Henry E Schaffer Coordinator of Special IT Projects

Henry E. Schaffer Coordinator of Special IT Projects & Faculty Collaboration/OIT Professor Emeritus of Genetics and Biomathematics Sarah R. Stein VCL Academic Outreach and Collaboration/OIT Associate Professor of Communication NC State University EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 1

Origins • Problems we faced at NC State – Timely inclusion of new software in lab image · relationships between instructors and lab staff – Conflicts between 50+ apps in lab image (". dll wars") • Resulting effort → delays (sometimes months) EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 2

Problems • Costs to students of high-end apps - making them dependent on labs – Assumption: students don't all have the newest, most powerful personally owned computers – Reality: students (nearly) all own or have access to some computer – Reality: many different models/configurations/ages/capabilities of student computers EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 3

Problems • Access at night - 24 hour access - safety issues • Distance students can't get to the campus labs (actually we didn't think of that at first. Why not? : -) • New software versions - instructors affected by move/don't-move decisions – Early adopters vs. caution EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 4

Problems • Installation differs due to non-uniformity of lab computers • Additional work for staff • Instructors expect uniformity EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 5

Considerations • very low project budget → maximize use of Open Source software – write "glue code" in LAMP environment – remember important engineering principle ~ KISS • had IBM Blade Center in use for HPC – Cap. Ex vs. Op. Ex – Cap. Ex amortization - i. e. lifetime EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 6

Considerations • had expertise in Engineering - Computer Science and central IT • Team includes Sam Averitt, Mikhail Bugaev, Marc Hoit, Andy Kurth, Aaron Peeler, Henry Schaffer, Sarah Stein, Eric Sills, Josh Thompson, Mladen Vouk - but only 3+ FTE EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 7

Overview of the VCL (the Virtual Computer-Lab) Solution • bring the lab to the student - over the internet ("virtually") – Anytime, anywhere – From any user computer - Windows/Mac/Linux • focus on high end software - works well with almost any software – make an image with one major app - always works! : -) EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 8

Overview • extra privileges - incl. root / Administrator, with extra security • http: //vcl. ncsu. edu/ EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 9

Architecture - an overview EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 10

Architecture EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 11

Architecture - Uses EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 12

Architecture - Flexibility EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 13

What is the Result? • Students get – Anytime, anywhere – Regardless of user platform – Same app for all – Choice of apps – Can use both networked and local storage EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 14

What is the Result? • Instructor gets – Uniform platform for all students – Multiple version availability – Quick changes/updates/customization • Instructor can do it herself EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 15

What is the result? • Staff gets – Smoother operation • Fewer compatibility problems • More satisfied instructors – Fewer customization requests – Good or better security with fewer restrictions EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 16

What is the result? • Campus gets – Support for on campus and distance learning – Longer life cycle – Lower TCO • Economies of Scale • More effective license administration – Greater Flexibility – Open Source benefits • Cloud Computing in 2004 EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 17

Advantages • How/Why we get improved service at lower cost (costs include personnel, hardware, software) – Self-service to faculty - very low training need – Responsiveness to faculty/class needs • With minimal staff load – 7 x 24 x 365 EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 18

Advantages – Sharing infrastructure (and costs) with HPC (out of phase use!) – Operations and Maintenance experience economies of scale! – Multiple software version availability – Availability of root/Administrator – Additional features - clusters, semester long reservations, etc. (opens new pedagogical opportunities) EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 19

Limitations • Network latency/speed video – Video editing is not a good fit – Some applications require specialized computer hardware (e. g. graphics cards) – Cultural acceptance of remote shared provision (more below) • (Offsetting this are opportunities for IT to move up "the food chain", partnership in pedagogy) • Open Source support EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 20

Barriers - especially Cultural Barriers • Adoption of the new – Cloud - can't touch it, feel it, see it – Changes relationships with instructors and users • Need to let go of the traditional – Traditional methods are comfortable – Moving to the new, but don’t get the economies if keep all the traditional EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 21

Opportunity for a Walk-Through • http: //vcl. ncsu. edu/ – FAQ – on left – The Info Corner – lower right • See it as a user – Select login with non-NCSU account – Create an account – Make a Reservation, etc. • Instructor View has more options EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 22

VCL Screen Grabs – Home Page EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 23

New Reservation Page EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 24

Reservation Page – Image Menu EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 25

Conclusions • Economical, affordable, scalable, shareable – Broadly useful – not a panacea • Open Source - Apache – http: //vcl. ncsu. edu/apache-vcl/ • Production status plus many pilots moving to production – NC State - Spring Semester 2009 61, 862 reservations - 107, 139 hours - 6, 336 unique users EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 26

Conclusions • You are welcome to try! • Get involved in the Apache VCL Community! – http: //cwiki. apache. org/VCL/ • VCL Home Page http: //vcl. ncsu. edu/ • IEEE Computer July 2009 pp 94 -97 “NCSU’s Virtual Computing Lab: A Cloud Computing Solution” EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 27

Thank You! NC State University • Henry Schaffer – hes@ncsu. edu • Sarah Stein – sarah_stein@ncsu. edu EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009 28