a browser window does not log you out. Please logout  as shown at on figure on the right, when you finish working by :

  • clicking at the top-right icon, then
  • click on   menu, then
  • select