Dell PowerEdge C1100 - Manual (Page 4)

Cloud Training in a Box: Inexpensive and Reproducible Training Environments for Cloud Solutions
4
Executive summary
Providing lab-based training on highly complex, multi-server solutions presents challenges.
Dell Global Support and Deployment Learning and Development sought to overcome these challenges by
delivering training that:
• Provides a high student/lab station ratio
• Is not be prohibitively expensive
• Is reproducible for eventual use in regional training centers
• Is a model for training on a variety of Cloud Computing Solutions including OpenStack and
Hadoop
In order to meet this need, Dell Global Support and Deployment leveraged existing available servers
and the native virtualization capabilities of current Linux distributions to provide a 1:1 student/lab
station ratio with no incremental cost to Dell. Additionally, this model is easily reproducible at any of
Dell’s training centers that have the capability of providing one virtualization-capable server per lab
station.
The Challenge
When delivering hands-on lab-based training, a tension exists between the desire to provide every
single student with the opportunity to perform the lab exercises and the need to control costs for
hardware purchases. This tension exists even when training topics only require a single server per lab
station. It is amplified when training solutions require multiple servers.
One response to this tension is to have students share a workstation and work together or take turns
performing the lab exercises—but when forced to make that compromise, Dell knows from learner
feedback that the “customer experience” is reduced. Also, the effectiveness of the training is likely
reduced.
Dell needed to be able to deliver training on Dell Solution offerings of OpenStack and Hadoop. In order
to replicate the minimal configuration of each solution's reference architecture, Dell needed to have at
least six systems (and one or more network switches) in each lab station. Additionally, each reference
architecture calls for different server models and for PowerEdge C-Series servers, which is often not as
suitable for use in other training.
To provide each pair of students, in a class size of 8, with a lab station to share, requires 24 servers
(48, if strictly following the reference architectures for those two solutions). These numbers reflect
one implementation, which has to have remote access for classes in other regions. You have to double
those server numbers if Dell wants to provide individual lab stations for each student.
Once Dell assembles this infrastructure, you can remotely access the infrastructure for classes in other
regions, but it requires an administrative presence in the physical location in case the servers need
attention. Many instructors have a strong preference for physical access to their class infrastructure in
case something goes wrong during class—or at least to have confidence that someone will be available
during their class hours, rather than having to wait for a remote administrator in another time zone.