 Check My Work

Think Critically 1-2: Selecting a Virtualization Product for Classroom Use

Superior Technical College's IT Department is planning to use virtual machines in its computer lab.
Instructors want to place parent copies of preset computer environments on the classroom server for
each unit in a course. Students should be able to build a virtual machine from the parent and then
use it for their work in that unit. At the end of the unit, students submit changes they have made, and
instructors use students' changes to give them credit for the unit. The lab computers are limited in
terms of memory and CPU capability, so instructors are interested in the use of VDI and think clients
for the student computers. The college has asked you to recommend a virtualization product and
explain how this environment could be set up. Write a brief report recommending a virtualization
product and explaining the reasons for your recommendation.

In this situation I would recommend the use of VMware VSphere to fulfill on the requirements for the
college. VSphere allows the use of thin clients that the students can prepare their work on. Using the
thin clients will allow the students to run their systems on the limited resources available on the
computers in the lab.

Think Critically 1-3: Reducing Server Sprawl

The IT Department at Universal AeroSpace uses three Windows Server 2016 servers: one for the
Accounting Department, one for engineering, and one for the Marketing Department. These servers
are running on separate systems that are aging and don't have the capability for future expansion.
The IT Department wants to purchase new hardware and upgrade to Windows Server 2016. To save
costs, they would like to use virtualization to consolidate their servers and provide for high-
availability in the event of a hardware failure. As a consultant for Computer Technology Services, you
have been asked to write a report that includes which data center virtualization product you
recommend and why.

In this scenario I would recommend running VMware Workstation. Eventhough Windows Server 2016
comes with the Hyper-V package free to use and the licensing would work well in this situation, VMware
Workstation can better deliver on the high-availability needs. Using vMotion this package supports live
migrations of running VMs as well as support for automatically restarting a VM on another host in the
event of a host crashing or being brought down for maintenance.

Think Critically 1-4: Selecting a VDI Service

The Universal AeroSpace company is planning to implement data center virtualization using
VMware vSphere and two Windows servers with a large SAN disk system. Management would like to
host applications on the Web to allow staff and students to access technical information from any
location using a variety of devices. Because the IT Department is located in a different city, they need
to access the virtual server’s administrative console remotely. As a consultant for Computer
Technology Services, you have been asked to write a report that includes the benefits of using VDI
and which VDI product you recommend and why. The report should include a diagram showing the
VDI components that will be needed. Follow these steps to create and submit your report:
1. Open a new Microsoft® Word document.
2. Save the file on your computer with your last name in the file name. (Example:
think_critically_1-4_report_Jones.doc)
3. Click the Choose File button below to find and select your saved document.
In this case I would recommend the usage of VMware Horizon. This solution offers remote access
through the VMware Horizon web portal. This allows the administration to access the server’s
administrative console remotely. Horizon also interfaces with vSphere so there are no compatibility
issues between the packages.

Think Critically 1-5: Selecting a Cloud Service

Rocky Ridge Enterprises currently uses desktops in a peer-to-peer network to share files and a
printer. Management wants to implement a server-based IT system that uses Active Directory and
provides more features and security than currently available on the peer-to-peer network. They
would also like to have some of this information available online to sales people while on the road.
Since they are not sure of their longer term needs, they want to hold their hardware costs to a
minimum. Write a recommendation of which type of service you would recommend along with any
reasons for making this recommendation.
I would recommend using a SaaS service as this would allow the users to use their current hardware and
devices to access the data and applications that they need regardless of if they are in the office or on the
road. This delivers on the need to keep costs down due to no knowing what the long term needs are as
well as having on demand access for everyone in the company.