NC State University

1. Henry E. SchafferCoordinator of Special IT Projects & Faculty Collaboration/OITProfessor Emeritus of Genetics and BiomathematicsSarah R. SteinVCL Academic Outreach and Collaboration/OITAssociate Professor of Communication NC State University EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

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

6. 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 • CapEx vs. OpEx • CapEx amortization - i.e. lifetime EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009

7. 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

8. 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

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

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

11. Architecture EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009

12. Architecture - Uses EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009

13. Architecture - Flexibility EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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 • 7x24x365 EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

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

24. New Reservation Page EDUCAUSE Live! July 29. 2009

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

26. 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

27. 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

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