Happy Endings: Reengineering Wesleyan's Software Deployment to Labs and Classrooms

Recently Wesleyan's very successfully overhauled its classroom and lab software maintenance and update process. We moved from an incredibly painful, slow, and problem-prone imaging process that pushed out monolithic image files as large as 140+ GB to a new method using a mix of open-source and enterprise software that breaks applications out of the system image, allowing for greater control over where software is deployed and reducing the time needed for updates. The new method permits overnight alterations to classroom and lab software installations, provides significantly better user profile management (and far shorter login times), and has greatly improved faculty satisfaction with classrooms.

Outcomes: Understand the difference between image deployment and software deployment * Learn about the tools required to centrally manage computers in an effective way * Learn about considerations when planning out a change to labs and classrooms software management and distribution