For those observing server and storage segments, the word ‘virtualisation’ brings an instant excitement. With expanding data centres, virtualisation is being seen as the means to make effective use of the resources and by extension, paving the way for other benefits like saving energy. But how about virtualisation playing a key role in bridging the digital divide?
Virtualisation of Personal Computers or desktop virtualisation can make a PC to work like a mainframe, the access to which can be established by plugging in additional monitors-keyboards-mice. NComputing, the company that is popularising this approach to hardware deployment in developing countries, has shown that virtualisation can allow upto six access devices (keyboards-monitors-mice) to use one PC.
“While server and storage virtualisation would benefit larger companies, our solution can perhaps be called ‘the poor man’s virtualisation’,” says Mr Raj Shah, Chief Marketing Officer of NComputing.
“Because our virtualisation solution divides the ever-increasing and underutilised computer power between several users, it is possible to provide access to computing for those who have hitherto been unable to use computers for cost and maintenance reasons,” adds Raj.
Virtually affordable
He says virtualisation of PCs has proved to be an ideal one for developing countries who are struggling with a host of issues like affordable computing, hardware portability, energy efficiency etc. With a hardware using just 1-5 watts of power to function, he says desktop virtualisation has addressed all of them in one stroke.
NComputing’s CPU (the X series) has a PCI card behind it which can connect three access devices (keyboards mice and monitors). By virtue of an additional PCI card, a further three access devices can be connected. Including the host system, this makes the number of users of the virtualised PC to seven.
With its recent L series systems, which uses Ethernet cables, the host system can connect to access devices sitting in geographically diverse locations. “This way, we can create about 30 additional workstations,” Mr Raj says.
The virtualisation in the desktop is both hardware and software. Unlike certain high-end VM (Virtual Machines), it doesn’t use multiple unique Operating Systems, but divides one OS between the host PC and other access devices. The processor has also been sliced up to work separately with each access device. This way, each of them can access and save data independently, just like individual PCs.
“Even the signal between the host PC and the access device is segmented completely so that there isn’t any delay between operations like key strokes and the time taken by the system to respond to it,” Mr Raj says.
With each workstation sitting inside 10 metres from the main CPU, the virtualised model is said to be ideal for BPOs, computer labs and even in larger enterprises where computers are used for task work and not for higher computational purposes. “These are places where the hardware has to be replaced in four to five years’ time. The use of fewer machines in the place of one per individual makes that task quite easy and has a huge impact on TCO,” Mr Raj points out.
Individual access
Since it reduces the expense for accessing computing to $10 per individual, the network computing model has been touted by experts as the ideal alternative for the One-Laptop-Per-Child scheme, which has not been proved successful. Over 80 per cent of its deployment across the world is in schools. Last year, NComputing has been given the technology innovation award by the Wall Street Journal for their unique use of virtualisation technology and making computers accessible.
In India, where NComputing has been operating for the past six months, it has largely been carrying out deployments in government schools and rural areas like Bellary, where wives of factory workers at the Jindal Steel Works have been running a rural BPO centre.
