With VDI in the classroom, lengthy boot-up processes are avoided, and students can connect to CAD applications in less than 20 seconds.

The virtual environment provides for around 70 labs, classrooms and libraries, equipping them with Dell Wyse P25 zero clients and enabling students to undertake processor-intensive CAD projects. Some new systems have already been put in place, with the college planning to complete the conversion of all 2,000 workstations on campus to Dell Wyse by 2016. The decision was taken to invest in a futuristic VDI solution, and after surveying the market, La Cité selected the Dell product specifications and VDI solution on Dell PowerEdge R720 rack servers.< Previously, La Cité had seven labs equipped with desktop PCs that were able to run computer-aided design (CAD) software, but these labs were noisy, hot and difficult to schedule.

The solution is based on Dell Wyse zero clients and Dell PowerEdge servers, which use the Microsoft Windows Server 2012 operating system. Dell has started the implementation of a new virtualised desktop infrastructure (VDI) at La Cité, a French-language college of applied arts and technology, based in Canada.

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