In mid-2012, RMIT University opened the doors to its new Swanston Academic Building (SAB) in the heart of Melbourne. The building was designed from the ground up to facilitate a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environment with no traditional PC labs. Check out the photos to take a tour of the facility. [Image credit: RMIT]
The SAB is the centerpiece of RMIT’s $600 million investment in new educational facilities. The building's VDI platform, which is capable of supporting the needs of around 20,000 students, was delivered in just six months. [Image credit: RMIT]
VDI MyDesktop was built in partnership with Citrix, Cisco and NetApp. This allowed the university of base its VDI design on existing FlexPod reference architecture. [Image credit: RMIT]
Southern Cross Computer Systems worked with Cisco and NetApp to pull together the base level compute and storage platforms. The application and desktop virtualisation technologies were then layered onto the foundation by Southern Cross and Citrix. AppSense completed the solution by providing user virtualisation which ensured students had a consistent experience regardless of the device they used. [Image credit: RMIT]
Classrooms are notable for their lack of desktop PCs. The VDI platform was part of a broader strategy to move IT operations to a service-oriented approach by allowing students to choose what device they wanted to use and how/where they wanted to work. [Image credit: RMIT]
SAB students and teachers are able to access applications and virtual desktops from anywhere in the facility using their own personal devices. It supports all major operating systems including iOS, Mac, Android and Windows. [Image credit: RMIT]
RMIT is the first tertiary institution in Australia to deploy desktop virtualisation technology at scale. The VDI platform is capable of supporting the needs of around 20,000 students within the College of Business, according to RMIT. [Image credit: RMIT]
The facility's myDesktop VDI environment also allows students to print assignments from their own device and pick up the job from any printer within SAB. [Image credit: RMIT]
According to RMIT, the VDI MyDesktop platform creates a more collaborative learning environment. Tutors engage directly with students instead of teaching to the back of their monitors. [Image credit: RMIT]
Although return of investment was not part of MyDesktop's business case, the platform has allowed the school to cut costs associated with equipping and running PC labs. [Image credit: RMIT]
The building retains some traditional teaching environments, albeit with an avant-garde twist. [Image credit: RMIT]
Pictured: An RMIT student's virtual desktop. [Image credit: RMIT]
In mid-2012, RMIT University opened the doors to its new Swanston Academic Building (SAB) in the heart of Melbourne. The building was designed from the ground up to facilitate a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environment with no traditional PC labs. Check out the photos to take a tour of the facility. [Image credit: RMIT]