---
title: "Introduction to Custom Cloud Labs"
slug: "introduction-to-custom-cloud-labs"
updated: 2024-09-25T16:40:57Z
published: 2024-09-25T16:40:57Z
canonical: "docs.skillable.com/introduction-to-custom-cloud-labs"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.skillable.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction to Custom Cloud Labs

## Introduction

Custom Cloud Labs known in Skillable as Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC) enables Hands-on Labs for an external cloud platform or web application, beyond the native Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) integrations that Skillable provides today. Depending on the cloud application's capabilities, it is possible to unleash the full capabilities of the Skillable platform for the skilling of users. This capability has the potential to be used for any skilling journey from introductory hands-on training to proctor-based certification with the use of an Exam Delivery Partner.

## Skillable Features

Within the Skillable platform there are a couple of features that play a critical role in enabling a Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC) solution (referred to as the external platform going forward). These are:

- Life Cycle Actions
- Automated Activities
- Custom Start Page

There are also other features within Skillable that play important roles as well depending on the external platform and the objectives of the Lab. These features are:

- Virtual Machines
- Integrated Browser
- Cloud Credential Pool
- @lab Replacement Token/Variables

## External Platform Requirements

When building a lab using an external platform service, the lab developer will need to either have extensive knowledge of that external platform or require a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to assist. Between the lab developer and/or the SME they will work out how the external platform will be used, and resources will be recycled for use within labs. This process is generally unique for each external platform as this will be highly dependent on the features and capabilities of the external platform and Application Programing Interfaces (APIs) available. For a full working example see the Salesforce solution included in this documentation. Building the workflow When reviewing the workflow for building labs using any external platform, the following lab phases need to be considered. The lab developer will need to understand if they are applicable and if they are, how can they be achieved with the external platforms API's:

- Lab startup
  - Tenant and User access provisioning
  - Resource and data provisioning
  - Permissions and security
  - Grant user access to resources
- Lab duration
  - Automated Activities - user task validation
- Lab End
  - Automated Activities for task scoring
  - User account permission removal
  - User account deletion
  - Resource deletion (Resource/User/Tenant)

Microsoft's public cloud computing platform.

Amazon Web Services is a subsidiary of Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments, on a metered pay-as-you-go basis.

With Life Cycle Actions, Skillable Studio is able to execute actions when specific events occur during the lab instance life cycle.

Activities are configured in the instructions editor and represented in the lab instructions by a replacement token. Activities fall into two broad categories: Questions and Automated.

- Questions are multiple choice or short answer questions.
- Automated Activities interact with the lab environment (Virtual Machine/Container/Cloud Platform).

A virtual machine is the virtualization or emulation of a computer system. Virtual machines are based on computer architectures and provide the functionality of a physical computer.

A pool of credentials that are configured for a specific use, class, or organization, and displayed to the user in a launched lab.

Used to replace text in lab instructions with a defined variable that is unknown at the time of authoring the lab instructions. These variables may not be generated or created until the lab is launched by the student. These can include usernames, user first name, user last name, running lab instance ID number, etc.

Variables store information and then that information can be recalled or used in the lab. Variables can be used in Life Cycle Actions, Automated Activities, and in lab instructions.