Your Learning Technologists need to evaluate the latest version of Blackboard. The IT department is ensuring production Blackboard is performing for a student exam. What’s the solution? LJMU have been evaluating Microsoft Azure for short term projects such as proof of concept work or creating test and development systems. In this session we will demonstrate PowerShell scripts and Azure to quickly provision a working Blackboard system.

1. Agile Blackboard
Chris Dyche
Senior Systems Engineer
Liverpool John Moores University

2. Agile Blackboard
• Why?
• How?
• Microsoft Azure
• Automation
• Future
• But first…..
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5. Agile Blackboard
• Why?
• How?
• Microsoft Azure
• Automation
• Future
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6. • Blackboard application is complex
– Half yearly releases
– Cumulative Updates
– Patches
– Building Blocks
• Blackboard has strategic importance
– Blackboard is no longer just a repository for lecture notes
– Several stakeholders
• Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education
• Learning Technologists
• IT Department
• Developers
• Academics
• Students
• Required 24/7 365 days a year
• IT Staff resourcing shared with other software
Why do we need to be Agile?
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7. Agile Blackboard
• Why ?
• How?
• Microsoft Azure
• Automation
• Future
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8. Reconfigure web servers and databases to new instance
Restore the databases
Build new database, file and web servers
Take a copy of an application server
Take database backups
Take a copy of content files
Cloning Blackboard – LJMU typical method
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• Development, Test and Live environments are all on the same
network

9. Cloning Blackboard using Microsoft Azure
Start servers
Place identical copies of servers into sandbox
Build a sandbox private network
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• Each environment in it’s own private virtual network
• Supports multiple environments using the same server configuration

10. Example Cloning
• Access to environment via endpoints e.g. http or remote desktop
• All other network traffic is contained to the virtual private network
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Source
BBWEB1 BBWEB2
BBFILESBBDB
BBCOLLAB
BBDC
BB-2015-04-16
BBWEB1 BBWEB2
BBFILESBBDB
BBCOLLAB
BBDC

11. Agile Blackboard
• Why ?
• How?
• Microsoft Azure
• Automation
• Future
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12. Microsoft Azure
• Built on the top of existing global Microsoft datacentres providing
services such as Bing and Xbox Live
• A platform for numerous services including
– Web sites
– SQL Databases
– Media Encoding
– Mobile application services
– Recovery services
– Virtual Machines
– Virtual Networks
• Persistent virtual machines were first introduced in 2012
• Evolving all the time with new services
• LJMU utilise MSDN benefit to have £95 of credit per month
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13. Costs
• In a sandboxed environment, there are 2 main factors to consider
– Storage
– Compute
• Storage costs are in the region of £xx
• Compute costs are for pre-defined performance ranging from Basic
A0 (1 core, 0.75GB memory) to D14 (16 cores 112GB memory)
• Example costs are A0 costs per £0.011 per hour, A3 costs £0.18 and
D14 costs £1.449 per hour
• Typical cost to run this Blackboard Environment for 8 hours is £6.15
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14. Basic Compute Costs
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15. D Series Compute Costs
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17. Agile Blackboard
• Why ?
• How?
• Microsoft Azure
• Automation
• Future
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18. • Azure Portals are great for managing your environment but
slow for repeatable tasks
• A Blackboard clone is repeatable and a prime candidate for
scripting
• Scripting frees staff to look after other Blackboard tasks
• There are third party and other Microsoft tools available
• PowerShell is free
Automation – Part 1
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19. Creating the Blackboard Builder Script
• What are the requirements?
– Create a new unique private virtual network
– Take a copy of our server VHDs from source container
– Create Azure disks for new virtual machines
– Create a new cloud service
– Create new virtual machines on the virtual private network
– Poll Blackboard application health check page and indicate when
complete
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21. • Azure provides an automation service
• Allows you to schedule scripts within the environment
• Can schedule virtual machines to start up and shut down in
office hours
Automation – Part 2
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23. Agile Blackboard
• Why ?
• How?
• Microsoft Azure
• Automation
• Future
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24. Future Opportunities
• Create a private cloud and clone existing production system
• Agile scale-out of production machines flexing into cloud
• Self service for the Learning Technologist
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25. Conclusion
• Blackboard is strategically important
• Blackboard application is constantly evolving
• Possible to clone a working environment in under 30 minutes
• Create a build – test – destroy model
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26. Questions
Email: c.e.dyche@ljmu.ac.uk
Twitter: @chrisdycheIT

27. Thank you