Features
More Bang for Your Bucks
10/1/2010 By:
It’s hard to argue against virtualization. Server-based setups enable
schools to create and maintain many servers on one big box, which
saves time, space, and energy. Desktop-based virtualization lets
them manage many end-user machines from one desktop. The
technology’s use in school is nascent, but these schools have already
taken the first steps. Read what they have to say:
Teresa Kratzer
Supervisor of Technology
Beech Grove (IN) City Schools
Products
used
Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 on Windows 2003,
Wyse V10L thin clients, Wyse Device Manager
Why
virtualization?
“In the last two years, our tech staff went from seven to three, and
our district tripled the number of handhelds and other devices.
I thought, ‘There’s no way three people can manage all these
devices,” Kratzer says. But with virtualization, it gets done.
Discuss
the
learning
curve
Managing thin clients is a big change from managing a local
computer, Kratzer says, but she likes having more of a business
model. It took a year to get everything working, but it’s a “piece
of cake to maintain.” Wyse helped train her staff, and Kratzer
attended a summer training session.
Describe
some
of the
benefits
“It takes about 10 minutes to set up a thin-client machine; setting
up a PC used to take an hour. Logging in used to take five
minutes; now it takes 30 seconds. Applications open quicker since
the processing is done at the server level.” Kratzer can set up a
lab of 30 thin-client systems in an hour. She anticipates saving
close to $30,000 in electricity costs.
Any
negatives?
“We had some push-back from the high school. They wanted PCs
instead of the thin clients, so I went with regular computers at the
high school. All our other schools have thin clients in classrooms
and in labs.”
How
much did
it cost?
Since Kratzer started from scratch, she had a lot of startup costs,
including servers. She spent approximately $250,000 but expects
to start seeing a return on her investment next year.
Jason Willis
Network Manager
Minooka (IL) Community
Consolidated School
District 201
Products
used
HP Compaq t5740 and t5630 thin clients,
HP L1710 and L1711 monitors, HP Device
Manager, Windows(r) Embedded
Standard 2009, Citrix XenDesktop,
Citrix XenServer
Why
virtualization?
Five years ago, the district used Macs. Willis
was asked to increase the availability of
desktop units for students while upgrading the
technology, and the cost was prohibitive. His
superintendent wanted to try something new,
so Willis bought some thin clients. Last year
Minooka built two new buildings and completed
two additions. A vendor suggested virtualization,
as it would save money, space, and resources.
Discuss
the
learning
curve
“I came from the Mac world, so it was a little
challenging,” Willis says. “The hardest notion is
that you can’t walk up to a keyboard and work
on it. You have to understand that the servers
aren’t physically there.” The software has a
nice, simple interface, he says; using it is more
of an adjustment than an actual learning curve.
Describe
some
of the
benefits
“I can copy a prebuilt server and in less than
five minutes, I have a new server set up with
a base configuration.” Previously, this would
take up to half a day. Willis also likes being
able to balance loads easily. If 800 students are
doing papers, he creates a new server for the
necessary time. “One person can administer a
lot of different things.”
Any
negatives?
There are challenges occasionally, such as when
a server has a problem or the resources aren’t
sufficient. “I’ll have servers that max out the
CPU sometimes, and that’s a challenge. Other
than that, I haven’t found too many downsides.”
How
much did
it cost?
The district spent $120,000 on servers, hosting,
upgrading the LAN, software, and licensing.
Ron Reyer
Director of
Technology
Matt Johnson
Application
Specialist
Bethel Park
(PA) School
District
Products
used
HP ProLiant DL380 G6 computer,
Microsoft Application Virtualization
for Terminal Services, Microsoft
Application Virtualization, Microsoft
Desktop Optimization Pack, Windows
Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, Windows 7,
Windows Vista, Microsoft Hyper-V
Why
virtualization?
“It seemed to be the way to go,” Reyer says;
Johnson adds that “one of the more compelling
reasons was getting back up and running
quickly in the event of a server-based problem.
Virtualization allowed us to take a giant
machine and turn it into many machines doing
whatever we want.”
Discuss
the
learning
curve
Reyer did lots of reading. “When we first
started about four years ago, not many people
in western Pennsylvania were doing it.” He
started cautiously by building servers for
the tech department. Once they had proven
themselves, he expanded.
Describe
some
of the
benefits
“The biggest benefit is time saved,” Johnson
says. “I can save many hours, if not days, by
installing once and pushing [applications] out.”
The district is also saving money. “There are
a lot of applications that don’t play well with
each other; you’d need two servers to handle
that. With virtualization, we can run six or
seven servers off one server and they can do
different things.”
Any
negatives?
Be careful when allocating memory, Reyer
advises. “If you don’t have virtual servers sized
right, they do not quit gracefully. We learned
early on that if you don’t allocate memory
properly or have enough overhead, servers quit
suddenly, and with no warning.”
How
much did
it cost?
Both men recommend starting small. “We
found Microsoft extremely cost competitive
when compared with VMWare, which requires
the appropriate Microsoft licenses plus VMWare
licenses,” Reyer says.
Marvin Reece
Director of
Technology
Southwestern
Jefferson
County School
in Hanover, IN
Products
used
NComputing virtual desktops, including
the L230, L130, and the X300; vSpace
Desktop Virtualization Software
Why
virtualization?
When Reece came on board 10 years ago,
he was a one-man tech department, running
just a couple of servers. By 2008, he had
eight servers and 700 workstations, so when
he saw an ad for NComputing, he thought,
‘That’s the way to go.’ Now the elementary
school, which couldn’t afford to have more
than one computer in each classroom, has
four workstations in each room that run off a
single XP box with NComputing software. “We
get a lot more seats without increasing my
workload,” Reece says.
Discuss
the
learning
curve
“A piece of cake,” he says. Once he sets the
passwords on the box, plugs it in, and tells it
which servers to look for, everything works
automatically.
Describe
some
of the
benefits
“I load a program once and everyone can use
it. That’s 15 minutes versus 15 minutes times 26
machines. The time savings is enormous.” To
upgrade, he’ll need to replace only one server
in one room for about $2,000, rather than
replace 26 computers.
Any
negatives?
As with any system, Reece says, there are
occasional glitches, but it’s simple to fix them.
“At times a Microsoft update would cause
some problems, but that’s better now. I’m not
fighting the computers or the program.”
How
much did
it cost?
Reece spent $8,000 to get 26 units and
a server into the classrooms. Thanks to
virtualization, he says, he saved at least
$10,000 a classroom.
Marie Evans
Career Technology
Education Supervisor
Richard Weaver
Former Network
Administrator
Donna (TX)
Independent School
District (ISD)
Products
used
Quest vWorkspace 6.2, Parallels
Virtuozzo Containers for Windows,
PVA for Parallels Virtuozzo, Wyse
Terminals—WDM, Wyse TCX Suite 4.0, Dell
Poweredge 2970 servers, Windows 2003
x64 Datacenter, Wyse v10L Terminals
Why
virtualization?
It was out of necessity, Evans says. In 2007,
there were 3,000 desktops for 14,500 students,
and 90 percent of them were out of warranty
and/or not working. The district was planning
to phase in computers but, on examining other
options, decided to try virtualization instead.
“It let us double the number of instructional
units on campus.”
Discuss
the
learning
curve
“It was a difficult first year while we worked
to get everything how we wanted. We were
a large implementation. Now, though, lots of
companies and districts have come to us for
observation.”
Describe
some
of the
benefits
Two network administrators can manage
all 6,000 end units. Work orders have been
reduced from 800, with the old PCs, to fewer
than 100 at any given time, and inventory
management is much easier. “On a PC, if
something goes wrong, it’s dead until it’s
repaired. With virtualization, the end user
always has another terminal automatically,”
Richard Weaver says. “At our high school, 16
servers run 1,000 seats. Two of the servers
were down for a week and a half, and no one
noticed; others picked up the load.”
Any
negatives?
On the technology side, virtualization is
dependent on the network. “If your network
goes down or something happens, the terminals
do not function,” Weaver says, “but that’s the
only downside.” Getting teachers to buy in was
difficult at first, Evans says.
How
much did
it cost?
For 6,000 seats, including hardware, software,
licensing, and professional services, the district
spent approximately $4 million.
Other
Virtualization
Vendors
¦ Citrix
www.citrix.com
¦ Dell
www.dell.com
¦ IBM
www.ibm.com
¦ Lenovo
www.lenovo.com
¦ NetApp
www.netapp.com
¦ Oracle
www.oracle.com
¦ VMware
www.vmware.com