FAQ: itopia CloudApps Classroom
Do you have any training videos to share with teachers and students?
Yes. Videos can be found in the itopia Help Center:
CAC 25-26 Video Tutorial: Launching a Lab
CAC 25-26 Video Tutorial: Finding and Opening Your Work
CAC 25-26 Video Tutorial: Using Full-Screen Mode
CAC 25-26 Video Tutorial: Saving Your Work to Google Drive
CAC 25-26 Video Tutorial: Logging Out of a Class Session
CAC 25-26 Interactive Tiles for Students
CAC 25-26 Getting Started with CloudApps Classroom: Students
Do you have any training videos for admins?
Yes, training videos are available in the itopia Help Center:
CAC 25-26 Video Tutorial: Adding a School
CAC 25-26 Video Tutorial: Adding Admins
CAC 25-26 Video Tutorial: Creating a Class
CAC 25-26 Video Tutorial: Managing Classes
CAC 25-26 Video Tutorial: Scheduling Sessions
CAC 25-26 Video Tutorial: Previewing the Student Experience
What are the specs of the virtual machines that itopia uses?
Specifications vary based on the applications being used. Configurations range from 4 CPUs and 15 GB of RAM to 8 CPUs and 32 GB of RAM, with GPU included when required by the application.
Are students sharing resources to power their virtual machines?
No. All CloudApps sessions are dedicated to each student accessing the environment.
How many students can be on the platform simultaneously?
itopia leverages the scale of Google Cloud; therefore, the platform can support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous users.
What is the speed when dealing with large files?
The virtual lab has 1 GB of bandwidth available per session. Once loaded into the session, file access and manipulation are instantaneous.
What peripherals do you support?
Basic USB device support, keyboards, and mice. While USB support is available, it is application and device dependent. Currently, only keyboards and mice are supported.
Can you use external drives and devices to import/export files to the VM?
Files can be transferred to and from the physical endpoint device to the virtual CloudApps session. However, support for saving and reading files directly from externally attached USB storage is not supported at this time.
Can networking be an issue when all students are using the platform?
You should ensure that your school network can handle at least 2 Mbps per student concurrently. Yes, network congestion can also be an issue if there is not enough bandwidth available, access points are working at capacity, or local devices have a weak signal or inadequate system resources.
Can you provide custom fonts and extensions for the applications?
Custom fonts can be added via Creative Cloud. Details can be found in our Help Center. Extensions and add-ons must be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Can a student run multiple classes at the same time?
No. Only one session per student is allowed at the same time.
What happens if a student is rendering a project and there is no session activity for a prolonged period of time?
There is currently a timeout of 15 minutes if no activity is detected. The session will shut down if there is no activity.
Is this a type of VDI?
No. This has nothing to do with VDI, infrastructure, Windows RDS/10, or traditional IT operations. This is a fully managed service that enables the delivery of virtual curricula to students via Chromebooks or any device.
Can itopia extend the 15-minute timeout?
No. The timeout cannot be extended.
How do students save their work? Where do students save their files?
We recommend that students save their files in the cloud using services like Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive.
Can students save their work to the session desktop?
We have profile persistency available for our newer images, but this is for credential storing only. If users need additional storage outside of their cloud storage account, you should contact your itopia representative to ask about adding disk storage for your users.
Why is my audio not processing correctly in the virtual CloudApps session?
Virtual CloudApps sessions operate using streaming technology that does not have direct hardware access. The software installed in the session only sees a virtualized soundcard, which may not support all features of your physical soundcard.
Could bandwidth limitations affect my audio performance in a virtual CloudApps session?
Yes, audio processing increases the bandwidth needs of the VM. Limited network bandwidth can cause poor audio performance, including lag, stuttering, or dropouts.
What do I do when a session completes the start-up process but returns the user to the class launch page instead of entering the VM?
Click the "Session Ready" button to return to your session.
Networking Prerequisites
What network settings do we need to configure for CloudApps to work properly in our district?
Do you have a list of ports, IPs, and domains that should be allowed for CloudApps access?
Our students can't connect to CloudApps—could this be a firewall issue?
Answer: To ensure CloudApps works properly, your district needs to configure the following network settings on their firewalls:
Outbound Access Requirements:
Allow outbound traffic to itopia services
Exclude CloudApps from content filtering rules
Domain Allow List:
Global Access:
labs.itopia.com
labs-admin.itopia.com
labs-api.itopia.com
labs-auth.itopia.com
Regional Access:
For U.S. region: allow broker and speedtest domains for us-central1, us-east1, and us-west1
Inbound Access:
If using network license servers, configure your firewall to allow inbound connections from static CloudApps IP addresses
For the complete list of required IPs, ports, and domains, please refer to our CloudApps Classroom Prerequisites documentation here.
No Class Shown for Student
If a student logs into CloudApps and no classes are showing, it likely means the student hasn't been assigned to a class yet. Contact your CloudApps admin and provide:
Student's email
Name of the school
Name of the class they should be in
Once properly assigned, the class will appear after refreshing the portal or signing out and back in.
For more details, see the full article here: here.
Long Launch Time
CloudApps classes may take up to 5 minutes to launch. To reduce wait time, use session scheduling. This allows sessions to be prepared in advance.
For more details, see the full article here: here.
Note: Sessions will automatically shut down if not joined within 15 minutes.
Class Will Not Launch (Spinning)
If a class appears stuck loading:
Refresh the browser tab
Ensure the Start button was clicked
Wait 5–10 minutes; peak times may cause delays
If the issue continues, check with your school IT admin
If isolated to a few users, check device/network performance
Where is [Application]?
Applications like Photoshop, Inventor, or Blender may not appear on the desktop. Use the Start menu to search for them.
If not found in the Start menu, the application may not be included in the class image. Contact your admin to verify the image contents.
Note: All applications are installed as-is. Additional features or plugins require a custom image.
Rapid Access (Scheduled Session)
Why didn’t my student’s computer launch at the scheduled time?
If a student reaches 6 consecutive sessions without any activity, their Rapid Access will be disabled. This can prevent scheduled launches from occurring as expected.
To resolve this, you may need to re-enable Rapid Access for the student and correct the scheduler if needed.
For more details, see the full article here: here.
Login Issues
If you're seeing a login error:
Confirm you’re using the correct login method (Google, Microsoft, ClassLink)
Clear browser cookies and cache
Capture a screenshot of the error and share it with your school admin
Password resets and access issues should be handled by your school’s IT team.
If the issue continues and your account is properly added to a class, your admin can forward the screenshot to our support team for investigation.
For more information, visit our Help Center or contact support.