Customer Background

Chongqing University is a national key university directly under the Ministry of Education, a high-level research-oriented comprehensive university under the national “211 Project” and “985 Project,” and a Class A university in the national “Double First-Class” initiative. The university is located in Chongqing, a major industrial and commercial city in southwest China and the economic center of the upper Yangtze.

In today’s informatized, networked world, education is continually exploring new teaching models. Deploying “cloud desktop” products based on desktop virtualization in a network environment provides more efficient and more secure support for informatized teaching. Following this trend, Chongqing University worked with Sugon to upgrade campus computer classrooms. Sugon provided a solution combining cloud-desktop technology with computer classrooms, changing the traditional classroom structure.

Customer Requirements / Pain Points

1. Aging equipment and slow speed

These computers had been in use for more than six years. Software often stuttered or ran slowly, and large design applications were especially strained, giving faculty and students in the School of Computer Science a poor teaching experience.

2. Inconsistent models, hard to maintain

Because equipment came from different batches, a single lab contained multiple computer models. Traditional restore-card software could not work properly. Teachers had to install software and update systems machine by machine, multiplying the workload.

3. Low management efficiency

System reinstallation required an on-site visit. Software had to be installed machine by machine. Remote management (power on/off, one-click restore and the like) was lacking.

4. Traditional PCs could not meet teaching needs

Teaching software kept increasing, as did compatibility requirements. Traditional PCs could no longer meet growing teaching demand;

For these reasons, the school proposed upgrading computer classrooms and building a unified cloud-desktop project to raise terminal speed, optimize management efficiency and improve the teaching experience.

Solution

Sugon cloud desktop provided a cloud-classroom solution that met the university’s urgent needs. Upgrading traditional training labs to cloud-desktop labs solved all of the school’s problems in one stroke. The overall solution includes Sugon servers and storage, cloud-desktop software, teaching cloud terminals (teacher and student machines), and interactive teaching-management software.

Solution Architecture

The upgraded cloud-desktop labs give faculty and students a new experience, solving unstable performance, poor compatibility, low management and maintenance efficiency, and lack of system-security assurance in traditional computer classrooms.

Customer Benefits

1. Lower total cost of ownership

① The upgrade did not require a large server investment, saving substantial hardware cost;

② Cloud-desktop management is more efficient, without a large labor cost;

③ Sugon cloud terminals use a low-power design that is green and energy-saving.

2. Teaching desktops remain available if the network drops

① If communication with the server is interrupted, student desktops on the terminal continue to work;

② The desktop system is delivered locally with one click; a network drop does not affect normal terminal use;

③ When the network is restored, data synchronize automatically in both directions, protecting teaching continuity and data security.

3. Smooth running of large 3D applications and 4K video

① Smooth 4K HD video playback;

② Plug-and-play peripherals, without mapping;

③ Smooth running of large design software such as 3ds Max, AutoCAD and Pro/E.

4. Greatly improved peripheral control and compatibility

① The cloud-desktop system has rich peripheral-control policies, including black and white lists, giving teachers more effective control;

② Peripheral compatibility fully matches that of traditional PCs.

5. Minimal O&M raises management efficiency

① A humanized graphical management interface lets teachers manage student terminals with simple clicks, lowering the learning cost;

② Remote control means that if any fault occurs, teachers can handle it remotely through the management console without running back and forth on site, greatly raising O&M efficiency.

Solution Advantages

In product design, Sugon cloud desktop focused on balancing overall performance, cost and user experience, and fully considered the IT application and management reality of computer classrooms in education. While lowering cost, it effectively lowers requirements on deployment and runtime environments and on users’ IT skills. Sugon cloud desktop offers fast deployment, a short learning curve, wide applicability, a good application experience and simple management. It has been successfully applied at Chongqing Jiaotong University, China University of Geosciences, Shenzhen University, Central South University, Chongqing Technology and Business University and other schools, and is well received by institutions and students.