Nick Brown
Instructional Technology Computer Specialist
Information Technology Assistance Center
Kansas State University
Total of 414 Computers
212 in Library Infocommons
174 PCs
16 PCs in the Media Development Center
22 Mac
202 divided among 12 computer labs
throughout campus
Additional 60 Laptops for Checkout
Mac and PC
281 Computers
10 PC studio classrooms
2 Mac studio classrooms
48 Podium computers – Mac and PC
Lifecycle
Inventory Management
Hardware Maintenance
Support
Access Control
Imaging Process
Image Maintenance
Managing Printing
Auditing
Power Management
Current Initiatives
3 year rollover cycle for computers
1/3 of computers replaced per year
Old computers given away to needy departments
when replaced
Classrooms replaced in December, Labs in August
2 Dell certified technicians
Warranty parts received by noon next day
Minimizes downtime
Apple certified shop in department
10 student hours per week dedicated to
cleaning labs
Staffed 7am-10pm Mon-Thur. 7-5 Fri.
24/7 cell phone support for major issues and all
classroom calls
Helpdesk staffed 8am-midnight and weekends
Checks twice per day to fill paper
HP Webjet monitor allows monitor of paper and
toner levels
Printers set to email when issues occur
Remedy used to track issues
Custom designed Access Database
Showing it’s age
Proposal to buy real inventory management system
for all of ITS
Barcodes for all PCs, printers, and desks
Allows for easy association of PC/Monitor to a
location
Barcode scanner reads into an excel spreadsheet
which can be imported into the database
Active Directory handles Authentication
Infocommons, Classrooms, and Studios
autologin
Ease of use
Public access
Macs in Infocommons autologon to a Mac
Server
2 Macs in Union that use AD for authentication
Over 200 pieces of software
Over 50 different images
Over 1 TB of compressed image files per
semester
Image both Macs and PCs in labs every
semester
Image creation begins in April for Summer
Deployment
Most deployments happen in August due to
software release cycles
Winter releases are mostly updates and patches
Wiki
Contains list of all images and software for each
image
List of contacts for each piece of software
Installation instructions for all software
License keys in a central place
File server hosting .iso files of all software on CD
MagicDisk – free .iso mounter
PCs are imaged using Symantec Ghost
Multi-cast enabled in most environments
Ghost client retains computers’ old information and
restores it after imaging
Computers in areas that are not multicast capable
are usually brought back and imaged on the bench
1 – 16 Port USB KVM
1 – 8 Port KVM
2 – 24 Port Gigabit switches
5TB Imaging Server
Macs are imaged using Deploy Studio
Can handle both Mac and PC images
Only have Unicast working, multicast capable
We do not dual boot any Macs
Faronics DeepFreeze
Mac and Windows compatible
Computers are reset to the base state after
rebooting
Special partition for Antivirus updates to be
installed while frozen
Maintenance mode
Allows computers to be thawed to install Windows
updates - 2am Saturday mornings
Ability to specify WSUS server to get updates from
Console allows remote management of clients
Thaw/Freeze
Update configurations/maintenance windows
Active Directory Group Policy
Lock down user actions
Restrict software installation
Restrict changing background images
UltraVNC
Provide User assistance in Technology Classrooms
Log into computers remotely to perform installs
from network or internet
Apple Remote Desktop
Remote management and software installs for Mac
Printing is controlled by Pharos print services
$10 free printing per semester
$.10/page or $.18/double-sided page b&w
Color printing available in Media Development
Center
Printing defaults to double-sided
Saves approximately 50,000 sheets of paper per
month
Sassafras K2
Mac and PC compatible
Client on each computer reports what software is
installed and how often it’s run
Tracks user logons
Aid in police investigations
Inform users that have used compromised computers
Allows “keying” of applications to maintain license
restrictions
Ability to generate software usage reports
65% Browser
26% Commodity software (Office suites)
FY10 – Set monitors in Library to sleep after 5
minutes
Saved approximately $8,000* in energy costs in a
year
No adverse impacts reported
*Calculated by Energy Star Savings Calculator – Displays found at
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=bulk_purchasing.bus_purchasing
Purchasing for FY11
Allows very granular control of PC power
settings
Different power settings based on time and day
Different settings based on what group the
computer is in
Integrates with DeepFreeze to wakeup computers
for maintenance
Remote wakeup/sleep/shutdown of computers
Managed from a central console
Pros
Increased security with UAC
Stable
Support Life-cycle
Better Power Management
Sidebar Gadgets for information display
Cons
Incompatible with some older programs
UAC causes installation problems
Old “tricks” from XP no longer work
Software deployment
Patch management
Hardware and software auditing
Remote support
Active Desktop Crash
Used to display information
Special notices from Central IT
Library RSS Feed
Trend Micro disconnecting internet access