Message From Venu: Faster Netbooks

NetBooks

At the time this project started, the Dell 2120 Netbook was the new kid on the block. The 2120 was created specifically for K12 classrooms, at a price ($450) school districts can afford. We have 11,000 of them in the district. NetBooks work ok once they get going but logging into them takes a long time.

In Windows, the first time anyone logs in on a computer, Windows has to create a “user profile”, and this takes time. On the Netbooks, creating a user profile can take from 2 to 3 minutes. This time is in addition to the normal login time of 1 to 2 minutes. In the classroom, when kids are sharing computers, they don’t always get the same computer again and so Windows is taking time to create the user profile. Which means it can take up to 5 minutes for a student to login! This is a huge waste of instructional time.

In the old days, that’s just the way it was and people accepted it. iPads on the other hand turn on instantly. Now with iPads also in the classroom, NetBooks are perceived as “unacceptably slow” by both teachers and students. Most districts, including us, are having to address this issue of slow logins with NetBooks. Some districts are replacing them with full size laptops but most are implementing a solution called VDI.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

In a VDI scenario, servers do all the work and the NetBooks become display units for the work the servers are doing. Logins take less than 20 seconds. All the programs run faster too. This is obviously a much more satisfactory solution for the user. We have piloted the VDI solution in a couple of classrooms. The change is dramatic! We think implementing a VDI solution is the next logical step to better utilize NetBooks in the classrooms. The VDI solution will make teachers and students happy and will result in better use of the NetBooks we have already deployed.

VDI also makes software installation and upgrades much, much easier. Instead of installing programs on 11,000 computers, all we have to do is install it once on the server. VDI also extends the life of NetBooks. As newer software is introduced requiring more powerful processors, all we have to do is upgrade (or add to) the server infrastructure.