Redefining the Desktop Stu Baker AUL for Library Technology

Overview Current environment Advantages and Challenges Desktop Virtualization technologies Use Case Scenarios NUL Virtual Desktop Strategy

Look familiar?

Current In-House Environment 800 workstations Windows and Macintosh Desktops, Laptops, Netbooks 40 servers in-house 7 TB of SAN storage

Time is Money, Money is Time Manage apps and OS on every device Changes, additions are time consuming Dealing with security and data recovery is more complex Hardware replacement cycles expensive

Will these help ?

Advantages of Virtual Desktops Flexibility for Users and IT staff Any device anywhere and anytime Multiple desktops from a single device Data recovery, business continuity Security Space Green

The Challenges Not a one-size-fits all solution –It may not work for some users –IT staff need to match the users with the right technical solution Performance Peripherals Scalability Cost

Common setups Client Hypervisors Terminal Services Application Virtualization

Desktop Virtualization Technologies

Hosted shared desktops Hosted VM Desktops (VDI) Hosted Blade PC desktops Physical Desktop on demand apps Local Streamed desktops Local VM-based desktops (offline)

Types of Users Patrons and Guests Staff workers Remote workers Mobile workers

Use Case Scenarios Virtual Computer Lab Information Commons Single use workstations Specialized Faculty use Specialized Staff use

The Server (Dell R710) 2 Intel Xeon X5680 chips GHz 6 CPU cores per chip (12 total) w/ Hyper threading a total of 24 logical processors 48 GB of RAM. 345 GB of storage on Equallogic SAN VMware View andVMware vSphere 4 Update 1

Thick client (Acer Aspire R3610) Windows 7 Professional 2 CPU's allocated to each VM 2 GB of RAM allocated to each VM 30 GB of hard drive space per VM allocated dynamically VM only stores the delta's from the base image which is a few GB per VM

NU Library Strategy Starting small with Info. Commons Expand to single use workstations Staff Admin Rights Mac users Disaster recovery/business continuity Single-pane of glass management tools

Recommendations Take-Aways Define service models & gather requirements Assume you will have a mixed environment Align use cases/requirements to the appropriate technology The User/Patron experience is the most important driver of success