4 Keys to Designing a Virtual Desktop Environment: The CIO of Lone Star College System Discusses How to Evaluate Desktop Virtualization Opportunities, Set Up Pilots, and Ultimately Establish a Reliable Production Environment
Link Alander · T.H.E. Journal Technological Horizons in Education · 2013
This is an excerpt of a three-part series on desktop virtualization from the digital edition of Campus Technology, T.H.E. Journal's sister publication that covers technology in higher ed. You can begin the entire series here. When implementing any new technology or system, IT leaders are increasingly having to answer the question: What's the TCO? What's the ROI? With desktop virtualization, making these determinations is anything but straightforward, since any calculation is tied to the overall goals and standards established during the planning phase. Furthermore, in a rapidly evolving market space, these standards have to be flexible while still keeping to the overall project goals. Such considerations should prompt you to take the claims of the virtualization industry--whether it's cost savings or hardware reliability--with a grain of salt. While significant benefits may ultimately be attainable, none of them is likely to become a reality until you settle the following key questions: What problem are you solving, and who will benefit from the solution? First, though, it is critical to define the strategic value of any virtual desktop project. The startup costs for these projects are high, and the actual ROI may not be realized until the fourth or fifth year--a timeline that may change as you phase in more systems. It's vital, then, that any desktop virtualization initiative be clearly aligned with your institution's strategic goals. If your district's top goal is student success, for example, how can virtual desktops support that goal as part of the IT value chain? Once you've evaluated the strategic value of a virtual desktop initiative on campus, you need to define exactly what your production environment will look like. You want a clearly defined architecture that will exceed your defined service levels and provide a rich user experience--while keeping the project on track and on budget. Here are four steps to help you achieve your goal. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1) Monitor Demand First, you need to know how your schools actually use computing resources across your district and what systems offer the best opportunities for desktop virtualization. Many tools on the market provide visibility into how systems are being used. By monitoring application demand and system-resource utilization, these tools identify those systems that are prime candidates for desktop virtualization. At Lone Star College System (TX), we identify desktop virtualization opportunities by looking at the last 30 days of usage data. These assessment tools can serve double duty since many also have the ability to monitor issues that may occur after you stand up your virtual desktop environment. This allows the IT team to ensure that newly deployed applications are performing well and that the appropriate resources are available. 2) Establish Proof of Concept Before you finalize a deployment plan, it's critical to pilot a virtual desktop environment. This is actually the easiest part of the project, and the time and resources spent at this stage will significantly improve your ability to provide a comprehensive solution later. Before starting any pilot, though, first clearly define its goals and scope. It's all too easy during the pilot phase to shift the project's scope and lose momentum as a result. What is your area of focus? Student resources, personal devices, learning centers, computer labs? It makes sense to start small, too: A virtual desktop pilot of 20 to 30 seats can yield the same results as a 50- to 100-seat pilot without the same complications. If possible, try to test your pilot on infrastructure that mirrors your planned production environment--just on a smaller scale. This will help identify potential problems. To ensure the long-term success of your virtualization effort, also be sure to involve all areas of your IT shop in the pilot. …