Introducing Virtualization via an OpenStack “Cloud” System to SUNY Orange Applied Technology Students SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology Grant Christopher Rigby Cartmell Warrington This past year we applied for, and received, a SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology Grant (IITG) to construct an OpenStack virtualization cluster at SUNY Orange.

What is it? Server Virtualization allows a single piece of hardware to run several different Operating Systems at one time, each in a different container or “virtual server”. The hardware resources available can be allocated to different virtual machines, each of which can deploy a separate OS. Create an image of an installed operating system. Create a virtual machine by allocating a certain set of virtual resources:  Processors  Memory (RAM)  Storage / Disk Space Run an instance of an OS image on each virtual machine.

Hardware Consolidation  “Right-fit” (scale) server capacity Redundancy and Imaging – can create images from a running instance and start any number of copies (snapshot). Reduce Cost – No capital expenditures, constant recurring cost (better planning). Migration – can migrate instances across clusters, even across datacenters. OS variation – can run multiple operating systems Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)  Amazon EC2, S3, EBS  Easy / “Instant” server provisioning Why use it?

Ubiquity of virtualization

How does it work? An OpenStack cluster generally consists of a controller node(s) which does management of the compute, network, and storage resources, and a set of compute nodes with processing resources (CPU, RAM). The user can then allocate virtual machines from the pool of resources. Our SUNY Orange cluster consists of 20 nodes (each with i7 Quad Core and 32G RAM): 1 Controller Node 1 Network Node 18 Compute Nodes Our version of OpenStack utilizes software-defined networking components such as OpenvSwitch and the OpenFlow protocol for its networking stack.

Students graduating from our technology programs are entering a complex, competitive environment that changes quickly, often rendering skills irrelevant almost overnight. Often the very skills we are teaching them, and the platforms on which they have trained, are outdated by the time they reach industry. Virtualization and software-defined networking are emerging technologies that are just beginning to impact industry, and will fully mature during the careers of our current generation of students. By introducing these emerging technologies early in their academic careers, our OpenStack project equips students with tools that will guarantee their success in the business world. Why learn it?

In keeping with the IITG goals, our grant was structured around expanding existing course materials, enhancing student learning outcomes, and providing a more open, sharable platform for technology education. Threefold motivation behind our grant proposal: 1.Introduce students to the emerging technology of virtualization, increasing the probability of gainful employment. 2.Reduce lab set up time, allowing more lab time to be used for actual course content. 3.Create learning modules that can be shared with other departments and SUNY branches, either through direct use of our cluster or their own OpenStack implementation. Grant Motivation

1.Introduce students to the latest technology, increasing the probability of gainful employment. Our OpenStack cluster allows us to introduce students to cutting-edge virtualization technologies that otherwise they would not see until industry. Our cluster actually implements OpenFlow and OpenvSwitch networking technologies, which are part of the Software Defined Networking movement, which allows us to introduce students to SDN concepts and current implementations. Lab assignments that train students to work with these protocols are in development. In addition to its own proprietary protocols, OpenStack supports the Eucalyptus tool set, the standard used for Amazon EC2. Thus we can provide training for our students on the most widely used provisioning and maintenance tools.

A sample lab from CIT 118 – Operating Systems

2.Reduce lab set up time, allowing more lab time to be used for actual course content. Due to the nature of our discipline, many labs require an inordinate amount of setup time, often requiring a fresh install of an operating system and lab specific software. OpenStack allows us to create lab images with all the requisite software already installed. Thus to start a lab, the student merely spins up an appropriate instance.

3.Create learning modules that can be shared with other departments and SUNY branches, either through direct use of our cluster or their own OpenStack implementation. Several of the laboratory modules created for our Network Security and Operating Systems courses are currently being moved onto the OpenStack platform. Labs for our Unix/Linux and Database classes are also under development. Labs already migrated include:  Virtualization Platforms – OpenStack Server Provisioning  Software RAID Configuration  Resource Sharing – SaMBa and NFS  Process and Memory Management Utilities  SQL Injection  ARP cache poisoning These laboratory modules, along with the specific virtual machine images, could be easily packaged to share with other learning partners.

Student Reception We modified our standard “Student Feedback” instrument to measure the success of our endeavors. Some results: Prior to our labs, 60% of our students had never used virtualization, and 87.5% had no experience in this particular platform. 100% believed that the tools illustrated in the labs would prove valuable in industry. ~70% felt the virtualization environment reduced set up time. [NS students only]  85% thought it allowed for more related content, since the virtual machines were preconfigured.  92% suggested it let them concentrate more on the lesson, rather than configuration. 97% understood virtualization and virtualization tools better after attending the class. 100% of OS students felt that the virtualization environment helped them understand the theoretical topics covered in class.