Available to
Students
Faculty
Staff
Researchers
IT Professionals
Fees
There is no charge for use of this service.

Note: Starting March 27, 2020, you will see the following message when launching Outlook 2016 from Virtual Desktop: "In order to conserve licenses for Virtual Desktop, please run Outlook via the web or directly on your computer. See https://its.uiowa.edu/office365email"

The Virtual Desktop service provides remote access to many University-licensed Windows applications from anywhere without having to obtain and install the software on your own computer. Instead, you need only install the Citrix Workspace App, which allows you to make a remote connection to applications that are running in the datacenter. Platforms supported include Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android and others. Virtual Desktop applications are available for use from both on and off-campus. Some software is restricted to use only from an on-campus location due to licensing restrictions. 

For security reasons, VPN is required when connecting to Virtual Desktop from off-campus. For instructions on downloading and installing the VPN client, see the VPN support center.

Current Status

There are currently no alerts.

Maintenance

Services scheduled for maintenance over the next 7 days. Please refer to the calendar view of alerts for a complete schedule.
There is currently no planned maintenance.

Past 90 Days

Color bar indicators flow left to right, from oldest to most recent status.

Alert History

Start: 
Wednesday, November 15, 2023 - 10:15am
End: 
Wednesday, November 15, 2023 - 11:00am
Updates
Wednesday, November 15, 2023 - 11:00am

The issue has been resolved.

Description

There are issues logging into services such as ICON, Wiki, Employee Self-Service, Clarity Connect (call center phone systems across campus), Virtual Desktop, MAUI, MyUI, Duo two-step login, Zoom, Cherwell, and eduroam. ITS staff are investigating.

Last updated: 
Wednesday, November 15, 2023 - 11:10am
Start: 
Thursday, September 29, 2022 - 7:30pm
End: 
Thursday, September 29, 2022 - 8:30pm
Description

During the maintenance window users will be unable to initiate new Virtual Desktop sessions. Sessions active prior to the maintenance window will be unaffected.

Services
Last updated: 
Thursday, September 29, 2022 - 8:30pm
Start: 
Wednesday, September 28, 2022 - 7:00pm
End: 
Wednesday, September 28, 2022 - 8:00pm
Description

Virtual Desktop will undergo maintenance.

Sessions beginning before 7PM should not be interrupted by the maintenance, but sessions starting between 7PM and 8PM may not work.

Services
Last updated: 
Wednesday, September 28, 2022 - 8:00pm
Start: 
Thursday, October 21, 2021 - 10:30am
End: 
Thursday, October 21, 2021 - 11:00am
Updates
Thursday, October 21, 2021 - 11:00am

This issue has been resolved.

Description

Users may experience issues launching applications in the Virtual Desktop service. ITS is currently investigating the issue.

Services
Last updated: 
Thursday, October 21, 2021 - 11:12am
Start: 
Thursday, November 5, 2020 - 3:00pm
End: 
Thursday, November 5, 2020 - 5:00pm
Description

Virtual Desktop will be upgraded. Service disruption is expected to be minimal. 

Active Virtual Desktop sessions will not be affected, but for a short period of time (3-5 minutes) new sessions will not start. If this occurs, please try again after 10 minutes.

Services
Last updated: 
Thursday, November 5, 2020 - 5:00pm
Start: 
Thursday, August 13, 2020 - 4:00pm
End: 
Friday, August 14, 2020 - 7:45am
Updates
Friday, August 14, 2020 - 7:45am

The issue has been resolved.

Description

Virtual Desktop is not displaying available applications. ITS is investigating the issue.

Services
Last updated: 
Friday, August 14, 2020 - 7:50am
Start: 
Monday, December 23, 2019 - 5:00pm
End: 
Friday, January 10, 2020 - 5:00pm
Description

Virtual Desktop now requires the VPN from off campus.

Services
Last updated: 
Friday, January 10, 2020 - 5:00pm
Start: 
Wednesday, September 12, 2018 - 8:00am
End: 
Wednesday, September 12, 2018 - 9:30am
Updates
Wednesday, September 12, 2018 - 9:30am

This problem has been resolved by support staff. Please contact the ITS Help Desk if you have any further issues with this service.

Description

The Virtual Desktop service is currently experiencing an outage.  This includes access through Citrix Receiver and https://virtualdesktop.uiowa.edu.

Services
Last updated: 
Wednesday, September 12, 2018 - 9:23am
Start: 
Monday, September 11, 2017 - 8:00pm
End: 
Monday, September 11, 2017 - 10:00pm
Description

Planned Virtual Desktop Maintenance. Existing Virtual Desktop connections will not be affected.  However, new connections will not be possible for a short time within the 2 hour maintenance window.

Services
Last updated: 
Monday, September 11, 2017 - 10:00pm
Start: 
Thursday, May 26, 2016 - 5:00am
End: 
Thursday, May 26, 2016 - 8:00am
Description

ITS support staff will be performing an upgrade to the Virtual Desktop (Citrix) service on Thursday, May 26, 2016 from 5:00am to 8:00am.  The service will be unavailable during the upgrade.

Services
Last updated: 
Thursday, May 26, 2016 - 8:01am