Events

In OpenVLE, events form the organizational framework for an environment.
They bundle environment content, user groups, and virtual machines, ensuring that learning or training scenarios are structured in terms of time, personnel, and technology.

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Where can I find this section?

Navigation:
Via main menu: Events
Alternatively accessible via: Linked via Users, Environments, or Virtual Machines

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Features at a Glance

• Create, edit, and delete events
• Assign environments and user groups
• Start and stop events (deployment and decommissioning)
• Manage runtimes and automatic termination
• View active, planned, and completed events

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Key Fields at a Glance

Field name	Description
Description	Free text field to explain the purpose or content of the event. Displayed in overviews and detail views.
End (Date)	End date of the event. If no end date is set, the event runs indefinitely. After the end date is reached, a configurable transition period begins (see **Administration -> Configuration**). After that, virtual machines, connections, and associated resources are automatically deleted.
End (Time)	DeprecatedNo longer used.
Environment	Reference to the assigned environment. This environment defines the templates, applications, and network settings to be used for the event.
Name	Display name of the event. Shown in lists, dialogs, and connection names. After deployment, it becomes part of the connection title in Apache Guacamole.
Short Name	Short identifier for the event (4-8 characters). Allowed characters are lowercase letters, numbers, underscores (_), and hyphens (-). Integrated into the names of created virtual machines during deployment.
Start (Date)	Start date of the event. From this point on, the assigned resources are available.
Start (Time)	DeprecatedNo longer used.

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Event Statuses

Each event in OpenVLE goes through several status phases during its lifecycle.
The following overview describes the possible statuses and their meaning:

Status	Description
Planned	Automatically set when creating an event. An event in the Planned status is automatically deployed X days before the start date, so it is ready before the event begins. The number of days is configurable in the System Settings (System -> Settings) and is displayed in the detail view. A manual transition from the Planned status is not possible.
Deploying	The event is currently being provisioned ("deployment"). During this process, no changes can be made and no participants can be added or removed. The current progress can be viewed via the tasks assigned to the event. After successful deployment, the status automatically changes to Active. If an error occurs, it changes to Error (Deployment).
Active	The event is running and all associated VMs and connections are available. Changes (e.g., adding or removing participants) are possible in this status. The event remains active until the end date is reached (if set) or it is manually terminated.
Error (Core)	The deployment could not be started because a fundamental prerequisite was not met. A detailed error report is displayed in the event view. From this status, a new provisioning attempt can be started — the event then returns to the Deploying status. Deletion is possible.
Error (Deployment)	The deployment has failed. A detailed error report is displayed in the event view. From this status, a new provisioning attempt can be started — the event then returns to the Deploying status. Deletion is not possible.
Error (Archiving)	Archiving has failed. A detailed error report is displayed in the event view. From this status, a new archiving attempt can be started — the event then returns to the Archiving status. Deletion is not possible.
Archiving	After the end date and the transition period configured in the System Settings have elapsed, or after a manual termination, the event is automatically set to this status. During the archiving process, all associated VMs and connections are deleted. After successful archiving, the status automatically changes to Archived. If an error occurs, it changes to Error (Archiving).
Archived	Archiving was completed successfully. All resources have been removed. Events in this status can no longer be started but can be deleted.
Inactive	Internal state for deactivated or manually stopped events. This status rarely occurs and serves administrative purposes.
Stopped	Temporary state when an event has been manually stopped. The associated VMs are shut down and the connections are deactivated in this case. The event can be reactivated if needed.

Important Notes

• An event can only be deleted in the Planned or Archived statuses.
• During the Deploying or Archiving statuses, no changes are possible.
• The automatic transitions (e.g., from Planned -> Deploying -> Active or Active -> Archiving -> Archived) are controlled by system processes and cannot be triggered manually.
• In the system settings under System -> Settings, both the preparation time (pre-deployment) and the transition period after the end can be configured.

Tip:
If an error repeatedly occurs in the Deploying or Archiving status, check the associated tasks.
There you will find detailed error messages and logs for the cause.

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Status Transitions at a Glance

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Creating an Event

1. Open the Events section in the main menu.
2. Click Add to create a new event.
3. Assign a name and a description.
4. Select an existing environment.
5. Set the start and optionally the end date of the event.
6. Save the event.
   The event will now be created with the status "Planned".
7. Then add participants.

Relationship between event and VM templates

When creating an event, the chosen environment is only stored as a reference. The direct relationship between the event and the VM templates is only created during deployment. If the environment is changed between creation and deployment, the event uses the current version of the environment during deployment.

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Editing an Event

1. Open the Events section in the main menu.
2. Search for the desired event in the list.
3. Click Edit, or open the event's context menu and select Edit.
4. The form displays all current event data.
5. Adjust the desired fields — for example, Name, Description, or Environment.
6. Save the changes.

warning

Only events in the "Planned" status can be edited.
Changes to Name, Description, or the assigned environment are no longer possible in other statuses.

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Deploying an Event

1. Open the Events section in the main menu.
2. Search for the desired event in the list.
3. Click Deploy, or open the event's context menu and select Deploy.
4. The form displays all current event data.
5. Confirm the deployment in the displayed dialog.
6. The event changes to the "Deploying" status; the virtual machines and connections are created.
   The creator of the event will be notified of the progress via email.

warning

Only events in the "Planned" status can be deployed.

note

During the "Deploying" status, no changes can be made to the event.
After successful completion, the status changes to "Active".

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Terminating an Event (Archiving)

1. Open the Events section in the main menu.
2. Search for the desired event in the list.
3. Click Stop, or open the event's context menu and select Stop.
4. The form displays all current event data.
5. Confirm the termination in the displayed dialog.
6. The event changes to the "Archiving" status; the virtual machines and connections are deleted.
   The creator of the event will be notified of the progress via email.

warning

Only events in the "Active" status can be terminated.

note

During the "Archiving" status, no changes can be made to the event.
After successful completion, the status changes to "Archived".

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Bulk Actions

For active events, bulk actions are available to perform mass operations on all VMs or connections of an event simultaneously.

1. Open the Events section in the main menu.
2. Search for the desired event in the "Active" status in the list.
3. Open the detail view of the event.
4. Click the Actions button and select the desired bulk action.
5. Confirm the action in the displayed dialog.
6. The action is applied to all affected VMs or connections of the event simultaneously.

warning

Only events in the "Active" status support bulk actions.

VM Actions

The following actions can be applied to all virtual machines of an event simultaneously:

• Start all VMs — Starts all VMs of the event
• Stop all VMs — Stops all VMs immediately (hard stop)
• Shut down all VMs — Shuts down all VMs gracefully via the guest agent
• Reboot all VMs — Reboots all VMs
• Reset all VMs — Performs a hard reset on all VMs

Connection Actions

The following actions can be applied to all connections of an event simultaneously:

• Create all connections — Recreates all connections of the event
• Delete all connections — Deletes all connections of the event

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Deleting an Event

1. Open the Events section in the main menu.
2. Search for the desired event in the list.
3. Click Delete, or open the event's context menu and select Delete.
4. Confirm the deletion in the displayed dialog.
5. The event will then be permanently removed.

warning

Only events in the "Planned" or "Archived" status can be deleted.

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Example or Use Case

Example: Provision a new training event

An administrator wants to provision a training with an environment. They create the entry "Linux Basics - Fall Course" in the Events section, set the start and end dates, and select the Beginners and Advanced environment. After saving, they add all participants and start the deployment. This automatically creates and configures all associated virtual machines and connections.

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Notes / Special Considerations

• An event contains exactly one environment, which can however reference multiple VM templates.
• Changes to the assigned environment (e.g., adding or removing VM templates) affect planned events, since the direct relationship between event and VM templates is only created during deployment. Active events are not affected.
• During deployment, virtual machines are created and configured for all participants based on the VM templates assigned to the environment.
  Additionally, each participant receives individual connections based on the connection templates assigned to the respective VM templates.
  Participants with the Instructor role also receive connections to all virtual machines of the event.
• The Stop button can be used to terminate and remove all VMs of the event.
• The creator of an event automatically receives full access permissions for all created virtual machines and connections.
• Participants automatically receive the "Read & VM Control" permission for their own virtual machine.
• Changes to a running event (e.g., adding or removing participants) take effect immediately.
• Events with active deployment can only be terminated by users with the permission (events_actions_end).
• Starting or stopping an event may take some time depending on the number of VMs.
  The creator automatically receives an email notification once the deployment or stopping/archiving is completed or an error has occurred.
• The display updates regularly as long as the section is open.

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Relationships to Other Objects

Many objects in OpenVLE are related to other elements within the system. The following overview shows which relationships exist and whether they trigger certain automations.

Object	Description	Automatic behavior
Changelogs	All changes to the object are automatically logged.	Automatic removal when the object is deleted.
Connections	Any number of connections can be assigned to an event.	When the event is terminated, all associated connections are automatically deleted.
Emails	Any number of sent emails can be assigned to an event.	No automations.
Environments	Each event is assigned exactly one environment.	No automations.
Participants (Users)	Any number of participants can be assigned to an event.	No automations.
Permissions	Object-specific permissions can be assigned directly to the object.	Automatic removal when the object is deleted.
Tags	Objects can be tagged with any number of tags to categorize or filter them.	Automatic removal when the object is deleted.
Tasks	System-internal tasks that are automatically created and monitored for actions (e.g., starting, stopping, or cloning).	Automatic creation for certain processes or actions.
Virtual Machines (VMs)	Any number of VMs can be assigned to an event.	When the event is terminated, all associated VMs are automatically deleted.
VM Templates	Any number of VM templates can be assigned to an event.	No automations.

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Required Permissions

The permissions required for actions can be assigned via roles or individually. If you lack certain rights, the corresponding functions in the user interface are hidden or disabled.

Action	Required permission	Path	Additional information
View events	events_read	/ or /<objectID>
Create events	events_create	/
Edit events	events_update	/ or /<objectID>
Delete events	events_delete	/ or /<objectID>
Start events	events_actions_start	/ or /<objectID>
Terminate events	events_actions_end	/ or /<objectID>
View users	users_read	/ or /<objectID>
View environments	courses_read	/ or /<objectID>

info

The permissions *_read, *_update, and *_delete can be set to a specific path, i.e., to the UUID of an object.
Example: /4a3bc312-d1af-4b3f-b222-f5e9cecbf007 – This gives the user access to this single object only.
If the path / is used, the permission applies globally to all objects of this type.
For *_create permissions, only the global path / is allowed.

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Related Topics

• • Connections
• • Environments
• • Virtual Machines
• • VM Templates