Creating Lab Profiles & Environments
- 13 Sep 2024
- 7 Minutes to read
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Creating Lab Profiles & Environments
- Updated on 13 Sep 2024
- 7 Minutes to read
- Print
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Lab Profiles are the definitions or configurations for Skillable Labs. Settings such as the virtual or cloud components utilized, how networking is configured, Duration of the lab, etc. are all specified on the lab profile in addition to the lab instructions and any skill validation activities. Lab profiles can exist on their own but cannot be launched outside of Skillable Studio without being associated to a Lab Series. In Skillable Studio, there are 3 common paths to creating a new lab profile:
Create lab profile from the Template Gallery (Most Recommended)
Create new custom lab profile & environment (Least Recommended)
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Create lab profile from the Template Gallery
The Template Gallery allows lab developers to easily search for and select pre-created labs to use as the base for a new lab. While there are ways lab developers can do this with any lab they have access to, lab templates provide specific quick and easy starting points pre-approved by lab administrators. To create a lab from the template gallery, you must first identify a template that achieves your goals and then create a new lab profile from that template.
Finding the Right Template
The options for templates to use as starting points is comprised of both Skillable curated templates and templates specific to your organization. As the scenarios you’re building labs on continues to grow, identifying the right template is paramount in providing maximum efficiency from the start. To identify the correct template, navigate to the Template Gallery and utilize any combination of Filters, Search, Descriptions, Previews, and Favorites.
Filters: Use filters to quickly reduce the choices of templates using known properties about the labs.
Search: Use the search box to limit choices by templates that match your search terms in their name or description.
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Descriptions & Preview: (1) Use descriptions to gain a better understanding of what exactly that template is. (2) If it is still unclear, use the preview option to launch a running instance and see exactly what that lab is like before creating your own copy.
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Favorites: Found a template you’d like to use often? Favorite it so it’s easy to come back to and use later.
Creating a Lab from Template
Once you have identified the template you want to use, select Create on it and define the following information:
Setting | Description |
|---|---|
Number | Configure this to anything you’d like. This is often viewed as the “lab code” and represents a short hand way reference to the lab other than it’s name. Example: If your lab is “Azure 101” you may make the number “AZ-101” |
Name | The name of your lab. |
Description | Optional Metadata that can be added (and also retrieved over API) to provide added context about the lab. |
Series | The lab series you want the lab to be organized in. |
Duration | This is the value billing is based on and that controls how long a user is allowed to be in the lab environment. Ensure this is set to the appropriate desired (this can be changed later) |
Tags | Remove any tags that do not apply to the new lab you are creating. |
Subscription Pool | Select the subscription pool associated with your organization for this lab to deploy in. |
Once the create form is complete, click OK to continue and you have a new lab! You can now further modify any of your lab profile settings using the Edit Profile option or further customize the environment as outlined in create environment.
Expand to see recommended lab profile settings to review
Setting | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
Prompt User to Extend Time | Basic Information | If you leave this setting enabled, consider the # Minutes and Minutes Remaining values for this setting. Make sure they align with your intended use case. |
Owner Name & Email | Basic Information | This associates the lab with a specific person as the Owner and provides contact information for either Skillable Support or other internal peers if an issue is identified with the lab. |
Deployment Failure (If Applicable) | Cloud | This option determines what happens if your lab fails to deploy for any reason. For production labs, we recommend this is set to Terminate Lab to avoid learners entering an experience with issues. While a lab is in development, other options can assist with troubleshooting. |
Datacenter Availability (If Applicable) | Cloud | Configure whatever regions you would like this lab to be able to be delivered in. This enables the labs to use Geolocation so they deploy in the region closest to the user. |
Resource Group | Cloud | When Skillable creates a Cloud Slice, they will generate a resource group with a format of {prefix}-#####. You must create at least one. When created, a default prefix is defined, but this can be changed to a value of your choosing. |
Network (If Applicable) | Networks | Create a network, this is required for your virtual machine(s). If virtual machines (VM) in your lab(s) use a custom UUID or static MAC address, and uses a public IP address, you may encounter issues with subsequent launches after the lab has been launched. The public IP will be associated with the custom UUID or static MAC address, and will prevent the VM from being launched in more than one lab at a time. |
User Save & Cancel Options | Advanced | Ensure these settings align with the desired values for your organization. The following have similar values in the Azure Labs, as specified:
Learn more about Cost Controls for Cloud Labs. |
Publish to Organization Template Gallery | Advanced | Enable this setting to make the lab a template that appears in the template gallery to function as a quicker starting point for other lab developers or migrating additional labs. |
Create Lab Profile from Another Lab
After your organization has started creating a number of labs, you may desire to create a lab based on another that is not a template. To create a lab profile from an already existing lab profile, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the lab profile you would like to copy.
From the lab profile details screen, click Edit Profile.
From the lab profile edit screen, click Save As.
If you would like the virtual machines in the lab to be different than the original lab, select the Create New option.
If you would like the virtual machines to be identical to the original lab, select Reuse the virtual machines.
To close the dialog and create the your new lab, click OK.
On the new lab profile, edit any profile settings, instructions, or environment components as desired.
Create New Custom Lab Profile
If a lab does not already exist that functions as a starting point for the lab you are desiring to create, creating one from scratch is always an option, but constitutes several additional steps. Due to the added complexity of this method, it is recommended to avoid when possible. In many cases a template or existing lab in your organization will help expedite desired configuration of both settings and environment, even in the case it only helps with settings or environment it still reduces the items required to configure.
Create New Lab Profile
To create a new custom lab profile, navigate to the Template Gallery and select +Create Custom Environment. Then configure settings as desired, see the Lab Profile documentation for details on each setting.
Create Environment
When creating environments, determine the type of lab you are making and the types of components you may require:
Skillable Virtual Machines:
Azure/AWS Virtual Machines:
Azure/AWS Full Cloud Slice:
Docker:
Next Steps
Now that you have your base profile and environment ready, you can begin creating lab instructions that align with the lab scenario and use case.
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