Feasibility study and benefit analysis of application virtualization technology for Distance Learning Education at Naval Postgraduate School

Abstract

The rapidly changing demands and increasing complexity in software application deployment have necessitated and improved approaches for delivering rapid software application support and updates to non-resident students at the Naval Postgraduate School. The delivery of course material to non-resident students on locked-down computer systems, i.e., NMCI, has become more difficult with the increased security requirements over the past year. Many NPS course offerings require installation and development of various software and programs on student workstations, which is prohibited by policy. Moreover, the process of gaining approval and installation of the course software is often longer than the upgrade cycle of the material, which affects both resident and non-resident students' ability to fully participate and benefit from the learning experience. This problem poses a challenge for the Information Technology Academic and Client Support (ITACS) department at NPS. To counter this problem, NPS must implement a new system wide virtual software delivery method that would: a) provide easy, client-less, conflictfree application deployment and rollback; b) reduce costs for support and regression testing by delivering fully tested applications to users; c) reduce infrastructure requirements and costs with no client or server components to manage or maintain; and, d) improve enterprise security with the power to transparently run applications in user-mode on locked-down PCs.