In 1737, committed to the critical spirit of the Enlightenment, the Georg-August University of Göttingen opened its doors. Today, the ‘Georgia Augusta’ still enjoys international acclaim. Thanks to its successful basic research, in particular in the sciences and humanities, the University’s name is linked with the careers of more than 40 Nobel prize winners. With its current course of reform, the University is looking to preserve and extend its international competitiveness.

Introduction of Server Based Computing
The IT department began switching to Server Based Computing in 2002. Instead of investing in replacing 50 of the total of about 500 desktop computers as had originally been envisaged, the University decided to invest in a future-oriented system that would centralise administration and software distribution. "The new system has enabled us to continue to use the computers we had in our previous client/server network, which could no longer cope with the workload, without compromising on performance, whilst at the same time paving the way for a more efficient workstation infrastructure,” Marco Sonnenberg of the DP staff department recalls. For the terminal server system the project team opted for Windows 2000 Server with Citrix MetaFrame XPe, and are currently running Citrix Presentation Server 4.0. "The migration cut our admin costs by 30 to 40% and simplified our licence monitoring. This first modernisation phase cost the University about £ 6,000, including server hardware, Citrix licences and training. "It would have cost us about three to four times as much if we had bought new PCs and not replaced the server system."

The Customer Georg-August University Göttingen World-renowned university established in 1737 Current course of reform aimed at further expanding international competitiveness

Switching to Thin Clients step by step
In the HR department, 50 legacy computers were kept on as Thin Clients to begin with, but they increasingly displayed the weaknesses typical of the PC infrastructure: "The hardware would crash more and more frequently every year,“ says Marco Sonnenberg’s team colleague Marie Kasper. "Applications that were installed locally and sometimes unauthorised repeatedly caused support-intensive problems. Some databases were only stored on internal drives and were therefore not covered by the central backup processes.” To solve these problems, the University of Göttingen has been replacing older PCs with Thin Client models from IGEL Technology since the summer of 2004. "The most important criteria in our decision were graphic features, ease of use and remote management, as well as consistent firmware configuration,” reports Marie Kasper. After a three-month test phase in the HR department, followed by performance tests, the decision was taken to go for the IGEL-364 LX Compact. The project rolled out in 2004 following a four-week pilot phase. "160 of the approximately 500 workstations have now been equipped with Thin Clients.  We aim to increase the number of Thin Clients to about 260 during the course of the project, ultimately replacing more than 50% of our terminals.”

Simple remote management
According to Kasper, the highlight of the solution is the management of the Thin Clients. "The administration and configuration software IGEL Remote Management Suite, which comes free with the system, provides us with all the functionalities we need. Besides the obligatory remote maintenance, we particularly like the session mirroring option and the central firmware updates that can be scheduled and automated.”

The Challenge Replace 500 legacy PCs Conventional solution uneconomical Look for flexible alternative with low TCO and easy management

Marie Kasper also acknowledges other benefits of the Thin Client architecture: "Workstations and training rooms are now much quieter, and the driveless devices are more or less immune to viruses and other malware. Unauthorised installations or local databases are now a thing of the past. What is more, we are now able to respond more quickly to local faults. If there is a malfunction, all we need to do is replace the defective device.“ In the past, users had to confirm their identity by entering a user name and password. Now the University is considering using smartcards for certain areas and administrators. To implement these plans, the IGEL-364 Compact comes with an integrated smartcard reader as standard.

Standard and special applications
At the University of Göttingen, Thin Clients can be used in many different areas: Standard applications for the central administration department like MS Office, Internet Explorer, SAP or Adobe Acrobat Reader, and specific departmental applications like buildings management, student administration and facilities management are all provided via ICA sessions. 20 IGEL Thin Clients were also given to the janitors, who use them primarily to access facilities management functions. In the Infothek in the Study Centre there are two Thin Clients and a network printer on which students can browse the Internet or use the web-based self-service functions on offer (enrolment, online application).  For security reasons, only Mozilla Firefox and Adobe Reader, which are integrated into the device firmware as standard, have been approved for kiosk use.
As a specific customisation, in the summer of 2005 IGEL and local IT service provider and project manager H+H Software GmbH implemented Thin Clients as teleworking workstations. “The special firmware customisation currently provides eight teleworkers with secure remote access to the central administration network via Citrix Security Gateway,” says Marie Kasper. IGEL has also been offering this fundamental feature with its standard firmware since December 2005.

The Solution Introduce Server Based Computing Standardise workstation infrastructure with IGEL Thin Clients Customised firmware for teleworking, some kiosks

Positive user feedback
The so-called Enhanced Administration Network project is currently in the final stages and, according to Marie Kasper, has achieved the simplifications and savings they were hoping for. "The work of the DP staff department has been cut particularly as a result of the simplified desktops and the new guideline on the exclusive use of network printers. Our users particularly like the lower noise levels, the faster logon process and the new flexibility in terms of location: the combination of Thin Clients and centrally stored user profiles no longer ties them to a particular workstation. The bottom line is that the IGEL Thin Clients are making our Server Based Computing environment even more efficient. In terms of the current administrative reforms, we are achieving high organisational flexibility and permanently reducing our overall IT costs at the same time.”