Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Deployment Using OpenNebula as a Private Cloud

Abstract

With the advancement of technology and unlimited access to information through the Internet, traditional teaching models are evolving to become centralized in the student. The objective is to offer personalized education that overcomes any spatial-temporal barrier, achieving a continuous transfer of knowledge. However, under this scenario arises the need for equipment with high performance hardware and software. On the one hand, educational institutions, in most cases, do not have enough capital to migrate to new infrastructures; while, on the other hand, students encounter problems linked to licensing and lack of own resources. Overall, this translates into an impediment for teachers to design innovative activities. Hence, the concept of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDIs) is born, which relies on cloud computing techniques to provide access to remote machines pre-configured according to different storage, processing, network and software requirements. This paper presents an open source VDI solution based on OpenNebula, since the costs associated with using the services of large cloud providers could represent a considerable investment. Among the tests carried out, a pilot experiment stands out that demonstrates the benefits of deploying local VDIs, as well as a comparison of the savings they represent in relation to commercial solutions.