Proposal

Narrative

The School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) would like to implement a cloud based lab of 12 virtual computers. This is a first of its kind program at FAU. We conducted proof of concept testing over of the Summer 2017 semester using a similar AWS (Amazon Web Services) virtual computer configuration which went over extremely well with the ten students and one faculty member that participated. This virtual lab solution will provide an initial concurrent pool of 12 virtual computers which students can access from anywhere in the world as if they were sitting in a SURP classroom. Once the design and integration phase of the project is complete the number or virtual computers can be seamlessly scaled up to accommodate any quantity required. This virtual lab will significantly enhance the flexibly not only for the students to complete their work, but for instructors to develop their course curriculum. Students enrolled in SURP courses will be able to access these full virtual computers from their personal PC or Mac computer. SURP’s curriculum depends heavily on student’s access to key software programs and network resources to successfully complete course assignments. The planning software includes programs such as ArcGIS Desktop, Esri Business Analyst, Esri City Engine and others. The design software includes all of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite (Photoshop, InDesign, Muse, Illustrator, etc.) and Trimble SketchUp. The high licensing costs of this software prohibits student’s use of the programs outside of campus. The students also need access to the FAU network for SURP’s file servers in order to work with very large data sets. All these programs and network resource are available using the virtual computer lab solution. Currently, undergraduate students must come to only a single classroom on FAU’s Boca campus to access all these programs and resources. This classroom is not always available due to other classes, orientations, training, etc. Graduate students have access to only another small eight seat computer lab. The virtual lab will eliminate this availability issue. All of the approximately 200 students enrolled in the School of Urban and Regional Planning will benefit from the cloud based virtual lab. In addition, the approximately 50 students from the Geosciences, Public Administration, Environmental Science, Architecture, and Civil and Environmental Engineering programs which enroll in these courses will also benefit. In total, approximately 250 students will benefit from the cloud based virtual lab

Facilities

Cloud based solution. No renovations are required.

Hardware Requirements

Cloud based solution. No hardware is required.

Software Requirements

No software is required for this project.

Personnel Costs

No personnel costs. All personal cost for setup will be handled by existing staff in the School of Urban and Regional Planning.

Other Costs

This one time designs and integration charge as well as the first year support charge and VPN access will allow SURP to get the program implemented. One Time Design & Integration Charge $25,000 Annual Support Charge $3,750 Annual Dedicated VPN $1,080 Total $29,830

Timeline

If funds are awarded the virtual lab implementation will take place during the Summer 2018 Semester with a Fall 2018 Deployment.

Sustainability

Changes to the student lab fees will be made to cover the additional cost associated with the virtual lab to fund the program indefinitely.

Resource Matching

The cost of virtual computer usage will be covered by SURP in year one and subsequent years. Standard Class Workspace: $15,750

Implementing Organization

The School of Urban and Regional Planning will implement the project. Assistance has already been provided by OIT’s systems and security teams to get connectivity required between FAU and the AWS virtual private cloud.