The browsers, devices, bandwidth and network settings needed to use CAQA Labs virtual lab environments.
This page sets out the technical requirements for using CAQA Labs, the virtual lab environments service of CAQA Groups and a Career Calling International Pty Ltd initiative. It is written for the IT teams, administrators and trainers of the education providers, enterprises and government bodies that subscribe to our labs, and for anyone checking suitability before a pilot. Meeting these requirements on your side of the connection is part of your organisation's responsibility under our Platform Terms; if your environment differs, tell us during scoping and we will confirm what will and will not work.
Lab environments are delivered through a modern web browser - no local virtualisation software is required. We support the current and immediately previous major versions of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari. JavaScript and cookies must be enabled, and private-browsing modes that block site storage can prevent lab sessions from resuming. Chrome or Edge are recommended for streamed lab desktops because of their WebSocket and hardware-acceleration performance.
A desktop or laptop computer is recommended for lab work. A practical baseline is a dual-core processor, 8 GB of RAM, a screen resolution of 1366 x 768 or higher (1920 x 1080 recommended for split-screen exercises) and a keyboard and mouse or trackpad. Tablets can display lab consoles for demonstration purposes, but on-screen keyboards make sustained command-line work impractical, and phones are not supported for hands-on exercises.
Streamed lab desktops typically use 3 to 5 Mbps per concurrent user, so classroom deployments should budget bandwidth for the whole cohort - for example, a 20-seat class working simultaneously should have at least 100 Mbps of available downstream capacity. A round-trip latency under 150 milliseconds to our hosting region gives a responsive experience; satellite and heavily contended connections may feel sluggish. Wired connections or strong Wi-Fi are recommended for assessments.
All traffic runs over HTTPS on TCP port 443, including secure WebSocket (wss) connections used by streamed consoles. Corporate and campus firewalls, proxies and TLS-inspection appliances must allow WebSocket traffic to our service domains; we supply the current domain allow-list during onboarding. No inbound ports need to be opened on your network, and no client VPN is required unless your own security policy demands one.
Exercises with narrated walkthroughs or recorded briefings require audio output; a headset is recommended in shared classrooms. A webcam and microphone are only needed where your organisation runs supervised or remote-proctored assessments alongside the lab. USB passthrough to lab machines is not part of the standard service and should be raised during scoping if a course depends on physical devices.
Labs can be launched from your learning management system using LTI 1.3, embedded via secure links, or reported against SCORM-based courses depending on the design agreed for your deployment. Single sign-on is supported through SAML 2.0 and OpenID Connect identity providers. Your LMS administrator will need to install the integration we supply and your identity-provider administrator will need to approve our service entity; both steps are covered during onboarding.
This website is built to WCAG 2.2 AA targets as described in our Accessibility Statement. Streamed lab desktops present third-party operating systems and applications whose accessibility varies; if learners need screen readers, keyboard-only operation, extended time or other adjustments, raise this during scoping so the lab design can accommodate them.
Browsers past end-of-life, networks that block WebSocket traffic, shared kiosk accounts contrary to our Acceptable Use Policy, and devices below the baseline above are not supported, and faults traced to them fall outside our Support and Service Levels. This page is general guidance rather than a promise about any specific network; requirements for your deployment are confirmed in your service agreement, and no payments are taken through this website - subscriptions are invoiced as set out in our Subscription Terms.
Questions about this policy, or anything it covers, can be sent to info@caqa.com.au, raised by phone on 1800 266 160 (or 03 8103 8000), or submitted through our contact page. We respond to most enquiries within two business days.
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