Business needTo give students greater support

and help with their academic

learning and research, Henan

University of Technology in China

needed to provide cutting-edge,

efficient and stable library service,

while ensuring digital rights

protection of library resources.

Solution

The university library deployed an

end-to-end cloud client-computing

solution from Dell featuring virtualized

Dell™ PowerEdge servers, Dell

EqualLogic storage, Dell Networking

switches and Dell Wyse thin clients for

a virtual desktop infrastructure with

support by Dell ProSupport.

Benefits• Widespread network access across

library boosts student performance

• Library users stay productive with

software rollouts reduced from

days to hours

• Students maximize study time in

the library with rapid data access

• Staff and students gain

improved experience with stable

virtualized environment

• IT personnel focus on enhancing

services with minimized admin time

Solutions featured• Data Center Virtualization

• Cloud Client-Computing

• Desktop Computing

• Mobile Computing

• Server

• Storage

• Networking

• Support Services

University library enriches learning and teaching experience with VDI Henan University of Technology establishes a stable learning environment to maximize library resources and encourage effective learning with a virtualized platform and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution

Customer profile

Company Henan University

of Technology

Industry Higher Education

Country China

Employees 2,000 staff

30,000 students

Website www.haut.edu.cn

“ We need just 30 minutes to roll out software to our 150 Wyse thin clients. In the past, this would have taken our team of IT administrators two working days. We have more time to focus on improving IT services in the library for students as a result of our Dell solution.” Head of Technology, Henan University of Technology

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The university continues to expand, with its newest campus, Lianhua Street, covering around 465 acres of land and including start-of-the-art teaching facilities.

Technology plays a key role at the university. Students rely on applications and databases to achieve their goals, so computers, laptops and tablet devices can be seen across the campus. The Head of Technology at Henan University of Technology, says, “IT is central to teaching and research at the university. These days, all students need access to computers and many carry smartphones.”

Henan identifies shortfall in IT supporting the university libraryThe university library brings students and technology together. Besides books, the facility provides access to a number of important software applications and databases. The resources are vital to students and many visit the facility on a regular basis to complete assignments and coursework but over time, the library’s IT infrastructure began to show signs of strain. Just 18 of its 60 workstations were working reliably and the HP servers supporting the environment were coming to the end of their lifecycles. “The effects of the IT environment were disastrous because it was no longer conducive for learning. The library needed to upgrade its IT infrastructure and give users the support they deserved,” says the Head of Technology.

Customer chooses end-to-end solution from trusted IT partnerWith the construction of a new library for the university, the Library Technology Department launched a program to update the existing

infrastructure. They had major plans, wanting to virtualize the server environment as well as implement a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and carefully evaluated solutions from HP, Huawei, Lenovo, Inspur and Dell. The Head of Technology says, “Price was important, but it wasn’t the only consideration. Desktop virtualization was relatively new in the higher education sector and this was a large-scale rollout, so we needed to select a reliable IT partner that we could count on throughout the project.”

When the department considered Dell, they reflected on a previous engagement with the IT solution provider. “We received excellent service from Dell when we purchased Dell EqualLogic storage to replace

Henan University of Technology was established after the

merger of the Zhengzhou Institute of Engineering and the

Zhengzhou College of Technology. The university, which

specializes in food technology, is based in Henan province

and is highly regarded across China.

Technology at work

Services

Dell Support Services

– Dell ProSupport

Hardware

Dell PowerEdge R720 servers with Intel® Xeon® processors

Dell EqualLogic PS6110XS storage arrays

Dell Wyse T10 thin clients

Dell Networking S55 and S4810 switches

Dell OptiPlex 3010 desktops

Software

Dell Wyse ThinOS

Citrix® XenDesktop®

VMware® vSphere®

“ The library is better equipped than ever. Students gain fast access to all the applications and databases they need now that we have deployed our end-to-end Dell cloud client-computing solution. Feedback from students has been positive, and we no longer have to worry about these endpoints being compromised by viruses or malware.” Head of Technology, Henan University of Technology

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an end-of-life storage environment. Additionally, Dell provides high quality support for higher education institutions across Henan province,” the Head of Technology says. Their previous working experience with Dell combined with the end-to-end proposal proved decisive.

“Key stakeholders felt the end-to-end solution from Dell was better than competing proposals from HP, Huawei, Lenovo and Inspur. We felt that the continued development of new services and solutions from Dell gave it the competitive edge over HP. In addition, Dell pre- and post-sales technical support is comprehensive,” explains the Head of Technology.

Close collaboration speeds customized design process to successThe Library Technology Department mitigated risk in a central part of the project by working closely with a Dell technical team to customize an end-to-end cloud client-computing solution. The exercise was highly collaborative and plans went through multiple reviews. The Head of Technology says, “As a customer, you don’t want your IT partner to simply sell you the most expensive technology. You want the solution that’s right for you. Dell did a good job of understanding our requirements and presenting us with an end-to-end solution that met all our criteria. The Dell team was also responsive, making changes and answering our questions quickly.”

The department deployed 10 Dell PowerEdge R720 servers with Intel® Xeon® processors. Six of the servers are used to support the Citrix®-backed VDI solution, with the other four supporting a virtualized server environment running on VMware® vSphere®. Data exchange is enabled by two 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) Dell Networking S4810 and two GbE Dell Networking S55 switches. The combination of switches and virtualized servers delivers the performance and speed to support a university-grade VDI, and helps the IT team provide efficient IT to students and staff. The solution also features Dell EqualLogic PS6110XS storage arrays, whose solid-state disks (SSDs) ensure a high number of I/O per second (IOPS) for quick access

to stored files. The arrays feature seven SSDs and 17 15,000 rpm Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) disks.

The Head of Technology explains, “We’ve had an outstanding experience throughout the course of the implementation. Not only was the Dell equipment easy to install, the Dell engineers who provided support for our project are very experienced and were able to deliver under the tight schedule we had set. We found the virtualized Dell servers simple to work with too. It took just a couple of days to fully deploy and migrate data for 22 virtualized servers. And scaling the environment for new services will be fast, giving students and library staff a much more efficient service, helping improve their performance.”

Students boost performance with comprehensive access to the network Life for students using the library has changed significantly. Access to software from Adobe® Reader and other application providers as well as databases is much easier, and web browsing is now possible for at least 2,000 concurrent users. The university deployed 200 Dell Wyse T10 thin clients, featuring the virus-immune ThinOS firmware, to work alongside 24 units of Dell OptiPlex 3010 desktops. Of the thin clients, 140 support an electronic browsing room, and the remaining 60 are scattered across the library for use by staff.

Besides the library-owned clients, students can also access the web through their own devices by accessing the wireless network access throughout the building and the library’s new bring-your-own-device (BYOD) enablement, while experiencing data security and convenience resulting from the new IT infrastructure. The Head of Technology says, “The library is better equipped than ever. Students gain fast access to all the applications and databases they need now that we have deployed our end-to-end Dell cloud client-computing solution. Feedback from students has been positive, and we no longer have to worry about these endpoints being compromised by viruses or malware.”

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Availability and terms of Dell Services vary by region. For more information, visit dell.com/servicedescriptions ©March 2014 Dell Inc. Dell, Dell ProSupport, PowerEdge, EqualLogic, OptiPlex, Wyse and Wyse ThinOS are trademarks of Dell Inc. Intel, and Intel Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. VMware and VMware VSphere are either registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Citrix and XenDesktop are registered trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the U.S. and other countries. 10013208

View all Dell case studies at dell.com/casestudies

He adds, “We found that Wyse thin clients were a great fit for the library environment. They’re compact and the monitor that Dell recommended was just right. We liked the fact that Wyse thin clients are easy to install and can be fitted with security devices to avoid loss or damage. Configuring the thin clients was convenient and saved us time.”

Students boost productivity with rollouts reduced from two days to 30 minutesLibrary users can be at their best because of the management simplicity of the thin clients. The IT team can deploy software updates and patches to the thin clients much faster than compared to the old terminals and also deploy specific applications that students might need at short notice to support their courses. Students simply register a request, and once authorized, the software is made available. The Head of Technology says, “We need just 30 minutes to roll out software to our 150 Wyse thin clients. In the past, this would have taken our team of IT administrators two working days. We have more time to focus on improving IT services in the library for students as a result of our Dell solution.”

Visitors get most from library study time with rapid data accessStudents can make the most of their time in the library with fast access to data across the Dell VDI environment. The Head of Technology elaborates, “User experience is good because our Dell cloud client-computing solution has fast storage to avoid any bottlenecks. We saw that Dell EqualLogic offered a flexible storage solution which delivers the speed required for a robust VDI solution. This means that students can now get the most out of the library environment.”

IT personnel concentrate on enhancing services with management time minimizedThe Library Technology Department will now be able to dedicate more time to extending library IT services for students as a result of the end-to-end solution’s ease of use. The thin clients for the VDI solution require minimal management time, with the bulk of administration transferred to the servers, storage and switches. “We find that management is simple with the Dell solution. For example, it takes a tenth of the time to manage a Wyse thin client compared with a workstation. The servers, storage and switches are also performing well, reducing management time further. As a result, we can focus our energies on improving services for students and staff,” says the Head of Technology.

University maximizes value of end-to-end solution over the long termThe university is confident the Dell solution will continue to deliver reliable performance throughout its lifecycle. The IT team is working with Dell ProSupport to help maintain uptime, with both parties working well together. The Head of Technology concludes, “From our interaction with Dell ProSupport, we know that its technical personnel are professional and responsive. We are very satisfied and happy to have Dell ProSupport on our side.”

“ We find that management is simple with the Dell solution. For example, it takes a tenth of the time to manage a Wyse thin client compared with a workstation. The servers, storage and switches are also performing well, reducing management time further. As a result, we can focus our energies on improving services for students and staff.” Head of Technology, Henan University of Technology