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Increase available PC’s using NComputing X550

Rationale:

Using the NComputing X550 virtual desktop device we can use the speed of a single PC to create five additional workstations. The NComputing PCI control card is installed into the host PC and each X550 device is then plugged into the host computer via this card to create an additional workstation. All that is then required to complete the workstation setup is a monitor, mouse and keyboard.

Each user then has access to the software installed on the host PC. USB ports on the host PC can be assigned for use on all or one of the virtual workstations. Users will be able to login using their normal Windows/Network credentials just as they would if they were using any other PC.

Pros & Cons:

Usage:

We envisage implementing the X550 devices where “pods” (up to 4 workstations) of computers are required. We would look at implementing this into the music and/or science classrooms as a testing ground for the product. This could also be a solution for Jnr School classrooms.

What is required?

The following is a video presentation of the X550 by NComputing:
[MEDIA not found]

The following is a video presentation of the L-Series component by NComputing. This is the next level up component designed to run a full computer lab:
[MEDIA not found]

I was asked to explore the idea of setting up virtual PC’s for students use to allow them to “fiddle” with the software side of a computer without disrupting the school’s network. Strangely enough I was already somewhat exploring this issue. I decided to use VMware server as it allowed for greater control over the use and administration of the Virtual Machines compared to VMware player.

I setup an Active Directory group containing the students that would require the access to the Virtual Machines. I then assigned this group the following permissions on the Virtual Machines using the VMware Server console:

• Virtual Machine ->
  • Interaction ->
    • Power On
    • Power Off
    • Reset
    • Answer Question
  • State ->
    • Revert To Snapshot

The Interaction permissions are fairly self explanetry and the Revert To Snapshot permission allows the student to revert to a clean/working OS using the snapshot I created after I completed building the Virtual Machine.

I then created another Active Directory group containing the teachers that would be teaching the classes and assigned the same roles. I decided that teachers would not require any higher level of permissions than students as I have done all the neccesary work creating the Virtual Machines.

More to come once I have fully implemeted the above…

Who would have thought that I would be posting so much Mac related content?!? Who knows I may be a convert yet!

I have been fortunate enough to have a MacBook Pro allocated to my department which I then keenly allocated to myself for some play time Two days in and so far I am liking the latest OS X iteration.

The first thing i did was to setup and install Wndows XP using Boot Camp as I knew I would need some of the useful Windows only applications I use. This process was almost easier (if not easier) than installing Windows on a PC. Simply run the Boot Camp Assitant in OS X, set the Windows partitions size, insert a genuine Windows install CD and off you go. Your Mac will then boot initiating the usual initial Windows setup screens followed by the graphical Windows setup Wizard. Once the process is complete all that’s left to do is install the required drivers using the OS X Leopard install CD and your dual boot MAC-Windows computer is complete.

Boot Camp setup guide can be downloaded here.

Boot Camp is a great feature; however having to reboot each time to use your Windows apps is a bit of a pain. Enter VMware Fusion! VMware Fusion allows you do run a virtual OS machine under OS X much like Parallels or the archaic Virtual Desktop from Microsoft. VMware fusion was able to use my already setup Boot Camp partition as a virtual machine so setup was minimal. All that was needed was to install VMware tools once logged into Windows to allow the virtual machine to run alot smoother and use Macs inbuilt devices. VMware fusion can be run in Unity mode, which allows Windows applications to be run directly from the Dock or the VMware applications menu when the virtual machine is running (examples below).

Unity mode is nice however, I prefer full screen mode so I have allocated my Windows virtual machine to the second space in OS X. This means using the shortcut keys or Expose I can switch between full screen OS X and full screen Windows XP. Below are screen shots of OS X Leopard spaces with VMware assigned to the second space. The screen cap. looks a little odd as at the time I was also playing with multiple monitors with different screen resolutions.

I like the apple dock but I also like to organise it my way. OS X Leopard has introduced dock stacks, which allow you to sort applications, documents, downloads, etc. into folders in your dock and display them using the predefined fan, grid or list effects. I love this new feature however it looked a little plain. So over to my mate Google to find out how to pretty it up. I found a bunch of icons which the author has called Drawers which look awesome as stack icons. I will post a how to on this soon…

Other useful application I have installed which I will post about in the near future include:

- iAlertU
- iRed Lite
- WinClone

The next project, OS X Leopard on a PC…