Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Documentation

Understanding the Desktop File System

Identify key file system locations to help determine where to store files.

See Also:

Virtual Desktop vs. Local System

Often, you'll be working with two systems: the virtual desktop and your local system. It is important to know the difference between these two to understand how the file systems interact.

  • The virtual desktop is the desktop instance on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
  • The local system is the physical machine that you use to connect to the virtual desktop.
Caution

Deleting files within C (rw), My Home (rw) or 'My SGD Drives' will delete the files on your local machine. Use caution when altering files in these locations on the virtual desktop as this directly alters your local file system.

Windows File System

On the virtual desktop, view the file system using File Explorer under This PC.

The drive naming that appears on the virtual desktop depends on your local system's operating system. For example, C (rw) on <LOCAL-SYSTEM> appears when using a Windows local system, while My Home (rw) appears when using a macOS local system. If you have multiple local drives, they are displayed within the virtual file system. For example, if you have an E: and D: drive on your Windows local system, they appear as E (rw) and D (rw) on the virtual desktop.

  • C (rw) on <LOCAL-SYSTEM> or My Home (rw) on <LOCAL-SYSTEM> is your local machine's file system that you have read/write access to.
  • C (ro) on <LOCAL-SYSTEM> or My Home (ro) on <LOCAL-SYSTEM> is your local machine's file system that you have read-only access to.
  • OCI Volume (D:) is the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure block volume. This is only available if the administrator has enabled desktop storage for the pool.
  • Local Disk (C:) or Windows (C:) is the virtual desktop's local storage.
    Caution

    Do not store critical data at Local Disk (C:) or Windows (C:). This is not part of the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure block volume and therefore does not persist if the desktop is deleted. As a safeguard, relocate all user folders to the OCI Volume (D:) to protect your files from data loss. This is not required for Linux because the user’s home directory /home/desktopuser is stored on the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure block volume.

Linux File System

  • /home/desktopuser is the user's home directory stored on the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure block volume. This is only available if the administrator has enabled desktop storage for the pool.
  • 'My SGD Drives' within /home/desktopuser is your local machine's file system.

Why don't I see my local drives on the virtual desktop?

You must be using the installed client and the desktop administrator must enable client drive mapping within the desktop pool for you to share files between your local system and the virtual desktop.

If you are using the installed client, and do not see your local drives within the virtual desktop's file system, contact your desktop administrator to verify the desktop pool settings. See Viewing Your Desktop Status for information about viewing desktop administrator contact details.