University of Oxford

Sun Ray Systems Offer Cooler, Quieter, More Secure User Access to On-Line Library Catalog

The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. There are 39 colleges of Oxford, each with its own internal structure and activities.

Customer Challenges

Provide secure and cost-effective system access
Reduce heat and noise in study and research areas
Minimize IT support expenses

Solution

Oxford has replaced hundreds of desktop PCs with Sun Ray systems.

Business Results

Save 5,000 GPB (10,000 USD) in electricity costs
Reduce administration costs for desktops by 96%, saving 1.5 FTE in staff time annually
Provide quieter, cooler study environment

Products and Services

Story Details

Oxford had traditionally provided user access to information services through personal computers (PCs) running Microsoft Windows. However, managing PCs at 119 different sites is expensive and time-consuming. “Keeping them virus free, making sure they’re secure, implementing patches—it’s very resource intensive,” explains Neil Jeffries, R&D project manager. “We had good luck by using Citrix to move the applications back to the data center. So we wanted to take the next step in virtualization.” Also, the VTLS Virtua software was incompatible with the existing PCs, so the university would have to buy new ones—or consider other desktop options.

Sun recommended thin client technology and donated 20 Sun Ray 2 Virtual Display Client systems free of charge to Oxford under the Sun Academic Equipment Grant program. The university used them to construct a proof of concept. Based on that successful trial, Oxford has deployed 270 Sun Ray systems. Sun Fire V240 servers, running Solaris 10 and clustered with Solaris Cluster 3.1 software, host the Sun Ray software in a ratio of one server cluster for every 30 Sun Ray systems.

" Sun Rays make life much, much simpler. We have better control over the applications and usage, and it has a much smaller footprint in terms of space, power and heat generation. "

— Neil Jeffries, R&D Manager, University of Oxford

The Sun Ray 2 Virtual Display Client is a great fit for the Oxford environment. “Sun Rays make life much, much simpler,” says Jeffries. “We have better control over the applications and usage, and it has a smaller footprint in terms of space, power and heat generation.”

The lower power requirements are important to Oxford on several fronts. Like all educational institutions today, the university has to cope with rising electricity rates. A typical Sun Ray system uses just 4 watts, compared to 100 or more for the average PC. Price’s staff has calculated that each Sun Ray system saves the university about 18 GBP (36 USD) per year in electricity costs alone. With all 270 systems deployed, the annual savings total is nearly 5,000 GBP (10,000 USD). And this does not include the savings in air conditioning costs.

The Sun Ray thin clients integrate better into the university environment. They put out less heat—a godsend for Oxford’s small rooms in non-air conditioned buildings—and are quieter than PCs, a boon to students prepping for exams and writing papers.

The IT department is benefiting, too. It takes just 30 minutes a year on average to support a Sun Ray system, compared to 12 hours per PC—a 96 percent reduction. For 270 units, that translates into over 3,000 hours per year, or 1.5 full-time equivalents (FTEs). Oxford saves additional time administering the Sun Ray servers—15 days per year for the Sun clusters compared to 30 days for the same number of PC clusters.

“Sun Professional Services provided in-depth expertise,” says Jeffries, “And Q Associates—our Sun reseller—worked together with Sun from the first sales call. Personalization and attention to detail from Q Associates in partnership with Sun is one of the factors that made this solution work so well.”

See related success story about how Oxford is hosting its new library management system (LMS) on a Sun platform.