Remote Access to Labs

Emerson's lab and classroom workstations are not remotely accessible by default. Remote access is limited to approved rare use cases for faculty and staff, such as sabbatical or emergencies, and only for an agreed upon period of time. Remote access is not provisioned for general student use.

When remote access is approved, the standard method is Remote Desktop (RDP). RDP runs over the Emerson VPN, is fully logged, and uses your Emerson account directly.

In a small number of cases where RDP cannot meet the technical needs of the work, typically real-time, GPU-accelerated graphics work in the Emerging Media Lab, Parsec may be approved as a narrow exception. Parsec is not a general faculty remote access option; it is approved on a case-by-case basis, for a defined period, and coordinated through the Emerging Media Lab.

Requesting Remote Access

All remote access to lab workstations, whether via RDP or Parsec, must be approved by the Information Security Officer before it is provisioned. To request access:

1. Email helpdesk@emerson.edu with the workstation(s) you need to access, the academic or business justification, and the timeframe.
2. If approved, your VPN profile, Active Directory membership, and the workstation's firewall configuration will be updated to allow your access. The Help Desk will follow up with the workstation hostname and any final instructions.

If your work requires Parsec rather than RDP, indicate that in your request and explain why (for example, you need real-time GPU performance for Maya, Unreal Engine, or ComfyUI). If Parsec is approved, the Emerging Media Lab will coordinate provisioning and scheduling with you.

Connecting via RDP from a Mac

macOS does not include a Remote Desktop client by default. You will need to install Microsoft's free Windows App (formerly Microsoft Remote Desktop) from the App Store.

1. Open the App Store on your Mac, search for Windows App, and install it. (If you already have an older version called Microsoft Remote Desktop, that will also work.)
2. Connect to the Emerson VPN and authenticate with Duo. You must be on the VPN before continuing.
3. Open Windows App.
4. Click the + button in the top toolbar and choose Add PC.
5. In the PC name field, enter the workstation hostname that the Help Desk provided you (for example, LABS-EML-309.emerson.edu).
6. Under User account, choose Add User Account. Enter your Emerson username in the format EMERSON\firstname.lastname and your Emerson password. Click Add.
7. Click Add again to save the connection. The workstation will appear as a tile in your library.
8. Double-click the workstation tile to connect. If you see a certificate warning the first time you connect, click Continue.

Connecting via RDP from a Windows Computer

Windows includes the Remote Desktop client by default; no installation is required.

1. Connect to the Emerson VPN and authenticate with Duo. You must be on the VPN before continuing.
2. Click the Start menu and search for Remote Desktop Connection. Open it.
3. In the Computer field, enter the workstation hostname that the Help Desk provided you (for example, LABS-EML-309.emerson.edu) and click Connect.
4. When prompted for credentials, enter your Emerson username in the format EMERSON\firstname.lastname and your Emerson password. Click OK.
5. If you see a certificate warning the first time you connect, click Yes to continue.

A Note on Parsec

Parsec is a low-latency remote desktop application that streams the workstation's GPU output as encoded video. This lets it handle real-time 3D viewports, video playback, and other GPU-accelerated work that RDP cannot. For that reason, Parsec is approved only in specific circumstances where RDP cannot meet the technical requirements of the work, primarily real-time, GPU-accelerated workflows in the Emerging Media Lab (Maya, Unreal Engine, ComfyUI, virtual production tools, and similar).

Like RDP, Parsec requires Information Security Officer approval and an active Emerson VPN connection whenever it is used from off campus. Unlike RDP, Parsec does not take over the local login session, so it can be used on a workstation without logging off a person who is physically present. Even so, Parsec sessions are scheduled around in-person use of the room.

If Parsec is approved for your use case, the Emerging Media Lab will provision your account, configure access to the appropriate workstations, walk you through installing and signing in to the Parsec client, and coordinate scheduling. Day-to-day Parsec questions and account support are handled by the Manager of the Emerging Media Lab.

Connecting to the Emerson VPN

Both RDP and Parsec require you to be connected to the Emerson VPN. For step-by-step instructions, see the Emerson VPN Setup Guide.