Using Amazon WorkSpaces to Support Compute-Intensive Curricula at a Distance

P U B L I C S E C T O R
S U M M I T
WASH INGTON

© 2019, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved.P U B L I C S E C TO R
S U M M I T
Using Amazon WorkSpaces to Support
Computing Intensive Curricula at a Distance
Andrew DeFoe
Business Development
Manager – End User
Computing
AWS Worldwide Public Sector
2 9 5 5 0 2
Bryan Lewis
Assistant Dean for
Technology & Operations
McIntire School of
Commerce
University of Virginia
Eric Rzeszut
Associate Director of Client
Services
McIntire School of
Commerce

S U M M I T
Agenda
AWS End User Computing Overview
Amazon WorkSpaces and Use Cases in Education
Moving Computer Labs to the Cloud
Customer Case Study - McIntire School of Commerce

S U M M I T

S U M M I T
AWS End User Computing
Desktops
Applications Mobile Access
Documents

S U M M I T
Customers

S U M M I T
AWS End User Computing
Give USERS anywhere, anytime access to data
and applications on their favorite device
AND
Help IT maintain data security, reduce complexity,
and improve user productivity

S U M M I T
Amazon WorkSpaces
Highly interactive cloud
desktops users love
Scalable and
performant
Simple to deploy
and manage
Pay-as-you-go
Secure cloud
desktops

S U M M I T
Ways you can use Amazon WorkSpaces in
Education
Security and
compliance
Secure applications
and data
Meet regulatory
requirements
(FERPA, HIPAA, ITAR, and
more)
Project–based
work on AWS
Fast, secure access for
researchers
Accelerate development & test
environments
Digital
Transformation
Replace VDI
Support a global
user community
Enable BYOD &
mobile users
Student desktops for
coursework or degree
programs

S U M M I T
Why Move Computer Labs to the Cloud?
Students Educators Administrators
Learn with real-world
applications
Use on my own device
Bring my own files
Access any time, anywhere
Respond to market forces and
directives
Compete for students, on
campus or at a distance
Make effective use of real estate
Spend time teaching, not
providing technical support
Keep up with changing
application and hardware
requirements
Manage infrastructure capacity
and lab schedules
Ensure security, privacy, and
compliance

S U M M I T
The cloud transforms end user computing
Increase user
productivity
Improve security
and control
Scale with changing
requirements
Simplify IT operationsEnable Innovation
Access resources
anywhere, on any device

S U M M I T
Simplify IT operations
Intranet Certificate
authority
App MgmtAuthenticationIdentity
Management

S U M M I T
About the McIntire
School of Commerce
• One of the world’s leading
business schools, founded in
1921
• BS in Commerce program:
two years, ~700 students
• Five MS degrees: one year
programs, ~350 students

S U M M I T
“… that’s why all of this big data and
analytics is really so important. [We’re]
making sure we’re filling these high-
tech jobs for the Commonwealth of
Virginia. It is absolutely critical to our
success, and it comes down to our
education system.”
October 2016, Terry McAuliffe, Governor of Virginia
Photo: Edward Kimmel
CC BY-SA 2.0

S U M M I T
McIntire’s
virtualization
requirements
• Governor challenged Virginia
universities to increase data
analytics programs
• Market forces also drove growth
of these programs
• Required increases in both
computer lab capacity and
computing power
• McIntire began exploring
alternatives to physical labs

S U M M I T
Possible solutions
• Require students to install software locally
• Issue pre-imaged laptops
• Centralized VMware environment at UVA: “The Hive”
• In-house Microsoft-based desktop as a service (DaaS)
offering

S U M M I T
Selecting WorkSpaces
• We learned about WorkSpaces from a 2016 EDUCAUSE
presentation
• WorkSpaces appealing for several reasons
• Platform-agnostic
• Cloud-based, not reliant on local infrastructure
• Gives students a consistent platform, with only one software installation required
• Puts students on a level playing field – all using same hardware

S U M M I T
We piloted WorkSpaces in the Spring 2018
semester
• We gave a limited group of on-site students access to
WorkSpaces
• A small, specialized set of applications were included
• Usage was optional; all programs were also available in
our physical computer labs

S U M M I T
We surveyed the participants at the end of the
semester
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Greatly preferred computer lab
Somewhat preferred computer lab
Equal; no preference
Somewhat preferred WorkSpaces
Greatly preferred WorkSpaces
Did you prefer using a computer lab or WorkSpaces to complete your
assignments?

S U M M I T
We surveyed the participants at the end of the
semester
Unlikely, 14%
Extremely
likely, 27%Likely, 59%
Would your WorkSpaces usage increase if
the service included additional software
applications?

S U M M I T
Moving WorkSpaces into production
• MSBA program launched in
August 2018 with 40 students
• Students in this program live
and work in metro DC
• They do not have regular
access to our physical labs
• Substantial hardware needs
• The software base was greatly
increased over the pilot

S U M M I T
Running mode: “Always On” vs “Auto-Stop”
• WorkSpaces can be billed hourly, or monthly
• New program – no existing usage data
• For the “Power” hardware bundle, break-even point is 89
hours per month
• At launch, we chose to go “Auto-Stop,” disconnecting after
one hour of idle time

S U M M I T
Early in the program, we examined usage
patterns
5-10 hours,
31%
10-30 hours,
31%
30-90 hours,
31%
90+
hours,
7%
Average monthly WorkSpaces usage per
student, August 14 – October 14, 2018

S U M M I T
We experienced some issues early in the
program
• WorkSpaces client would occasionally refuse to connect
• Issue was most prevalent when the entire class was connecting
simultaneously
• McIntire’s IT team moved the WorkSpaces to ”Always On”
• Students and faculty reported faster login times
• Infrequently, some WorkSpaces still wouldn’t connect

S U M M I T
AWS support identified the underlying cause
“From the error logs, it seems like you've crossed the
internal service limit for the number of WorkSpaces you can
launch of bundle "Compute-Power." The original internal
limit for the bundle "Compute-Power" is 20 WorkSpaces.
Because you exceeded the limit, the new WorkSpaces are
getting stuck in the "Pending" state and not getting
deployed.”

S U M M I T
AWS support helped us refine our configuration
• Students (and faculty) were impatient with logon delays at the
beginning of class
• Support helped us develop a auto-launch CloudWatch rule

S U M M I T
AWS support helped us refine our configuration
• Some WorkSpaces occasionally get in “unhealthy” status
• Support helped us develop a rule to monitor WorkSpace status
and reboot any
unhealthy machines

S U M M I T
Lessons learned from our initial WorkSpaces
experience
• Bring in your network team early
• Talk to the faculty
• Work with AWS on exact use cases
• You may not save money versus physical desktops

S U M M I T
Next steps for McIntire and WorkSpaces
• Access to Windows-only applications for MacOS users
• Persistent desktops across faculty offices and classrooms
• Student persistent desktops throughout their degree
program
• Augmenting 1-to-1 WorkSpaces with a pooled model
• Elimination or alteration of physical computer labs

S U M M I T
This research originally appeared in EDUCAUSE
Review
at.virginia.edu/workspaces-educause

Thank you!
S U M M I T
Andrew DeFoe
Business Development
Manager – End User
Computing
AWS Worldwide Public Sector
Bryan Lewis
Assistant Dean for
Technology & Operations
McIntire School of
Commerce
Eric Rzeszut
Associate Director of Client
Services
McIntire School of
Commerce

S U M M I T
S U M M I T

Using Amazon WorkSpaces to Support Compute-Intensive Curricula at a Distance

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