Students and academic staff always want the best IT facilities and technology-oriented departments are particularly demanding. So when the University of Westminster decided to upgrade the IT facilities provided by the Cavendish School of Computer Science, there was a determination to not let performance fall victim to a tight budget. In a radical step, the University bypassed the PC in favour of the Sun Ray 1 Enterprise Appliance, which now gives users access to a wide range of applications without the support overheads traditionally associated with desktop computers.

Student Radical

"It has been deemed desirable by many persons, friendly to Science, to establish, in the western part of London, an Institution where the Public, at little expense, may acquire (by means of a Laboratory, Experiment Rooms, and a Gallery for the exhibition of novel inventions), a practical knowledge of the various arts and branches of science."

Art, science and, indeed, the English Language have come a long way since these words helped define the aims of The Polytechnic Institution which, when it was established on August 6 1838, became the forerunner of what is now the University of Westminster. The basic aims, however, remain consistent with the founders' original vision.

Indeed, libraries, lecture rooms and laboratories are still primary resources of the University, yet it is doubtful whether the students of the Victorian era could comprehend the modern-day facilities. In the case of the laboratories of the Cavendish School of Computer Science, even recent graduates would be hard pushed to recognise the technology currently available to students.

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Move With The Times

According to Thierry Delaitre, systems and services manager at the CSCS, the nature of the courses offered by the University demand first rate facilities. "Most people associate the University of Westminster with undergraduate courses but we also offer a wide range of postgraduate and short courses. During the 2000/2001 academic year, some 1,600 students will use our facilities, all of whom expect to have access to leading-edge technology. Furthermore, the CSCS supports five departments - electronics, mathematics, information systems, software engineering and technology and design - each of which has specific application requirements."

It was against the backdrop of growing student numbers, with increasingly diverse and sophisticated needs, that the CSCS decided to make a major improvement in its computing environment last year. "In our laboratories, we had 54 Sun Sparc LX, Classic and IPX workstations. They had served us well since 1993 but, of course, in computing terms, seven year-old technology is ancient," noted Delaitre.

"Compared to contemporary technology, these machines were very slow and it became apparent that they were unable to support new applications which place ever greater demands on the capabilities of the hardware."

As the University is continuously preparing the next generation of knowledge workers, it must always look to the future. Student needs move ahead of the times which means that any major investment should be sufficiently futureproof to prepare students for employment, particularly with science and technology organisations. Balanced against these technological considerations, however, were severe budgetary constraints.

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Technology Options

The first option comprised 36 networked Windows PCs running Exceed X-server. This was discounted, said Delaitre, because of the expense of maintaining and managing standalone machines. There was also a need to offer students and staff a variety of technologies.

"The University is committed to technological pluralism. Students are extremely familiar with Windows but, in preparation for the world of work, it is important that they are exposed to other operating platforms. Similarly, if we had taken the Windows route, we would have limited our ability to attract Masters degree students, whose needs are somewhat more sophisticated than those of undergraduates."

Linux offered a workable, and arguably more manageable, alternative to Windows but, as the operating system would still run on PCs, the University faced the same maintenance issues and costs associated with desktop processors.

The third option was to replace the Sun Sparc workstations with the modern-day equivalent, Sun Ultras. Using market-leading UNIX workstations had obvious attractions - not least performance, compatibility with the existing infrastructure and reliability - but again the cost implications of maintaining and managing stand-alone machines remained.

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Smart Choice

Irrespective of the initial cost, all desktop computers are inherently expensive to support and maintain. So when Sun Microsystems Reseller, e-Net Software, proposed a solution which overcame this problem, Delaitre was eager to find out more.

"The Sun Ray 1 is an Enterprise Appliance, as opposed to a computer," explained Delaitre, "because there is no operating system nor application software running on the desktop. The user accesses all applications through a 100-Base T network which connects each device to a Sun E450 server. This in turn is connected to the University network."

"By simply slotting his or her smartcard into the system unit of any available Sun Ray, the user logs on and has immediate access to a wide range of applications. These include course-specific packages and Sun's StarOffice running on the E450; PC applications from a Windows server and, of course, the Web."

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High Resolution, High Satisfaction.

The monitor, keyboard and mouse, plus the four extra USB ports on the system unit to which printers, scanners and other devices can be attached, give a user experience which is comparable to using a PC. Crucially, however, the problems associated with having operating systems, application software and data at the desktop are overcome.

"The Sun Ray 1 has given us a high performance, low cost and low stress answer to the challenge," said Delaitre. "Users are happy because they have access to all applications from any workstation. This ability to hot desk is also very attractive to the systems support staff as we can concentrate all our efforts on the servers, where all the software and data now resides, and the network. The Sun Ray 1s - and therefore, the users - pretty much look after themselves."

The first 35 Sun Ray 1 Enterprise Appliances were installed and configured just before Easter 2000. Already, they have garnered a positive response from users... in all respects. "The striking design makes an impact as soon as the user walks through the door of the laboratory," said Delaitre. "Most importantly, the users have high speed and reliable access to all the applications they need."

With the second phase of the implementation due in Summer 2000, a total of 90 Sun Rays will soon be playing an instrumental role in helping the University of Westminster to provide the 'practical knowledge' cited in the founders' vision. True to tradition, the technology available to students at this seat of learning continues to move ahead of the times.

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