Storage vendor Violin Memory has helped Anglia Ruskin University virtualise around 1,000 desktops for 32,000 students using its 3000 Series Flash Memory Array.
The virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) set-up can handle 220,000 random write IOPs in 4K block, which is twenty times the performance of a comparable storage area network disk array, Violin claims.
The power consumption of the offering is also reportedly around 60-70 per cent lower than a Windows 7 PC.
Anglia Ruskin University has two campuses: one in Chelmsford and the other in Cambridge. It is also credited with turning out a high number of teaching and nursing graduates.
Gregor Waddell, the university’s assistant director, said the Violin solution provided its students and staff with modern and attractive desktops at a reduced cost.
"Our architecture has allowed speedy additions of new software such as Adobe Dreamweaver," he added.
"We have also realised potential software license savings where software can be licensed on a concurrent basis rather than a 'per seat' basis."
