Transcript 2014 CIT presentation - SUNY Learning Commons

Introducing Virtualization
via an OpenStack “Cloud” System
to SUNY Orange Applied Technology Students
SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology Grant
Christopher Rigby
Cartmell Warrington
2013-2014
[email protected]
[email protected]
This past year we applied for, and received, a SUNY Innovative
Instruction Technology Grant (IITG) to construct an OpenStack
virtualization cluster at SUNY Orange.
What is it?
• Server Virtualization allows a single piece of hardware to
run several different Operating Systems at one time, each
in a different container or “virtual server”.
• The hardware resources available can be allocated to
different virtual machines, each of which can deploy a
separate OS.
• Create an image of an installed
operating system.
• Create a virtual machine by
allocating a certain set of
virtual resources:
 Processors
 Memory (RAM)
 Storage / Disk Space
• Run an instance of an OS
image on each virtual machine.
Why use it?
• Hardware Consolidation
 “Right-fit” (scale) server capacity
• Redundancy and Imaging – can create images
from a running instance and start any number of
copies (snapshot).
• Reduce Cost – No capital expenditures, constant
recurring cost (better planning).
• Migration – can migrate instances across clusters,
even across datacenters.
• OS variation – can run multiple operating systems
• Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)
 Amazon EC2, S3, EBS
 Easy / “Instant” server provisioning
• Ubiquity of virtualization
http://www.theregister.co.uk/Print/2013/03/15/vmware_server_virtualization_sddc/
How does it work?
An OpenStack cluster generally consists of a controller node(s) which
does management of the compute, network, and storage resources, and a set of
compute nodes with processing resources (CPU, RAM). The user can then allocate
virtual machines from the pool of resources .
Our SUNY Orange cluster consists of 20 nodes (each with i7 Quad Core and 32G RAM):
• 1 Controller Node
• 1 Network Node
• 18 Compute Nodes
Our version of
OpenStack utilizes
software-defined
networking
components such
as OpenvSwitch
and the OpenFlow
protocol for its
networking stack .
http://docs.openstack.org/grizzly/openstack-compute/install/yum/content/example-installation-architecture.html
Why learn it?
•
•
•
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Students graduating from our technology programs are
entering a complex, competitive environment that changes
quickly, often rendering skills irrelevant almost overnight.
Often the very skills we are teaching them, and the platforms
on which they have trained, are outdated by the time they
reach industry.
Virtualization and software-defined networking are emerging
technologies that are just beginning to impact industry, and
will fully mature during the careers of our current generation
of students.
By introducing these emerging technologies early in their
academic careers, our OpenStack project equips students
with tools that will guarantee their success in the business
world.
Grant Motivation
In keeping with the IITG goals, our grant was structured around
expanding existing course materials, enhancing student
learning outcomes, and providing a more open, sharable
platform for technology education.
Threefold motivation behind our grant proposal:
1. Introduce students to the emerging technology of
virtualization, increasing the probability of gainful
employment.
2. Reduce lab set up time, allowing more lab time to be used
for actual course content.
3. Create learning modules that can be shared with other
departments and SUNY branches, either through direct use
of our cluster or their own OpenStack implementation.
1. Introduce students to the latest technology,
increasing the probability of gainful employment.
• Our OpenStack cluster allows us to introduce students to
cutting-edge virtualization technologies that otherwise they
would not see until industry.
• Our cluster actually implements OpenFlow and OpenvSwitch
networking technologies, which are part of the Software
Defined Networking movement, which allows us to introduce
students to SDN concepts and current implementations. Lab
assignments that train students to work with these protocols
are in development.
• In addition to its own proprietary protocols, OpenStack
supports the Eucalyptus tool set, the standard used for
Amazon EC2. Thus we can provide training for our students
on the most widely used provisioning and maintenance tools.
A sample lab from CIT 118 – Operating Systems
2. Reduce lab set up time, allowing more lab time to
be used for actual course content.
Due to the nature of our
discipline, many labs
require an inordinate
amount of setup time,
often requiring a fresh
install of an operating
system and lab specific
software.
OpenStack allows us to
create lab images with all
the requisite software
already installed. Thus to
start a lab, the student
merely spins up an
appropriate instance.
3. Create learning modules that can be shared with
other departments and SUNY branches, either
through direct use of our cluster or their own OpenStack
implementation.
• Several of the laboratory modules created for our Network
Security and Operating Systems courses are currently being
moved onto the OpenStack platform. Labs for our
Unix/Linux and Database classes are also under
development. Labs already migrated include:
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Virtualization Platforms – OpenStack Server Provisioning
Software RAID Configuration
Resource Sharing – SaMBa and NFS
Process and Memory Management Utilities
SQL Injection
ARP cache poisoning
• These laboratory modules, along with the specific virtual
machine images, could be easily packaged to share with
other learning partners.
Student Reception
We modified our standard “Student Feedback” instrument to measure the success of
our endeavors. Some results:
• Prior to our labs, 60% of our students had never used virtualization, and 87.5% had
no experience in this particular platform.
• 100% believed that the tools illustrated in the labs would prove valuable in
industry.
• ~70% felt the virtualization environment reduced set up time. [NS students only]
 85% thought it allowed for more related content, since the virtual machines
were preconfigured.
 92% suggested it let them concentrate more on the lesson, rather than
configuration.
• 97% understood virtualization and virtualization tools better after attending the
class.
• 100% of OS students felt that the virtualization environment helped them
understand the theoretical topics covered in class.