XenApp

Testing begins

Leigh Haynes , , , , , , , ,

ICT has been testing and tweaking the proof of concept environments for Windows 7 & Office 2010 and they are now ready for user testing. ICT is demonstrating two different technology solutions; Citrix XenApp and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Both of which will allow you to connect to a Windows 7 & Office 2010 desktop from a variety of devices regardless of location.

Members of the user test group have been provided with instructions on how to get started, what to test, how to provide feedback and how to get help should they have difficulties. The group has been asked to test both environments equally, either by focusing on them one at a time or switching backwards and forwards between the two, depending on preference.

Towards the end of the trial period the group will be contacted again to complete a survey which will capture their experiences of using the proposed solutions.

Previously on…

Leigh Haynes , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Windows LogoHere is a brief summary of the work completed so far on the Windows 7 & Office 2010 project.

In February 2011, ICT Services selected Centralis as a consultancy partner to help us work through the many design and technology choices and develop our desktop transformation strategy.

In April, a number of interviews and workshops were held to identify the requirements of particular stakeholders. These requirements were analysed and used to develop an initial high-level design and budgetary report.

The report, which gave recommendations as to possible technology solutions, was submitted to the University’s Infrastructure Committee in May. The Committee asked ICT Services to run a very small scale proof of concept which will allow us to test some of the different technologies available in various usage scenarios.

These proof of concept environments have now been built and will soon be made available to a small group of test users. We are trialling two different technology solutions; Citrix XenApp and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Both of which will allow you to connect to a Windows 7 & Office 2010 desktop from a variety of devices regardless of location. This includes the PC or Mac on your desk at work, your laptop, your computer at home, thin client devices and even on some mobile devices such as the iPad.

In the background we will also be trialling some other supporting technologies; AppSense Environment Manager which provides enhanced user personalisation, and Microsoft App-V which enables more agile application deployment.

The next stage of the project aims to capture the end user experience of using the proposed solutions to help inform which, if any, might be the best fit for the University.