piloting virtual computer labs (242324454)
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8/11/2019 Piloting Virtual Computer Labs (242324454)
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Piloting Virtual Computer Labs
Scott Arnst – University of Michigan - Flint
Adam Robinson - University of Michigan - FlintWeston Taylor - Colorado College
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The Business Case
• Lower CAPEX• Total purchase was less than deeply discounted
desktops
• Lower OPEX• Significantly lower power consumption
• Lower cooling requirements
• Reduced physical footprint
• Longer useful lifespan• Simplifies support
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Use Cases
• Case 1 - General open computer labs
• Case 2 - Students using GIS (GeographicInformation Systems)
• Case 3 - Statistical analysis which requiresprocessing power
• Case 4 - Graphic Arts students using Final
Cut Pro or Adobe Creative Suite• Case 2-4 occur in labs that cannot be
reserved for 24/7 or are under powered
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Case 1 – Open Computer Labs
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Publicity
• Emphasized a “Green Lab”• Showed carbon emission reduction
• Lower power consumption
• Less impact on their Technology Fee dollars
• Used a lab normally closed during summer semester
• 35 zero clients
• How did it go?
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EPIC FAIL!• 10 minute login times when IT staff tested
• Tons of apps barely functioned
• Server CPU’s pegged
• Memory full
• SAN I/O saturated• Most IT staff formed their opinion then and there and some
still have not changed their perception
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Our Findings
• Needed more CPU
• Needed WAY more RAM
• Needed WAY faster disks
• This was our biggest bottle-neck and itwill be yours too!
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Pilot 2.0 – 3.0• We piloted two more iterations of faster servers
and faster storage.
• 1.5 minute login times when IT staff tested
• Apps functioned fine, even video unless full screen• SAN I/O no longer an issue
• Except that the SSD appliance was $50K plus$8K annually
• This still did not change IT staff perceptions
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Last Chance
• Built our own SSD SAN• Cost approximately $15,000
• Used the PowerEdge 2950 as controller
• 48 GB of Cache
• 24 SATA SSD Drives
• Datacore SanSymphony-V (2008 R2 Server Core)
• Purchased two new servers with lots of
cores and 64Gb of RAM• Continued to tweak golden image
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Go Live
• Login times 24 – 35 seconds!
• This still did not change all IT staffperceptions
• Students perceived it was slower than adesktop• We tested applications they said were slower (SPSS,
Word, etc.), VDI is faster
• Students were involved in an earlier pilot whichprobably tainted their perception as well
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Where We Are Today• Eight servers clustered with PCoIP offload cards
• Two homemade SSD SANs mirrored
• ~350 zero clients across 9 labs
• 30 thin client laptops in a cart
• Some IT employees and IT Helpdesk
• Simplified support• Lower TCO
• Reduced power consumption/smaller carbon footprint
• Web based real-time lab utilization
• Lab Anywhere
• Employee zero clients
• Need personalization and snap shots
• Reuse existing desktops/laptops
• Simplified way to pilot a new OS or application
• Unidesk
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Lessons Learned• Go big or go home
• SSD is a must
• Servers are cheap so add a bunch with lots of
cores and memory• Perception is everything
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What problems do you havegiving students access to
software or hardware? How do you have students
access software remotely?
What virtual lab/desktop
initiatives do you have? What's your timeline for testing or
implementation?
Poll Questions
tiny.cc/educausevlabs
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Cases 2 & 3 - GIS Lab & Stats
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GIS Lab
• Higher-end physical computers
• Graphics-intense software
• Full class won’t fit
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Test 1
Windows Server 2003 R2
Terminal Server
2.90 GHz CPU, 3.75 GB RAM
40 GB VHD
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Test 2
Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter
2.90 GHz CPU (Octocore), 12 GB RAM
119 GB VHD
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Continuing issues
Old macs don’t like the preferred remote
desktop app
VHD fills up
No policy as yet limiting use toclasses/thesis students
Users forget to log off
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Hosted VDI mini-pilot
6 machines - 2 CPUs, 4 GB RAM cost - $45 per month/machine
Average per computer cost for 3 years:$2300.23
Lessons:
Latency is terrible
Dedicated setup & testing time required
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On-premise VDI pilot
VMWare
Decommisioned server
Help desk tech pet project
Lessons: Fast hardware is critical (where have I heard
that?)
Employee leaves = RIP project
Staff who are willing may not be the bestguinea pigs
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Cases 4 - Macs
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Virtual Mac
No, not Aqua Connect or Virtual Box
24/7 lab access for class with 8 students
External hard drives
OS Project storage space
Win! Students had access to
their files and their
software they need Highly portable
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Next Steps
Microsoft App-V
Amazon Workspaces $35/month 1 vCPU, 3.75 GiB RAM, 50 GB storage
VMWare Thin apps Thumb drives with Windows to go
tiny.cc/educausevlabsresults
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