Case Study | RENK AG
Case Study RENK AG utilizes Fujitsu Zero Clients for desktop virtualization »We have switched to Fujitsu’s Zero Client concept because on-site maintenance is no longer necessary and there is no need to run local updates. Administration is managed entirely from the data center – this saves a lot of valuable time.« Helmut Wirth, Deputy IT Manager, RENK AG
The customer As a member of the MAN Group, RENK AG manufactures special gear units, components for propulsion technology as well as test systems with plants in Germany, Switzerland, France and the USA. www.renk.eu The challenge RENK AG was searching for low-maintenance and energy efficient Clients to replace standard PCs. The solution
Wanted: low-maintenance Clients The companies affiliated with the RENK Group are internationally acknowledged manufacturers of special gear units, drive elements and test systems of extraordinarily high quality. Hence sophisticated components for wind turbines and cruise vessels as well as for tracked vehicles and speed boats for military purposes are manufactured by RENK AG, a member of the MAN Group. Founded in 1873 in Augsburg, RENK AG now operates worldwide. Along with its three production sites in Augsburg, Hanover und Rheine there are associated companies in the USA, France and Switzerland. RENK AG has approximately 2,000 employees. At its headquarters in Augsburg the enterprise operates 700 IT workplaces. One hundred of those workplaces require special workstations for CAD where extreme graphic performance is necessary, e.g. for the construction of new components. For the remaining 600 standard PCs RENK AG was searching for a replacement that would require the lowest possible maintenance. In its data center the company has long been relying on server virtualization based on VMware in combination with blade servers and NetApp storage systems. Therefore at first a Thin Client concept had been considered. “However, we quickly dismissed that idea,” Helmut Wirth, Deputy IT Manager of RENK AG Augsburg, confesses. “After all, we are also dealing here with our own operating system and its updates.”
Saving time and money with Zero Clients That is why we have opted in favor of the even more logical step in the direction of desktop virtualization, namely Zero Clients by Fujitsu. With this concept all performances are shifted to the data center – from the working storage via the hard drive and on to the processor. The Zero Client merely functions as an end device on the desk. It is a “naked” screen to which an Ethernet cable, keyboard and a mouse can be connected. All applications as well as the usual Windows user environment are located – virtually – on the server in the data center.
With the introduction of Fujitsu Zero Clients RENK AG now operates a state-of-the-art virtual Client infrastructure that has led to radical savings in energy consumption, administration expenditures as well as purchase costs.
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Case Study | RENK AG
The benefit
Products and services
C learly lower TCO due to longer lifecycle and elimination of maintenance costs Significant savings due to radically reduced energy consumption
Satisfied users At the Augsburg site RENK AG has made a start in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) era with a pilot installation of 250 Zero Clients – and has immediately profited from the advantages of this innovative concept. “In the data center we have already observed for some time the flexibility and improved resource utilization in the course of virtualization,” Helmut Wirth states. “Now we wanted to transfer those advantages to the Client landscape.” For the first 250 users on-the-spot maintenance is no longer necessary; also local updates are a thing of the past, since all software remains on the servers in the data center. So to speak, all individual hard drives that would normally be installed in the PC housing on the employee’s desk are bundled here. When a file is stored, it occupies disc space in the data center. Individual users can access their user interface by entering their user name and password. With the Zero Client RENK AG employees can also access their programs and data just as before. Helmut Wirth puts the users’ positive experience in a nutshell: “We are pleased to have very satisfied Zero Client users. They esteem the plus in performance and the large 22-inch screen. It is also appreciated that the Zero Client requires hardly any space on the desk – and that ventilation noise is a nuisance of the past.” Best USB connectivity Meanwhile there are already 50 Zero Clients available at each of the two additional RENK sites in Germany, Rheine and Hanover. We only have to plug in an Ethernet cable plus a keyboard and a mouse – and that’s it,” says Helmut Wirth showing his enthusiasm about the extremely easy installation. By the way, no user has to give up the peripheral devices they are accustomed to. “In our company some employees need barcode scanners or even CD drives,” says Wirth. “Zero
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C lients: 350 x Fujitsu Zero Client D602 Desktop virtualization: VMware vSphere
Client allows both to be plugged in without any problem.” Altogether 3 USB interfaces are positioned on the right and left side as well as on the back of the housing. One mouse click does it Along with saving time for administration and maintenance, the green IT aspect is an important advantage of the Zero Client. “The annual energy savings are enormous,” Helmut Wirth states. Therefore a rollout for all sites is now being planned so that all RENK’s standard PCs are gradually being replaced by Fujitsu Zero Clients. For the IT Department this is really a minimum expenditure. Of course server and storage capacities must first be expanded: “We can operate approximately 40 Zero Clients per server,” says Wirth. “But once this infrastructure has been set up, one single right mouse click will do it – and 15 minutes later the new Client is active with all necessary applications for the new employee. All I have to do is to clone an existing device.” Zero Client for the home office The VDI concept knows almost no limits. Even mobile computers can be turned into a Zero Client. For this purpose Fujitsu offers a USB stick that allows any company notebook access to the data center. This is of course also possible with common PCs. “It is a great advantage for us that we can enable employees to have access to their virtual company desktop in their home office if need be,” Helmut Wirth summarizes.
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