Money Saving Brainstorm Session
Tonight I responded to a question on the CETPA listerv about crazy outside the box ideas for saving money in school IT departments. Here is what I wrote:
We’ved used many strategies to save money, or more precisely, do more with no money (prior to going 1:1 iPads)1. Virtualized Servers – Used ESXi (free) to consolidate hardware while expanding # of servers
2. Leveraged free cloud services – migrated email from Exchange to Google Apps (includes Spam filter)
3. Used Open Source Software – Moodle LMS running on Ubuntu, District web site wordpress server running on Ubuntu, Untangle web filter, replaced Symantec Ghost with FOG imaging server, LTSP Server for thin clients, 2X Thinclient server for Windows TS pxe boot thin clients, Ubermix for netbooks and lab PCs, open office and google docs for students
4. Purchased Refurbished PCs instead of new PCs for staff
5. Started a MOUSE Squad class for student tech support
6. Not replacing classroom printers when they die (remember – there is no printing from the iPads!)
7. Switched copier vendors
8. Utilize free web based tools for classroom instruction – CK12 flexbooks, web 2.0 tools like collaborize classroom, quizlet, easybib
9. Pushing student file storage to the cloud with youtube, dropbox and google docs
10. Using open source FreeNas white boxes for staff file storage with cheap commodity hardware and DFS for redundancy
11. Using AppleTV and iTunes for cheap digital signage (Danny Silva‘s brain storm)
That’s the list just off the top of my head.
That generally sums up my last eight years at Le Grand, sans the Mac migration and 1:1 iPad move. How we made that pivot is a topic for another day (And if you can’t wait, just listen to my podcast).
jim miller and 
brian are discussing. 
There is no box 
brian 10:01 am on December 12, 2011 Permalink |
Here are some things I’ve done in the past to eliminate costs and really reduce technical support
Host Ubuntu Desktop servers in a cloud (I used AWS).
Use x2go on the server and config the server with the x2go browser plugin for firefox
USB boot a very slimmed down Ubuntu on any client PC/thin-client/old pc etc
and have it auto start Firefox with the installed plugin
Home page is set by default to point to the Cloud Desktop server
User logs in via the browser and gets the remote cloud server’s Ubuntu desktop
A second server in the cloud is running Windows server 2008r2 with rdesktop enabled.
Use the newly released freerdp v1.0 which now supports Microsofts RemoteAPP from the Ubuntu cloud server desktop to bring single Windows Apps onto the user’s Ubuntu server’s Desktop as a just another X window application. You can resize/move/minimize the windows RemoteAPP Xwindow just like any of the linux apps.
With x2go compression it all works very well at the remote users school PC/thin-client/etc that they originally booted from the USB.
Best of all…. when schools over they can pull their USB, take it home, boot a home PC and get their same School remote Cloud Ubuntu desktop.
Since all data storage stays in the cloud and nothing on the local machine… their work is still available to them. They can do their homework at home and when they go back to school the again take their USB with them, plug it in and boot from it at school and can go right back to work.
All open source and free except the Cloud server charges and the Microsoft licensing for TS CALS.
jim miller 4:56 am on January 18, 2012 Permalink |
Has to be said: Open Books are truly creating and Open World of equal opportunities of Quality education! http://goo.gl/0tyCJ