The Kazan state technical university purchased the VT complex from IBM

On August 11, 2015 it became known of the project of upgrade of computing powers at the Kazan university of A.N. Tupolev^[1].

Project Tasks

In structure of KNITU-KAI one of the major divisions - department of information technologies. It provides all educational, scientific and administrative activity in aspect of information technologies is provided with department.

Kazan state technical university of A.N. Tupolev (KGTU), 2013

Evgeny Babin, the Head of the Moscow Department of Information Technology of KNITU-KAI, told: "In 2013 at the university the project of large-scale upgrade of the server hardware and equipment which is used directly in educational process and also at development of the IT services applied in a research and management activity was started. It was necessary to implement quickly electronic systems of accounting of the student's contingent, holding receiving campaigns, to ensure functioning of services for electronic, including distance learning, holding the Olympic Games, testings. But the most important – to provide computing powers for mathematical modeling and design and also creation of technical base for virtual laboratories and statistical processing of results of experiments".

Students actively master the difficult software packages for carrying out engineering calculations applied when designing the equipment, machines, airplanes. Earlier the university regularly faced deficit of computing powers, spaces for data storage, failures of an obsolete equipment that became motive for updating of the server systems and increase in the amount of funds of data storage.

"the IT department of the university developed the project of regeneration of the server park, – Evgeny Babin told. – Earlier in KNITU-KAI well proved equipment of IBM of Blade-Center of series S and H was operated. Therefore for further upgrade of the server park the newest products of IBM were also selected. Thanks to the flexible architecture, high performance, a possibility of the simple integrated management the module IBM Flex System completely met quickly growing requirements of the university. Moreover, the structure of the solution allowed to reduce operating costs in the future".

The concept of virtualization of servers suited the university the fact that instead of deployment and maintenance of a set of different computers or servers it is enough to use the IBM Flex System Enterprise chassis with server IBM Flex System x240 Compute Node blocks. On each server module it is possible to provide start of several tens virtual servers. To requirements on data storage there corresponded parameters of IBM Storwize V7000 storage with expansions of the IBM Storwize V7000 Disk Expansion Enclosure disk array.

For the choice of IBM equipment supplier the university announced open electronic auction. The Step Logic company became the winner of an auction.

Project Results

Evgeny Babin noted: "Step Logic not only performed delivery of servers and the software, but also carried out input of all complex to operation. Within a month setup of the equipment, start in work, thin settings of each block and training of our employees was made. Updating of IT infrastructure allowed us to optimize the state. If earlier the equipment was serviced by more than 160 people, then now we manage 50 IT specialists. Moreover, we managed to bring the number of failures to zero. Now all equipment works like clock-work".

Implementing solution provided the server platform for the IT projects implemented at the university, KNITU-KAI received fault-free disaster-proof IT infrastructure which closes all current and expected requirements of the university. Capacities allowed to deploy a number of the new all-university services, to create the uniform domain and the uniform address directory. Now all users, being authorized once, can work with any software which is in corporate network, from any network connection point.

"Now teachers actively use multimedia projectors, interactive boards, notebooks. We went slightly further: made the universal project of multimedia audience which includes a projector, the screen, columns, a sound hardware, the IP camera, and concentrated management of this complex in the uniform "multimedia tribune" equipped with the interactive monitor, the microphone and governing bodies. Our teacher has enough to open "tribune" using the electronic admission, to press one button, and it will be able to manage all multimedia equipment necessary in educational process. Using specialized software, the dispatching center of IT department performs the permanent centralized condition monitoring of all multimedia equipment and also has a possibility of remote control all components of multimedia complexes. In case of any fault of any module our manager sees the abnormal message on the screen at once, can quickly react, contact the teacher and fix a problem", – Evgeny Babin concluded.

For August 11, 2015 functioning of IT infrastructure of KNITU-KAI is ensured by more than 100 virtual machines servers working at the platforms geographically distributed on university buildings. There is a possibility of automatic reservation in the "hot" mode. In the project scaling options are put.

Notes