Subject way out of left field. Anyone have any experience in Grid Computing / Virtualisation. Currently we employ the standard 1 person / per workstation rational. In the longer run its an unsustainable model because we are unable to push up lab fees to keep up with our required expenditure. Something will have to give somewhere. Grid hardware is something we might actually have a shot of getting the university to invest in ;) Its one of those crazy things.
So we have three main options. 1. We work with a more flexible arrangement and have more people per workstation 2. We keep the level of hardware to the absolute minimum spec (dropping our cost per physical seat) 3. We virtualise in a way that allows us to make use far cheaper workstations, (so basically just a HD receiver) even tablets for some courses. We currently run, TV Paint, Autodesk (XSI, Maya), Adobe, Unity3d, The Foundry (Modo, Nuke) products. Nothing which I can see from the bits I have followed up on the Nvidia and Citrix Websites so far that would cause issues. We are looking at about 120 users that would need access , probably up to 80 connected at the same time. Has anyone actually sat in front of a Virualised workstation and been able to say , can’t really tell the difference ? Or this just really sucks monkey balls. Everything always looks fine from the brochures / videos. Although haven’t as yet seen one with Soft etc rendering in it. Kind regards Angus <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width:100%;"> <tr> <td align="left" style="text-align:justify;"><font face="arial,sans-serif" size="1" color="#999999"><span style="font-size:11px;">This communication is intended for the addressee only. It is confidential. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately and destroy the original message. You may not copy or disseminate this communication without the permission of the University. Only authorised signatories are competent to enter into agreements on behalf of the University and recipients are thus advised that the content of this message may not be legally binding on the University and may contain the personal views and opinions of the author, which are not necessarily the views and opinions of The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All agreements between the University and outsiders are subject to South African Law unless the University agrees in writing to the contrary. </span></font></td> </tr> </table>
