The document discusses a university project that aims to implement cloud computing services within the university. Specifically, the project will virtualize the university's datacenter using VMware and OpenStack solutions. This will provide virtual servers, desktops, and applications to researchers, students, and staff to facilitate research and education. The cloud services will reduce costs and complexity while improving flexibility, mobility, and sustainability. The project team has already transformed their faculty's datacenter and is providing virtual resources to researchers and graduation projects. They organized the first cloud computing conference in Egypt to promote research clouds.
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Cloud Computing for Universities Graduation Project
1.
2. Project Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Cloud computing is a relatively recent concept that has arisen out of
developments in grid computing, virtualization and web technologies. The
term covers an entire stack from infrastructure through storage,
platforms, and applications. Of these, Software-as-a-Service has so far
been the most successful in universities through outsourcing of email and
collaborative functionality. However, it is cloud infrastructure and storage
Why Cloud Computing for that are most relevant to this project. Clouds are characterized by on-
Universities? demand deployment of virtual, flexible, highly scalable resources with a
1) Research and educational needs of pay per use charging model. We’ll offer these services for Academic and
universities change with developing Research sake for the students taking the advantage of cloud computing
technology. As a natural result of this and providing them with access to the equipment they need in their
progress:
research or IT projects such as virtual servers, desktops and applications
- New software cause new hardware they want to use anywhere and anytime they want to use it.
costs.
Using Cloud Computing in business has achieved a big success in saving
- Issues such as setup, configure, and
transport the new software tools cost, complexity and time in the IT world, however we are thinking of
would cause to loss of the cloud computing from a different perspective. We use Cloud Computing
researchers’ workforce, and for the academic study and research purposes, expanding the cloud
researchers do not focus their basic
tasks. market share to reach everyone researching, studying and working in IT
field.
The large majority of university
In Egypt we have more than 30 Universities, Cloud Computing for
budgets are devoted to meet these
needs. Universities will help facilitate the education and research process and
will give the chance for researchers and students to innovate and enrich
our IT development in Egypt.
2) The high expenses for students to
purchase the hardware equipment Our Project aims to adding new innovative features to the university
needed to implement their IT projects website/Cloud portal which gives the professors, researchers and
that deprive them and the University
students the ability to order the servers, desktops and applications they
from:
need in their projects, and use it in just a few minutes.
- Having a real supportive environment
PROJECT IDEA/CONCEPT
for supporting and stimulating R&D
system in the university. We are completing the graduation project of students of the last year
- The integration of the theoretical and that was mainly about implementation of the university datacenter
experimental education in IT field. including servers and network components. This year we want to develop
the University data-center using the cloud computing/virtualization
A problem that will continue to show- technology and show innovative use cases for this technology in
up every year and still have no Academic and Research purposes for all University researchers, students
solution and stand against achieving and staff.
a great success.
3. Overview of system modules:
In our project we will give different
solutions to universities to stimulate
Innovation and Green IT concepts using
the Cloud Computing Technology and we
will propose a cloud infrastructure
prototype for them with different
solutions to fit the existing infrastructure
of the university through the possible
cloud and virtualization solutions using:
1- Hardware module: Design and
Implement a powerful Data-center of a
very strong physical networking
infrastructure with high levels of security
to ensure a safe connection to user’s Project Features:
private or public cloud to reach the
service/application he wants. Our project offers new features, services and applications for the
University data-centers as:
2- Software module: to implement the
cloud infrastructure of the university we
will use three different software solutions 1- We offered the virtual servers with variant specifications to facilitate
of virtualization: the practical implementation of the large Graduation Projects that
1. VMware vCloud Solution (vSphere 5 & require powerful servers. Also for research programs and university IT
vCloud Director). administrators (including web, database, mail, DC servers, etc…).
2. OpenStack Cloud Solution.
2- We offered the virtual/Thin applications to facilitate the academic
3- User Access module: Design and study in labs aiding students to work with the programs that need
develop a University Cloud portal or add high processing requirements over the university private cloud
the academic Cloud services to the environment.
vCloud Director portal through which
students or researchers can interact with 3- We offered Virtual Desktops for researchers, professors and university
the university cloud services and employees.
applications and log securely to their
academic information. 4- In addition, the cloud computing reduces universities’ IT complexity,
cost and some benefits of Cloud Computing can be listed:
· Reduced implementation and maintenance costs.
· Increased mobility for a global workforce, Flexible and scalable
infrastructures
· “Greening” of the data center.
4. The Inevitable Cloud Team
Thinking of our graduation project, we all
agreed that we have to work on a new Mohamed Moheb El-Shorbagy
promising technology related to our field and Mohamedelshorbagy73@gmail.com
then ‘’Cloud Computing’’ technology came to Cell Phone: +201016693561
the scene. We did our research and
discussions, and designed a prototype of Mohamed Mohamed Zein El-Dein
what we are going to do. We were totally mmzzain@gmail.com
convinced by the benefits of this technology Cell Phone: +201114477470
that has shown a constructive revolution in
Ahmed Mohamed Abo kamla
networking.
Ahmed.abokamla@gmail.com
Honestly, we started thinking of Cloud Cell Phone: +201002838833
Computing as it is used right now in the
business world but we were facing the Abdelrahim Ahmed Abo-Douh
problem of having no fund to purchase the
abdelrahim.ahmed@yahoo.com
Cell Phone: +201118013213
required servers and storage devices to
implement our design, so it seemed useless
Amgad Salah Boshra Amin
to just go the theoretical way without real Eng.amgad2@gmail.com
results or implementation of the idea which Cell Phone: +201285881925
wasn’t accepted from all of us and it was then
considered a disappointing ending. Ahmed Hassan Abdel-Haddy
ahmed_hasan316 @yahoo.com
By the time, we realized that it was not just Cell Phone: +201281382649
our problem and we have to find a solution to
this problem facing all students working in Ahmed Shawky Anour hewedy
the information technology field. Then a ahmedshawky.fee@gmail.com
simple reverse thinking was the answer to Cell Phone: +201017034884
our problem, why don’t the university offer
the products used in Business Cloud Emad Abdo Gaber Ahmed
Computing to its students? Giving them all
eng.emadabdo2012@gmail.com
Cell Phone: +201095263701
the advantages of Cloud Computing but for
the Academic sake that will help in the
Sadek Abdel-Naser Sadek
integration of the theoretical and
Sadekabdelnaser@gmail.com
experimental education and support the R&D
Cell Phone: +201007467821
systems in the university.
Haroun Ahmed Bakr
And here comes the new idea for our
eng_haroun2012@yahoo.com
project to give different solutions to Cell Phone: +201001225129
universities to stimulate Innovation and
Green IT concepts in the use of Cloud
Computing Technology.
5. “ I’m really honored to be the supervisor
for such a great project and to work with
those young promising engineers who
has introduced to me this new era of
Cloud Computing, It was my first time to
work with such brilliant team and see
that shine in their eyes and see how they
work smoothly like in a harmony to
achieve what they want“.
Prof. Dr. Nawal El-Fishawy
Project Supervisor and Head of Computer Engineering
Deptartment at Faculty of Electronic Engineering.
“ I’m very happy to be in such event that
What we achieved?
is to be held for the first time in Egypt, Thanks to our open-minded Head of the IT Department in our Faculty, We have now
specially to be in a governmental reached a very promising point in our project implementation after having the access to
university and we are honored to be part use our Faculty’s local network and Servers to implement and apply our solution
of it here with you” practically in our Faculty
Mostafa Hashem At this moment, We have transformed our Faculty's small classical datacenter into a
Unified Storage Technical Support Supervisor at EMC 2 virtualized environment using VMware Solution and offered:
1- Virtual servers for researchers and IT graduation projects. There are two graduation
projects now that are working on our virtual servers and used in Mail and Database
“ The exist of those young promising applications.
engineers like “The Inevitable Cloud
Team” who are looking forward to 2- Virtual servers for using it as web, share point, DC, DNS and DHCP servers for the
learning and applying new technologies is faculty datacenter itself.
just the start for Egypt to regain its 3- Virtual desktops including win7, XP for professors/employees and for our Faculty's
position in IT field specially during these
academic labs.
hard time for Egypt”
Sherine Bahader 4- Thin applications such as Matlab and Netbeans for using inside the academic labs and
Head of Open Source Software Department at iTi for research purposes.
The Inevitable Cloud Conference
“The Inevitable Cloud” Conference is the 1st Conference for Research Clouds in Egypt that
was organized by The Inevitable Cloud Team at the Faculty of Electronic Engineering,
Menoufia University – Menouf on 15-16 May 2012.
The Conference was the premier Cloud Computing event, covering latest trends and
innovation in the world of Cloud Computing, providing global directions and best practices
around the future of Cloud Computing with emphasis on Research Clouds’ rule in the
development of the Information Technology in Egypt.
The conference achieved a big success and was sponsored by a collection of
2
multinationals, nationals and research institutes including: EMC , Microsoft , Information
Technology Institute iTi, Egyptian cloud computing center EC3, Wyse, TE Data, Raya and
cloud11.