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Case Study
Citrix Integration Wins 1st Class Honours at University of Warwick
Covers Citrix MetaFrame, Novell eDirectory, Netware and ZENworks, Centralis consultancy and project services.
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The Challenge
As part of a mobile and remote computing program of work, the University of Warwick was looking to extend access to IT resources by providing web browser based access to centrally provided applications and network file store. The main objective of the exercise was to facilitate a service offering browser based access to applications for; staff working at home, students in residences (both on and off campus), non-Windows clients (primarily Unix, Linux and Macintosh) and to users of the significant wireless presence on campus.
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Centralis came highly recommended by both Citrix and Novell |
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Dave Williamson, Infrastructure Development Manager, University of Warwick |
To provide the flexibility and scope of service required, Citrix MetaFrame was selected as the core enabling technology. Tight integration with the existing IT infrastructure (Novell eDirectory, Novell NetWare file and print, Novell ZENworks desktop management and application service) was considered to be highly desirable.
Defining the Solution
A proof of concept exercise was carried out and a pilot service introduced. During the course of the pilot several issues arose, particularly in the area of integration with existing services, and it was decided to involve external expertise in order to more quickly overcome outstanding issues, establish best practices and prepare the ground for a production service.
Delivering the Solution
Citrix integration specialists Centralis came highly recommended by both Citrix and Novell and were commissioned for a consultancy exercise to implement a service from scratch based upon the project requirement specification.
During a two week period in December 2003/January 2004 Centralis consultants attended site and put together a facility comprising web interface, database and resilient application servers, tightly integrated with the existing infrastructure. A number of key applications were made available in a controlled and clearly defined manner and a managed printing service was established.
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the consultants had a thorough understanding of our complex technical environment and considerable expertise in Citrix, Novell and Microsoft Technologies |
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Dave Williamson, Infrastructure Development Manager, University of Warwick |
All the objectives of the project were met including a number of changes and additions, and the whole process proved thoroughly worthwhile. Always professional and helpful, the consultants paid great attention to detail and went out of their way to accommodate changing and evolving requirements.
Speaking from a technical perspective, it was obvious that the consultants had a thorough understanding of our complex technical environment and considerable technical expertise in the Citrix, Microsoft and Novell technologies involved. Equally importantly, they understood what it was we were looking to achieve and provided a number of helpful suggestions and improvements to the service.
Future
Having established a firm foundation for a successful service, we are
now looking to implement a full scale production facility in the next
six months, and very much look forward to working with Centralis again
as a key partner in this process.