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Classroom

Sharing labs and timers

Share a lab with students and (on Enterprise) run a class timer that stops or wipes nodes when time is up.

Classroom share and timer controls
Classroom share and timer controls

Goal

Share a lab with students and (on Enterprise) run a class timer that stops or wipes nodes when time is up.

Classroom share and timer controls (guide crop)
Classroom share and timer controls (guide crop)

Why Classroom exists

Without sharing, every student rebuilds the same topology. Classroom lets an instructor hand out one lab and optionally auto-stop when class ends so the host is free for the next group.

Where the controls live

  1. Open the lab
  2. On the workspace bar, click Classroom
  3. Or use the app menu Classroom... (same panel)
  4. For the full instructor studio: open Classroom in the sidebar / app, or the link Open instructor classroom dashboard inside the panel

Timers require Enterprise (classroom feature). Sharing can still work when timers are not entitled - see Features.

Recipe: share a lab

  1. Admin creates student accounts under Administration -> Users
  2. Open the lab as owner or admin
  3. Click Classroom
  4. Tick students (admin pick list) or type comma-separated usernames - shares auto-save
  5. Students sign in and open the same lab

Example: Share week3-ospf with alice and bob.

Recipe: class timer

  1. Classroom panel -> pick 15m / 30m / 1h / 2h or Custom... minutes
  2. Then: choose Stop nodes (topology kept) or Wipe nodes (runtime wiped)
  3. Click Start class
  4. Countdown chip appears on the bar; Cancel timer clears it early

Countdown chip after Start class
Countdown chip after Start class

At zero the appliance enforces Stop or Wipe on that lab (background job). Prefer Stop for slow NOS guests between classes.

Instructor tools in the panel

Compact Grade this lab / grade student copies may appear when entitled. Full broadcast, PDF export, and Proctor live on the Instructor dashboard.

Expected result

  • Students see the shared topology
  • Timer (if enabled) counts down and then Stop or Wipe as configured
  • Shared labs appear on the instructor sessions list

If it fails

  • Share control missing -> not owner/admin, or Present lens hiding the bar
  • Students cannot login -> Admin creates accounts (Users, roles, and quotas)
  • Start class disabled / timer section hidden -> Student edition; upgrade or accept share-only
  • Timer expired but nodes still running -> wait up to about a minute for enforcement; refresh the lab