Colleges and universities across the country seek to provide
engaging, personalized learning environments, using multimedia-rich curricula
to support collaborative education and distance learning. And, armed with
laptops, tablets and smartphones, students and faculty are demanding anytime,
anywhere access to educational resources and applications.
Thomas Jefferson School of Law (TJSL), an independent
nonprofit school in San Diego, started as a small, part-time evening law
program for working professionals in 1969. It expanded into a full-time law
school with a growing student base and an evolving curriculum.
In 2010, we realized that major changes and upgrades needed
to be made to the outdated IT infrastructure. But creating a successful new IT
environment required moving away from the conventional server-client computing
model to give us new ways of working and thinking.
In early 2010, the opportunity to radically change the
computing model presented itself when TJSL began constructing a new facility to
house its faculty, staff and 1,000 students. We began testing remote desktop
virtualization solutions. However, while many solutions were capable of
handling standard office applications, every one we tested failed to adequately
support the multimedia experience required in our environment.
In August 2010, we found a solution that worked: Teradici’s
PC-over-IP technology (PCoIP), Samsung zero-client displays and VMware View
desktop virtualization. Up and running in just four months, we eliminated 200
desktop PCs, replacing each with a Samsung NC240 24-inch PCoIP zero client
monitor, providing faculty, administrative staff and students with a flexible
computing experience. The PCoIP protocol compresses, encrypts and encodes the
entire computing experience at the data center and transmits “pixels only” to
the user’s desk, for a simple, easy-to-manage centralized solution. This
technology allows our IT department to centrally manage virtual desktops while
providing a rich multimedia experience.
As a result, our need for IT resources has been
significantly reduced. We are now able to set profiles for each PCoIP zero
client and push out firmware updates automatically. IT no longer wastes hours
going from computer to computer, manually updating each one. Instead, we can
manage everything from one desk, fixing any issues remotely.
At TJSL, we support mobile learning initiatives, enabling
students, faculty and staff to remotely access our virtual desktops from their
personal laptops. By allowing individuals to download the VMware View client,
we’ve enabled them to connect to the Internet and pick up where they left off
on their desktop—whether using a PC, Mac or tablet.
We were also able to meet our green IT goals for the new
building. Implementing a virtual desktop infrastructure allowed us to
effectively run the entire virtual environment by using the solar array on the
roof. We also reduced our servers from 35 to seven, which allows us to cool the
entire data center with just two small air conditioners.
Moving to a virtualized environment has enabled us to
provide students and faculty with the best computing experience, both inside
and outside the classroom, while also reducing costs.
James Cooper is CIO at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Brian
Graham is network administrator and Randy Krzyston is director of IT
operations.
Virtualization 
