Deliver your Technology-Based
Labs with
VMware Lab Manager
5/6/2010
Michael Fudge
Agenda
Why is this so difficult?
How lab manger makes it easer
The iSchool specfic Setup
Demos / Use-cases
Where do we go from here?
How do you conduct labs for:
Operating Systems Install / Configuration
Setting up and securing network services: DHCP,
DNS, HTTP, SMTP, LDAP, Etc…
Host and network-based firewalls.
Routing, NAT, VLANS.
Application deployment, workstation
configurations.
Advanced services: web applications, email, VOIP
A Typical Example: “The Email Lab”
• You’d like build an experiential learning
activity around email and its protocols
• From a configuration standpoint, you’d like
each student to have the same experience.
Email Client:
Windows XP
•Outlook Express
•Wireshark
Email Server:
Windows 2003
•hMailServer
How it used to be done.
Need a lot of hardware to
Ethernet
Switch
Windows
XP client
Windows
2003 email
server
do this for the entire
class.
Need a lot of space for
the hardware
Difficult to prepare and
deploy labs in this
manner, and keep them
consistent.
Students must be “in the
lab” to complete the
exercise.
Platform Virtualization makes
things a little better
Platform Virtualization
• VMware workstation
• Virtual Box
• Virtual PC
What used to be a
computer is now just
“files”
The “host” computer is
a lab workstation or
student’s personal
computer.
Requires several GB of
storage. Where do you
put all those the files?
Where Do You Store
Your Platform VM files?
“Mobile Racks”


Students must sit at
same seat in lab
High failure rate from
adding / removing drives
“Portable Storage”


Poor I/O performance
Deployment issues – how
do you get the VM files to
the students?
“File Server”


Need high network
bandwidth to server
File server becomes a
bottleneck under high
utilization
The Lab Manager Solution…
Accessible through a web browser
“Package-able”
Provides network isolation
Consistent configurations
Accessible anytime from anywhere
What Exactly is Lab Manager?
“Web browser-based delivery of
platform virtual machines and networks.”
Think:
Overview of Lab Manager
Let’s take a quick look
https://vlab.ischool.syr.edu
Configuration: The core concept
Virtual Machines
Virtual Networks
Physical Network
Configuration
Boundary
Security Model
Lab Manager
iSchool Implementation
Organization
iSchoolLabs
iSchoolLabs
iSchoolLabs
Main
Workspaces
 Users and Groups assigned to
organizations / workspaces then
given permission to resources
(Configurations and Templates).
Staging
Course
Specific
 To confine a set of resources to a
group of users, (for a specific
course or research project, for
example) a separate workspace
must be created
iSchool Physical Network
Implementation
SU
Network
128.230.x.y
Vyatta
NAT
10.1.1.1
Lab
Manager
VM’s
10.1.2.2
through
10.1.254.254
Lab
Manager
VM’s
The NAT removes
the requirement of
each VM having an
IP address on the
Campus Network,
and the MAC
address registered
to the IP.
Virtual Networks can leverage the physical network as needed
iSchool Roles/Workflow
Security Management
Lab Designers
VM
Template(s)
Template
Designers
Administrators
Workspace
Management
Configuration
Network
Template(s)
Students &
Teachers
Clone from
Library to
Workspace
Create
VM Template(s)
Create Network
Template(s)
Library
Archive
Library
Capture
Deploy
Configuration
(Powers on
VM’s)
Connect
Virtual And
Physical
Networks
Lab Designers:
Steps to deploy a Configuration
Add VM / Network
Templates to
Configuration
Deploy the
configuration to
test it
Capture to library
when ready and
share with others
Tweak / make
changes as
necessary
Lab Designers can practice these step in a special organization called “iSandbox”
Demo Time!
https://vlab.ischool.syr.edu
Software Costs
Costs are negligible thanks to:
Vendor “Academic Initiatives” (IBM,
Microsoft).
Low-cost operating systems, flexible licensing
Vyatta (open source cisco-like networking)
Vmware e-acadamy $150 /year licensed to
support ESX, vCenter and Lab Manager
Hardware required:
SAN (iSCSI / FC)
Servers
ESX Hosts
vCenter
Lab Manager
Lab
Manager
vCenter
ESX1
ESX2
SAN
…
ESXn
Estimates for ESX Hosts (no SAN)
Count of Concurrent
Class Sections (n=32)
Approximate Cost 2
Dell Power edge Servers
1
$11,500
2
$21,000
3
$27,500
4
$34,000
6
$48,800
 2 Server minimum Recommended
 Count in class section = 32 (30 students 1 TA, 1 Prof)
 Estimate based on 64GB RAM required to run one class
section
 Agreement to leverage SAN @ Central IT, so there’s a
substantial cost savings there.
Next Steps for us
 Build “iSandbox” for template designers to hone
their craft.
 Identify which classes should be moved into this
environment first (for Fall 2010).
 Class Roster Integration – Powershell Cmdlet.
Purchase hardware to support real use in the
classroom.
Start rebuilding labs for the new environment
over the summer.
Most importantly: Capture pilot experiences for
best practices.
Thank you - Questions?
http://michaelfudge.com/lab-manager
Or
http://bit.ly/fudgelabman