March 22, 2004 NERCOMP Annual Conference 1
Copyright Statement
Copyright Richard Pessin 2004. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.
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Ten Things We’ve Learned About Desktop Replacement
Rick Pessin, Director, IT User ServicesBob Randall, Desktop Services CoordinatorRick Brabander, Repair Shop ManagerBrandeis University
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About Brandeis University
Research university located in Waltham, MA Undergraduates 3175 Graduate students 1810 Students living on campus 2700 Faculty and Staff app. 1500 Buildings 100 # computers on campus 4000+ IT staff 38
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History 101
At least 10 brands of computers on campus New ones ordered in varying configurations Ordered by a host of people Ordered on a random basis Huge disparity between departments
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History 102
Desktop Refresh Program Started in 2000 (4 years old) update and standardize computers in
undergraduate academic departments and most administrative offices.
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Today
2003-04 began our second desktop replacement cycle
The program has become so successful it has spread throughout most of the University.
Includes 3 of the 4 graduate schools, the library, and departments with separate budgets like Development
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Going Beyond the Desktop
Include all computers, not just those in offices
Added hundreds more computers
Better prices Easier to support
Computer classrooms Public clusters Regular classrooms
with computer and data projection installed
Scanning stations Instructional
Technology Resource Center
Media services
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Ten Things We’ve Learned
1) Include as many computers on campus as you can
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Selecting Computers for Purchase Reduce the number of brands and models ITS chose Dell and Apple ITS selected the features Try to look into the future and see what will
be needed in 3 years RAM Hard drive space
What’s next? DVD writer? Flat screen monitor?
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Standardize Your Hardware
Do not give a choice except PC or Mac The only option this year was a flat panel
monitor if the department paid the difference Allows us to apply an image Lowers price of computers Easier to support A few exceptions such as towers in the
classrooms
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Standardize Your Software
Before Desktop Refresh, despite having software standards, there was a mish-mash
Some computers came with non-supported software, some with a different virus program, etc.
Some faculty/bought their own from various sources We supply a standard set of software on each
computer Standardize the optional software you will support
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Ten Things We’ve Learned
1) Include as many computers on campus as you can
2) Standardize
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Buy the Extended Warranty
Covers parts and labor Buy for the length of the lease or “first”
ownership Murphy should have had the extended
warranty On-site service doesn’t replace your repair
shop
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Ten Things We’ve Learned
1) Include as many computers on campus as you can
2) Standardize
3) Buy the extended warranty
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Who Gets New Computers?
The first year we replaced the oldest computers on campus – bad idea
Now we only distribute computers by department. The entire department is done at one time, in most cases in one day
Advantages Faster Easier to support departments on the phone
because we know what everyone has
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Ditto for Computers Not in Offices Classrooms, public labs, scanning stations,
etc. Entire room refreshed at once with identical
machines Less disruption to classes Allows for easier imaging Easier support
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Ten Things We’ve Learned
1) Include as many computers on campus as you can
2) Standardize
3) Buy the extended warranty
4) Replace by departments, not individuals
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Replacement cycle
First cycle we leased for 3 years and it worked well
We went to a 4 year cycle this time Added RAM, extended the warranty to 4 years,
increased hard drive size Will save us $100K a year Too soon to know if this was a good idea
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Buying vs. Leasing Brandeis leases its computers A lot of record keeping but the only way we could have done this We started out the cheapest way with leases that gave us the right
to buy at the end of the lease for fair market value We have switched to $1 buyout
Don’t have to worry about damaged, missing or defaced computers
Don’t have to budget huge amounts for buyouts and returns
Don’t have to argue about FMV with the leasing company We recover the extra cost when we recondition and sell them
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Ten Things We’ve Learned
1) Include as many computers on campus as you can
2) Standardize
3) Buy the extended warranty
4) Buy by departments, not individuals
5) If you lease, choose $1 buyout.
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Distribution Process
We use all User Services staff for computer rollouts Includes Help Desk, Repair Shop, Academic
Technology, Classrooms/Labs and Media Services Good cross training Lets us do an entire department in one day so there
is minimal inconvenience to the end users Written step-by-step instructions Move data files, bookmarks, address books, etc. Reinstall optional licensed supported software
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Pre-Imaging
We used to apply an image on-site with a Ghost CD (or a firewire drive for Macs)
It worked but it slowed down the rollout process
Now we image all computers ahead of time and can set twice as many up in a day
Too expensive to use Dell and Apple to apply image
Used a temp and it costs us $12 a computer
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Ten Things We’ve Learned
1) Include as many computers on campus as you can
2) Standardize
3) Buy the extended warranty
4) Buy by departments, not individuals
5) If you lease, choose $1 buyout
6) Image the computers before your rollout
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Timing
Summer- administrative computers and classrooms
Fall- faculty computers (we want them available) ITS will not go through anyone’s hard drive to
select documents for transfer to the new computer; the user is responsible for collecting them
We hold the old computer for one week before it is wiped clean
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Ten Things We’ve Learned
1) Include as many computers on campus as you can
2) Standardize3) Buy the extended warranty4) Buy by departments, not individuals5) If you lease, choose $1 buyout6) Image the computers before your rollout7) Make users responsible for collecting what
has to be transferred to their new computer
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Communicate with Your End Users Each user receives 4 communications from ITS
A notice that they will be receiving a new computer Directions on how to prepare for the transition to their new
computer Information on their new hardware and software An invitation to training
We run classes for users as close to the day of the rollout as possible to go over their new operating system and new technology such as CD burners
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Use Your Department Administrators Each department at Brandeis has a
department administrator or similar position We use the DAs to verify personnel and
locations and to check computer preferences DAs also circulate our notices to the faculty
and NAG them to follow instructions and be ready
Many DAs help non-technical faculty with backups, creating transfer folders, etc.
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Ten Things We’ve Learned
1) Include as many computers on campus as you can
2) Standardize
3) Buy the extended warranty
4) Buy by departments, not individuals
5) If you lease, choose $1 buyout
6) Image the computers before your rollout
7) Make users responsible for collecting what has to be transferred to their new computer
8) Department administrators are your best friends
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Get Support from the Administration Our CIO works closely with Dean and Provost The Dean’s office approves the list of faculty
and academic support staff getting computers The Dean’s office funds the faculty computers The documentation we provide to faculty says
the computer is from the Dean and ITS The Dean’s office says NO to special requests
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Ten Things We’ve Learned
1) Include as many computers on campus as you can2) Standardize3) Buy the extended warranty4) Buy by departments, not individuals5) If you lease, choose $1 buyout.6) Image the computers before your rollout 7) Make users responsible for collecting what has to
be transferred to their new computer 8) Department administrators are your best friends 9) Work closely with the Dean’s office
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What Happens to the Old Computers? In many cases, your users will want to keep
their old computers, take them home or give them to student workers
Brandeis requires that users surrender their old computer in order to get a new one
Prevents the unregulated accumulation of outdated computers on campus which could occupy a significant amount of service time
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Ten Things We’ve Learned
1) Include as many computers on campus as you can2) Standardize3) Buy the extended warranty4) Buy by departments, not individuals5) If you lease, choose $1 buyout.6) Image the computers before your rollout 7) Make users responsible for collecting what has to be transferred
to their new computer 8) Department administrators are your best friends 9) Work closely with the Dean’s office 10) Don’t leave all the old computers on your network
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What To Do with Your Old Computers If leased, you can buy the old computers or
send them back If you send them back, use a shipping service If you don’t lease, or if you buy the computers
from the leasing company, you can sell them and recoup some money
Should you redistribute some on campus?
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Redistribution – Pros and Cons Advantages of redistributing old computers
Serve more users Help some people who wouldn’t otherwise have computers Graduate student offices, work study students, student
organizations Disadvantages of redistributing old computers
Warranties expired Need more frequent service Lack new features
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What To Do with Your Old Computers We used to redistribute all old computers around
campus A lot of time and money spent preparing them Too much time and money spent servicing old computers
Now we distribute some through the Used Computer program Recondition, reformat and reimage the best used machines Sell them to departments at reasonable rates 90 day warranty Paid service through the Repair Shop only after 90 days Departments and organizations only, not individuals Lets us control the number and location of older PCs
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Ten Eleven Things We’ve Learned1) Include as many computers on campus as you can2) Standardize3) Buy the extended warranty4) Buy by departments, not individuals5) If you lease, choose $1 buyout.6) Image the computers before your rollout 7) Make users responsible for collecting what has to be transferred
to their new computer 8) Department administrators are your best friends 9) Work closely with the Dean’s office 10) Don’t leave all the old computers on your network 11) Charge for servicing your old computers or you will spend way too
much time on them
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Asset Tracking
A nightmare! People leave the University People move offices People switch departments People put their computers in student labs People use their own monitor, keyboard or mouse Nobody tells you anything
We now name the computer with the service tag/serial number so we can find it on the network
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Ten Twelve Things We’ve Learned1) Include as many computers on campus as you can2) Standardize3) Buy the extended warranty4) Buy by departments, not individuals5) If you lease, choose $1 buyout.6) Image the computers before your rollout 7) Make users responsible for collecting what has to be transferred
to their new computer 8) Department administrators are your best friends 9) Work closely with the Dean’s office 10) Don’t leave all the old computers on your network 11) Charge for servicing your old computers or you will spend way too
much time on them12) Name the computer with the service tag or serial number
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For More Information
This presentation is on the web at http://www.brandeis.edu/~pessin/NERCOMP
Our web site is http://www.brandeis.edu/its
You can contact us at: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]