Richard Gardner Pembrokeshire College

 Background  Aims and objectives  Options  Realism and Implementation  Outcomes and Benefits

 3 year trends at Pembrokeshire College  IT staff resources  Demand for cross curricular IT resources

 Identify where the following could achieved:  Simpler and more efficient management of IT resources  Deployment of more computers with same or less IT staff resources  Whilst ensuring that:  Service levels are not adversely affected  Staff and student experience is not compromised

 Over 25% of Support Calls to the IT Helpdesk related to a hardware or software problem on a student computer. Which meant  The chosen solution should not only reduce the time spent fixing these problems but also help reduce the number of these problems.

 The installation of a new IT class room takes 1 member of staff a whole day (20 PC’s) and that  Re-imaging this classroom takes ½ day so  The solution should reduce both of the above times

 Do student computers get used to their full potential?  Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Internet access is all we offer in the IT Drop-In areas  None are resource hungry applications  Is there a way of maximising the benefits of the physical resources?

 Pembrokeshire College has an existing Virtual Server environment  Simplified server management  Reduced deployment time for new servers  Maximising physical resources  Can we apply the same principle to student computers?

YES Thin Clients / terminals in classroom Virtual Desktops on server

 Value for money  Reduced purchase & maintenance costs  Resilience  If a host fails then virtual servers are migrated to another host  Green computing  Fewer devices = less power

 Which server technology to use?  Which thin client terminals should be used and how many?  Where should the thin clients be deployed?

 VMware  Existing Virtual Server environment  Easily expandable solution  Minimum professional development needed

 Wyse Technology  Global leader in thin client computing  VMware compatible  Ease of deployment

 Areas with no specialist software requirements  Learning Resource Centre  Key skills classrooms  Staff offices

 Key objectives  Single sign on  Same look and feel for the user  Integration with existing management applications

 Successful  Student comments “unaware that the thin client was any different from any other computer”  No issues

 Project achievements to date  Low levels of maintenance  Zero hardware problems  Energy saving  Learning Resource Centre is a much quieter place

 Energy saving  Thin clients = 73% power saving  Less power = less heat = less cooling  Many computers can be replaced by 1 server  Intelligent servers shutdown when not required

4 tons of CO2 are eliminated for every server that is virtualised equivalent to taking 1.5 cars off the roads 60 thin clients give similar savings when compared to conventional PC’s