Thoughts on Windows 10 Cloud edition from an IT Academic Perspective
There has been news of a new version of Windows coming out called the “Windows 10 Cloud” edition. I work for an university IT department for a design college. This provides its own set of unique challenges since we have been interested in the new IT trends of cloud computer and application delivery. We are a Windows-shop, but we support Macs as well for faculty, staff, and students. We have been experimenting with Microsoft RemoteApp, Microsoft’s Windows Server Role for hosting applications on a powerful server and delivering them to students over the network. It’s a lot of cloak and dagger for a Remote Desktop session at the end of the day, but it does integrate nicely with Windows to the point the RemoteApps run like native apps to the point they have access to the student’s local storage, printer, multiple monitor, clipboard, etc. That, and they have the added benefit of running on a Mac and hopefully soon ChromeOS when Android support becomes mainstream. Where the real challenge is for us is delivering 3D applications such as Rhino, Google Earth, the Adobe suite, AutoDesk, and more. Those applications are incredibly GPU intensive and therefore require expensive and high-end server-grade graphics cards, namely the Nvidia Tesla series. We have been using VM Ware in production for a little while now, but are specifically looking into the Microsoft solution because of the licensing costs being cheaper, deeper integration into Windows, and Microsoft administrator tools that we appreciate having such as Group Policy and Active Directory integration. Watching my boss and colleagues work on the server this week has peaked my interested in the rumored Windows 10 Cloud edition. If we can get this application delivery system working with 3D applications it could lead to an interesting new chapter in higher education at my college.
It is no secret that ChromeOS runs better than Windows 10 does on older or cheaper hardware. The system requirements are much lower than Windows and the operating system is more or less stripped down to a secure web browser and a super basic file system with Google Drive hooks. That makes ChromeOS much faster than Windows, but also more secure because you do not have code executing locally on the laptop, thus reducing the possibility of the machine getting infected. Furthermore, if ChromeOS detects that its data has been compromised its first action is to factory wipe itself, download a new copy of ChromeOS from the web, and reinstall the operating system on the hardware in what I call the “Nuke from space” method of security. The system also stays up to date with an aggressive Chrome update program so security and bugs are swished at a rapid-rate, leading to greater system stability over time and a more secure computing experience. These laptops also tend to be cheaper than traditional Windows machines. You can get a very capable Chromebook for $250–350 and have a premium machine for $500–800 with a metal body, high-resolution screen, good trackpad, and solid keyboard. The same set-up with a Windows or Mac could be twice or three times the cost.
Windows 10 Cloud edition is rumored to be a very similar experience with just allowing applications to run that are from the Windows Store on top of the built-in stuff like Edge and the file system Windows Explorer. My school already provides the students Office365 so even on cheaper laptops with less local storage they could easily store their data on the 1TB OneDrive and since its Windows they would also be able to access our local file servers like any other remote share. The machines could be more secure since you could pretty reliably trust applications from the Windows Store unless something changes of course and maintenance would be easier since the machines would constantly be up to date. Students could also have access to cheaper machines. Students already do not have a lot of cash on hand so this would be a big deal to them to not have to worry about buying a $1200–2500 laptop and hope it lasts 5x years without falling apart, being dropped, having something spilled on it, crushed, hit, or any number of painful deaths that I see laptops go through on a yearly basis.
Where all of this comes full circle to RemoteApps is it would allow us as an IT department to deliver high-end applications to students and them essentially have thin-clients in the form of Windows 10 Cloud edition. Targeting Windows for our environment would be a big benefit to be able to use tools such as Active Directory, PowerPoint, Group Policy, Remote Desktop, etc since they are the tools we already use today with the traditional Windows 10 rich client and server. My college does require a professional fee and we could more wisely spend that money on a very powerful, cost-effective server that will last years and years. Furthermore, for the students having the same applications and experiences across classes would be a big benefit to both students and the professors teaching them. Everybody would have the same applications, the same version of those applications, and the same performance. With application delivery it levels the playing field for both students and teachers by putting them not the same page together. Of course Macs, current Windows PCs, and Macs will benefit from RemoteApp application delivery as well, but I just love the idea that students and teachers do not need ridiculous expensive computers to get their work done. A $250 Windows 10 Cloud book could render a project just as quickly as $2500 Dell XPS 15. For those who just want to use a computer as a work tool this would be a great scenario because we could hopefully get to the point that “it just works” for those who want it, while allowing those who want to go out and buy their own machines to run their own local applications themselves or be able to fall back on school resources in a pinch. Maybe I have my head in the clouds, but the idea of Windows 10 Cloud edition really excites me an IT guy.
