Case Study (PDF) - VMware

vmware case study“Our iLab applications arenow platform-independentand can be accessed fromanywhere in the world.”Natalia Salzberg,Product Manager, InformaticsMacquarie UniversityIBM SPSS Modeler data miningworkbench, Minitab statistical softwarefor quality improvement and the Gretleconometrics package.Many of these applications are expensive,making it unfeasible and impractical forstudents to purchase their own copies forpotentially just one course unit.“Having such a wide portfolio ofapplications installed on lab PCs alsomeant there was a considerable supportburden for IT staff,” Salzberg said. “Staffhad to ensure all applications were up todate and that any hardware malfunctionswere quickly rectified.”By 2009, the university was developingplans to expand student access toapplications and resources beyond thethree labs that operated on campus.These plans involved reducing congestionduring peak times, cutting the supportburden and lowering costs.The SolutionIn 2009, the university decided to createa ‘virtual’ computing laboratory thatwould improve the availability of labresources to students. “We took a stepback and asked ‘why does the physicallab even have to exist?’” said Salzberg.“We decided the best way to increaseavailability was to allow students to usetheir own devices to access the softwarerunning in a virtual laboratory.”Salzberg said the IT team developedand tested a preliminary design for theconcept, dubbed iLab. This involvedproviding students with access toapplications via disposable virtualdesktops. After a number of preliminarytests, the university began a search fora technology that could support its iLabvision.In 2010, the university decided toimplement VMware Horizon View tocreate on-demand virtual machinesthat students could use to access theparticular applications they required. Theapplications were served from a centraldatacentre rather than running on thedevices themselves. “VMware HorizonView provided us with truly platformindependenttechnology,” said Salzberg.“It didn’t matter what devices studentswere using—they could simply connect tothe resources they needed.”Business Results & BenefitsOnce Macquarie University iLab wasestablished in 2011, a range of benefitsimmediately became apparent. Mostnotably, students could access theapplications they needed from anywhereon any device they chose.“A university is really a slice of regularsociety,” said Salzberg. “You get peoplewho are very tech savvy and others whoare not at all. This means we can’t dictatewhat people use and so we had to makeaccess as simple and open as possible.Our iLab applications are now platformindependentand can be accessed fromanywhere in the world.”Rather than being limited to the numberof physical computers in the university’scomputer labs, students now draw froma pool of 850 virtual machines on whichthey can access the applications theyrequire. Machines are spun up to meetincreases in demand and destroyed oncestudents log off. Documents and data aretypically stored in Google Drive and arealso available outside iLab.“Each time a student logs on, they aregiven a unique image from a collectionof readily available instances,” saidSalzberg. “That way they can be sure theyare getting the most up-to-date versionavailable on the desktops.”By reducing the number of virtualmachines running during off-peak times,the university is capable of reducingthe power consumption of computerhardware and the air conditioningsystems that support it.The new system has also reduced theload on Macquarie University’s desktopadministrators. “Our support staff cannow perform maintenance and checksfrom their desks rather than spend upto two days each semester undertakingthese tasks at the labs,” said Salzberg.“It’s removed the need to walk aroundwith physical CDs to update individualcomputers.”Future PlansFollowing the success of iLab, MacquarieUniversity will continue to explore newways of using virtualization technologyto provide students with access to thesoftware and resources they require tocomplete their studies.CUSTOMER Case Study / 2