Student Lab Management IT Services March 2012

Our Purpose this evening … o Foster good communication o Improve Relationships and Collaboration o Prepare for upcoming projects o Agenda: The Lab Replacement Process Lab Replacements for Summer 2012 Suggestions for Support Open Discussion

The Lab Replacement Process o The Windows Image Win7 64x Potentially more than 20 software titles Office 2010 Programming Software Specialized Software Printer Drivers o The Mac Image Snow Leopard: OS X (10.6.8) Potentially more than 30 software titles Office 2011 Adobe suite Final Cut Printer Drivers o Each and Every configuration needs to be tested Software setup with appropriate user privileges Driver Conflicts Interoperability Hardware Compatibility o The goal: Reduce the total number of unique configurations for efficient management Not always possible (interoperability and/or licensing)

The Lab Replacement Process o Order PCs when funds are released (July 1) o Receive PCs over the next 2-3 weeks o Remove old PCs Wipe the hard drives Transport them to surplus o Install new PCs Unbox, Image and Stage each PC Secure storage Transportation to the building o This process is required for every lab replacement Must be scheduled around summer events, classes and maintenance Completion is always targeted for the start of the Fall semester

Labs for Summer 2012 o Traditional Replacements Career Center (3 PCs) Snyder 312 (15 PCs) Snyder 229 (29 PCs) Academic Support Center (8 PCs) Four Locations, with 55 PCs o Virtualized Replacements Knutti 102 (21 PCs) Scarborough Library (22 PCs) Butcher 205 (10 PCs)

Desktop Virtualization o Consolidate the Processing Power of many PCs o Access the Processing Power from any desktop, anywhere o Separates the computing environment & tasks from the physical machine

Desktop Virtualization o Benefits Cost: Basic desktop computing power from modest devices Add desktop access without necessarily adding PCs Manageability: Install once – available to all Secure – Users are prevented from adding malicious software Reliability: Redundant host machines Accessibility: On-campus or Off-campus Lab PCs or Student-owned PCs Macintosh, Windows or Linux o Drawbacks Capital intensive: A portion of the expense is transferred to infrastructure Flexibility: Users are prevented from installing software Complex applications are more difficult to configure

Virtualization Pilot – starting this month o Citrix Desktop Pilot Scope: Create a fully functional virtualized Citrix desktop environment for up to 40 concurrent users Standard Windows 7 desktop image o Impact – If successful … Convert three student labs to Citrix-based virtual desktops Knutti 102 (21 PCs) Scarborough Library (22 PCs) Butcher 205 (10/13 PCs) Expand Citrix to accommodate up to 100 concurrent users Additional server host Additional storage capacity Software Licenses Implementation services Network equipment for KN 102 If not successful, refresh these labs with traditional desktops

Pilot Success Criteria o Reliability Students can access a virtual Windows PC reliably from White Hall 203 (95% up-time) o Usefulness Students can utilize the software titles they require Documents can be created, saved, ed and printed as required

What to do when theres a problem … o Contact the User Support Desk Call us at Preferred us at o Please make sure tell us … Your name & phone number Building name and room number Physical location of system in the room Machine name, Shepherd Tag Number and/or the Service tag number The Nature of the problem: The more detail, the better! Cant launch an application … error messages You can see network drive, but cant browse the internet You get error sounds, but no sound from a video Any troubleshooting steps you tried and their results Network cables are plugged in, but there are no lights on the connection Rebooted or not

Open Discussion …