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Challenge
Based in the state’s capital, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) is the largest school
district in the state of Indiana. Its 33,000 students are enrolled in 64 schools, from
elementary to high schools. In addition to student computer labs, the IPS data center
supports more than 2400 teachers and 4000 staff members.
district in the state of Indiana. Its 33,000 students are enrolled in 64 schools, from
elementary to high schools. In addition to student computer labs, the IPS data center
supports more than 2400 teachers and 4000 staff members.
The principal goal of the IT staff at IPS is to provide students and staff with access
to the computing resources and applications that they need to achieve educational
objectives. Yet with 300 physical servers supporting up to 35,000 active users on
any given day, and with state budgets getting tighter and tighter, IPS was running
low on the resources and space required to accommodate its rapidly evolving
needs. Vital departments such as school police were using outdated equipment.
And with many of the district’s servers underutilized, IPS was unable to harness the
full potential of its own computing power, and faced the need to improve the ratio of
student/computer accessibility.
to the computing resources and applications that they need to achieve educational
objectives. Yet with 300 physical servers supporting up to 35,000 active users on
any given day, and with state budgets getting tighter and tighter, IPS was running
low on the resources and space required to accommodate its rapidly evolving
needs. Vital departments such as school police were using outdated equipment.
And with many of the district’s servers underutilized, IPS was unable to harness the
full potential of its own computing power, and faced the need to improve the ratio of
student/computer accessibility.
Another challenge was the ongoing application needs required to support district
curriculum or specific class requirements. Traditionally, introducing a new educational
application for students forced IT staff to visit each school and install the necessary
software on each computer. This requirement severely restricted IPS’s ability to
respond to and deliver a dynamic learning environment for students and educators.
curriculum or specific class requirements. Traditionally, introducing a new educational
application for students forced IT staff to visit each school and install the necessary
software on each computer. This requirement severely restricted IPS’s ability to
respond to and deliver a dynamic learning environment for students and educators.
Furthermore, IPS needed to prepare for a statewide paperless initiative that required
all students to take state tests online by 2014. “Not all of our elementary schools
had the technology capabilities necessary to support online testing,” says Wayne
Hawkins, technology systems officer at IPS. “The statewide initiative obviously
required a more robust infrastructure across the entire district.”
all students to take state tests online by 2014. “Not all of our elementary schools
had the technology capabilities necessary to support online testing,” says Wayne
Hawkins, technology systems officer at IPS. “The statewide initiative obviously
required a more robust infrastructure across the entire district.”
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Executive Summary
Customer Name:
Indianapolis Public
Schools
Industry:
Education
Location:
Indianapolis, Indiana
Number of Employees:
6400
Number of Students:
33,000
Challenge:
• Improve student access to computing
labs and resources
• Reduce number of physical servers to
save on hardware and maintenance costs
• Enable large school district to provide
online state testing for 33,000 students
by 2014
Solution:
• Cisco Desktop Virtualization Solutions
• Cisco UCS B230 and B250 Blade Servers
• Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches
• Cisco UCS B230 and B250 Blade Servers
• Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches
Results:
• Saved up to US$2 million in licensing
fees by delivering 5300 virtual desktops
to 33,000 students, faculty, and
administrators
• Simplified desktop IT support model,
reducing application deployment time
from hours to minutes and helping
enable greater agility
• Saved approximately $1.1 million
in hardware costs and services by
reducing number of physical servers
from 300 to 17
from 300 to 17
Customer Case Study
School District Offers More
Connected Learning at Lower Cost