This article covers the steps to start, use, and stop the enterprise bridge function (sometimes called "bridge mode"). This feature helps enterprise users whose corporate firewall or software installation policies block them from using hands-on labs. It is available in enterprise accounts; however, you must have it enabled by your Customer Success Manager. See Enterprise Bridge Function for more information.

This article contains the following sections:

• How to Start the Bridge Function
• How to Use the Bridge Function
  • Tools on the Virtual Machine
  • Information Transfer Across the Bridge
• How to Stop the Bridge Function
• How to Report Problems

How to Start the Bridge Function

Once bridge is enabled in your account, it starts automatically when you start a hands-on lab. When you click Start Lab, the system takes a moment to initiate the lab environment.

The Start Lab button changes to a Starting Lab button with a loading icon to show that it is working.

If you have the bridge enabled, you can notice a Bridge Connection message near the bottom of the left navigation bar.

You may need to wait a few moments for the bridge connection to finish loading. The system is busy creating a Windows Virtual Machine. Important: DO NOT reload the page.

When the process is done, a message appears to tell you the bridge is ready.

Also, the loading message on the Bridge Connection button changes to a ready message.

Click the Bridge Connection button and a new browser tab appears where you are logged in to the virtual machine. You see a virtual desktop, like the following:

How to Use the Bridge Function

When you get to a step in the lab that you otherwise cannot complete due to your corporate firewall, you can switch to the virtual machine instead. The virtual desktop that you see is specific to your lab instance and available only while the lab is active. 

Tip: The virtual machine is destroyed after your lab session, so if you save a file to the virtual machine, it becomes unavailable after your lab session. If you try to reconnect to the virtual machine after the lab session, you receive an error like the following:

Tools on the Virtual Machine

When you start the virtual machine, it has the following tools available to help you complete the labs:

• Google Chrome - a web browser
• PuTTY (64-bit) - a terminal emulator, serial console, and network file transfer application
• PuTTYgen - a tool that generates pairs of public and private keys
• Atom - a code editing program
• Command prompt - a command-line interpreter where you can enter and execute commands
• RDP client - (remote desktop client) a tool to connect to a remote computer
• Lab-specific PEM and PPK files - files with information you'll need to complete the labs

Important: Notice the QA folder on the virtual machine desktop. This folder is created when the virtual machine starts and contains useful information and the keys for connecting lab instances. Please browse the README file in this folder before getting started.

Information Transfer Across the Bridge

File transfer functionality is not available in the enterprise bridge function. If you need to transfer information from your local machine to the virtual machine, you can use copy and paste. Most browsers have clipboard functionality, though there may be a size limit on what you can transfer to the clipboard. Our testing has shown a 130 kB limit to be typical.

We use Apache Guacamole to power the enterprise bridge function. In the unlikely event your browser does not have clipboard functionality, Guacamole offers a special clipboard panel. Press CTRL-ALT-SHIFT (on Windows) or CMD-ALT-SHIFT (on Mac) to open the panel. The same 130 kB limit applies.

How to Stop the Bridge Function

To stop the bridge, you can simply close the tab in your browser. No other action is required.

How to Report Problems

Report any issues or suggestions by submitting a ticket with Customer Support. In your ticket, please specify that it regards the bridge function.