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A Virtual lab implementation: Making available to remote web-users business

applications not supporting Web UI (User Interface)

Aristomenis Macris (e-mail:arism@unipi.gr), University of Piraeus, Greece

Essays in honour of professor C. Dervitsiotis, University of Piraeus, 2010

Abstract

One of the main difficulties when developing e-Learning courses that involve

laboratory sessions over the web is how to make accessible to remote users the

software utilized in the labs, especially if this software does not support Web UI

(User Interface). The Virtual lab implementation allows for server based

installation of all available lab software (windows and character UIs) without

affecting the lab clients which behave as terminals of the server. The prototype,

built and tested in both undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the Business

Administration Department of the University of Piraeus, allows for a flexible

distribution of the lab software amongst two layers of servers (3-Tier

architecture). Before the actual implementation, various implementation factors

and similar implementations worldwide were considered. The virtual lab concept

can be further expanded with the proposed Inter-University virtual lab model.

The model can also be used by any organization seeking to minimize costs and

enhance control over remote clients as it has many advantages when compared to

the distributed model.

Introduction

The Business Administration Department of the University of Piraeus will soon begin

the implementation of a project under the program “Education and primary professional

training II” of the Hellenic Ministry of Education in the category of acts “Reformation of the

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Undergraduate Curriculum”. The scope of the project is the formation of an e-business

concentration of courses and the update of the program of study of the Department, by

utilizing contemporary training techniques and Information and Communication

Technologies (ICT).

One of the main objectives of the project is the design and development of business

computer laboratories that will enhance the skilfulness of the students, in order to further

support their personnal, social and professional evolution in the knowledge-based globalized

economy.

Those laboratories should be designed in a way that will make them available to (a)

local laboratory users (physically located in the laboratory area), (b) remote Intranet users

(located anywhere in the University Intranet), (c) remote Internet users and (d) remote lab

users (remote labs located in another University or Training Center). This way synchronous

lab sessions designed for local University lab students can be available for any e-Learning

and Lifelong Learning setup, either in a formal lab session (local or remote), with the

presence of an instructor, or in an informal setup where the student or the citizen

(participating in a Lifelong Learning course) can perform lab sessions from anywhere and at

anytime.

The successful implementation of such a full scale remotely accessed lab involves at

least three significant parameters (a) the design and physical implementation of a client/server

model that will allow remote access to all available laboratory software, (b) the preparation of

supporting material in the form of step-by-step instructions that will help the students perform

lab sessions with minimum instructor intervension and (c) design the supporting mechanism

that will help local and remote users overcome run time problems.

The scope of this paper is mainly the design and physical implementation of a

client/server model that will allow remote access to all available business laboratory software.

This virtual lab prototype should be first fully tested in real-life lab courses by local

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laboratory users (physically located in the laboratory area) and if successful test it also with

remote Intranet and Internet users.

The scope of the virtual lab prototype was to solve real educational and training needs.

Therefore before the actual implementation various factors were considered such as:

a) Implementation factors about a state-of-the-art computer laboratory

b) Existing virtual lab implementations at various universities worldwide

These factors were considered during the design and the actual implementation of (i)

the virtual laboratory, (ii) the business case studies and (iii) the proposals for further

development of the model.

1. Implementation factors for a state-of-the-art computer laboratory (ICF, 2000)

The International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) has been requested by

UNESCO to carry out a project under the title ‘Modular training programme’ in order to

assist educational stakeholders (Ministries of Education and educational managers), involved

in the design and implementation of informatics programmes, formulate their policy and

design systematically and effectively informatics programmes, if needed from scratch.

Some of the findings of that project have immediate impact in the design and

implementation of the virtual laboratory. Especially the critical factors that follow, which

have significant impact in the actual implementation of informatics courses and laboratories:

Background and potential of the faculty

Available infrastructure and

Access to learning materials.

1.1. Faculty

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Informatics is a new discipline. It is therefore in general difficult to find enough

qualified faculty to run informatics educational programs in higher education. One possibility

to reduce these faculty problems may be found in collaborative or transfer options with other

institutes where such informatics expertise is available. Another possibility may be found in

collaboration with business and industry. If the level of informatics penetration in the region

is low, national or international cooperation with sister institutions might help to reduce

faculty problems. In most cases a faculty staff development program will be necessary.

Staff development can be undertaken while curriculum implementation is under way. It

is not advisable to go for an immediate full-scale implementation of the most advanced

educational program.

1.2. Infrastructure

Informatics is a practical discipline and informatics education therefore has a

substantial practical component. This poses infrastructural problems: hardware and software

of the right quality and in the right quantity have to be available for educational purposes. The

hardware and software facilities need organizational and maintenance support of non-trivial

nature. In most cases a support center with capable staff will have to be established. In other

cases support may be arranged through local businesses.

Even in circumstances where the infrastructure is not very advanced much can be done.

Implementation must be undertaken step-by-step, thereby gradually providing more required

instrumental skills.

1.3. Learning materials

In the last decade informatics has matured as a discipline. As a result many learning

materials are now available in many languages. The Internet and the World Wide Web have

much to offer in terms of freeware and shareware resources. If Internet connectivity is

available at institutional level a possibility to reduce problems with obtaining suitable

learning materials and resources may be found in collaboration with other institutes where

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these are available. Other possibilities again could originate from collaboration with business

and industry or from an international co-operation with sister institutions. Also governmental

or non-governmental agencies for the support of developing countries may be able to help in

getting the required learning materials.

2. Virtual lab implementations worldwide

Before the actual design of the virtual lab, various similar implementations worldwide

were considered in order to learn from their experiences. A short list of characteristic virtual

lab implementations is given bellow:

2.1. Netcentricity Lab1.

Robert H. Smith School of Business of the University of Maryland created a

netcentricity laboratory to develop integrated business practices for the networked economy.

Redwood Shores, California-based Oracle supplies Enterprise Resource Planning-based

(ERP) software and Sun Microsystems an advanced, electronic commerce supply chain lab.

Plano, a Texas-based Electronic Data Systems, supplied technical and specialized

support in configuring the laboratory.

2.2. Useractive online instructional technology and virtual lab environment2 .

Is used by DeVry Institute and The University of Illinois Office of Continuing

education for online IT training. Useractive delivers a web-based approach to learning that

combines online instruction with a virtual lab environment where users learn by doing. This

approach combines the accessibility and convenience of online learning with the effectiveness

of hands-on lab tools and personal coaching. Selected courses are eligible for Continuing

Education Units and Certificates from the University of Illinois.

1 http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/netcentricity/ 2 http://www.devry.edu/online/

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2.3. Miami International Virtual Lab Oxford Ohio, USA - Differdenge, Luxembourg3.

MUDEC is Miami’s sister campus in Luxembourg. In order to allow students who have

an interest in engineering as well as studying abroad, a new International Virtual (IV) Lab is

being developed to enable Miami students, especially engineering students, spend one or

more semesters at MUDEC. There they will be able to conduct research, design projects and

lab exercises in a realistic environment that mimics opportunities found in the business and

manufacturing world.

2.4. Michigan Business School Virtual Lab4.

A “Virtual Lab” of forty-eight simultaneous connections allows lab software to run on

personal laptops and home computers by remote access over the Internet. Course software

necessary to complete homework assignments that professors have requested is installed on

lab and classroom computers, which are available from any computer over the Internet using

the virtual lab. This eliminates the need to be on an actual Business School computer to

complete necessary assignments with specific software.

2.5. The Virtual Business Training Center (VBTC) (Hoyt and Stockman, 1999)

The VBTC is an integrated business resource center that provides business users with

access to online training, market research, project management, and other project based

resources. The VBTC also functions as a business lab and virtual internship for Ohio

University students. This business lab is completed entirely online using an interactive Web-

based platform, desktop video conferencing, and compressed video. Synchronous and

asynchronous work activities include online interviews, chat function brainstorming, real time

desktop video conferencing spreadsheet work, and interactive Web-based posting of video

clip presentations of data or analysis.

3 http://www.units.muohio.edu/luxembourg/ 4 http://www.bus.umich.edu/Technology/

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2.6. Stanford Virtual Labs Project (Huang, 2003)

Technology has created a new dimension for visual teaching and learning with web-

delivered interactive media. The Virtual Labs Project has embraced this technology with

instructional design and evaluation methodologies behind the simPHYSIO suite of

simulation-based, online interactive teaching modules in physiology for the Stanford students.

In addition, simPHYSIO provides the convenience of anytime web-access and a modular

structure that allows for personalization and customization of the learning material.

2.7. Dresden University of Technology (Zimmererl et al., 2003)

The enormous potential of the Internet has stimulated the development of new forms of

knowledge communication. Special attention was paid to the creation of multimedia teaching

material for lab exercises dealing with the most important instrumental methods in Analytical

Chemistry. Testing students’ knowledge with dynamic documents is a procedure providing

great advantages for both students and teachers. The interpretation of measurements by

teleconferencing via the Internet provides access to sophisticated research experience. The

development of virtual instruments, e.g. a virtual IR spectrometer or gas chromatograph,

proved to make lab exercises less prone to accidents. Moreover, it provides animations of

processes that may hardly be described in words.

3. Findings from critical implementation factors and virtual lab implementations

3.1. System architecture

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One basic finding that comes from most sources examined so far is the need for an

open system that will be open both to the University environment and to the outside world.

The system should be open to students for local in-campus training but also wherever

there is access to the Internet, in a Distance Learning set-up. It should also be available to

citizens in order to help them satisfy their Lifelong learning needs, through formal and

informal education and training settings (SEUSSIS, 2003).

The main design idea of the system should be that of a virtual laboratory that uses the

Web as the communication structure and have a flexible 3-tier architecture (Kam et al., 2002).

3.2. Implementation considerations

A business studies computer laboratory does not usually involve one single computer

application and ICT technology. For example an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) lab

should involve (i) Business Applications (both Value-Chain and Supporting applications) to

help the students understand the various business functions, interrelationships and data flows

amongst them, (ii) Workflow Applications to help them understand how the Organizational

Structure integrates with Business Contents (documents, databases, files etc.) and Business

Rules, (iii) Business Intelligence Applications to help them understand how day-to-day

processes and data are transformed into information that helps information workers in their

decision making process etc. A KM (Knowledge Management) lab on the other hand involves

tens of different groups of applications and technologies (Carvalho, 2001). Therefore each

cluster of applications consists of many different applications and technologies, each of which

might demand for a long period of faculty’s and technicians’ on the field training, in order to

be able to design and support business scenarios that will give to the students the overall

picture per technology and help them understand its philosophy, so that they will be able to

solve real-life business problems using it. The integration of so many technologies can be a

very demanding multi-year project in terms of faculty resources.

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This calls for an efficient allocation of resources (infrastructure, faculty and technical

personnel) and a support group of specialists per university, plus a feasible long-term

implementation plan that will allow for a step-by-step realization.

The needs for infrastructure and personnel resources, the design and implementation of

an integrated environment to support education and training on various clusters of

applications and technologies, can result into a very demanding project that must also involve

the industry (software companies specializing in specific market sectors). The demands of a

project of this size can be prohibitive for smaller institutions, especially when the budget is

limited.

When designing the environment, two costs should be considered for infrastructure,

personnel and third parties:

Implementation costs and

Support – running costs.

4. The prototype

4.1. The client/server model in the laboratories

Every online software program manipulates application and user data, based on its logic

and uses a computer-user interface (presentation) to help the user communicate with the

software (Figure 1). The presentation is always on the client (at the user’s side). The data and

application logic can be either on the client, on the server, or distributed between the client

and the server. This distribution of data and logic is the underlying idea of the client/server

model.

Figure 1. Application Software Components

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When both data and logic reside on the server (Figure 2), then the client is either a

terminal, or a thin client (when running the browser in a GUI – Graphical User Interface,

which involves some local processing on the client side). In a thin client mode of operation,

logic is distributed between the client and the server. In a fat client mode of operation, logic

resides on the client and data is either on the server side or distributed between the client and

the server. Finally in a standalone mode both data and logic reside on the client (Macris,

2001).

Figure 2. Client/Server modes of Software distribution

University of Piraeus and most Greek Universities’ business laboratories use the

standalone model when running local applications (e.g. office applications, or statistical

applications) and the thin client model when connected to the Internet.

This policy results in the need for (a) continuous upgrade of the lab computers in order

to be able to run more demanding (in terms of computer resources) software and (b)

installation of operating systems and all local programs per client (this need can be

overcomed by using existing software for automatic installation).

The disadvantages of this approach are:

a) Increased cost of upgrade for computer hardware and operating and application

software

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b) Increased cost of support due to software installation and re-installation (if there

is a problem with a client)

c) Unstable environment for the trainer as the state of each client is not known

before the lab session, when many lab sessions using a variety of software take

place during the week (is the software installed? are the specific examples needed

for the session installed? etc.)

d) The trainer cannot test the lab environment from a different location (e.g. his/her

office or home through the Internet) but only by being physically in front of each

lab computer in the lab

e) The student cannot use the labs outside the lab session (especially when the

demand for labs exceeds the availability, which is the case at the University of

Piraeus) and he/she cannot repeat the lab in another computer (at home or in a

different location), especially if the software is difficult to find. Even if the

software is easy to find (e.g. office applications), the University should provide

equal possibilities of access to all students (including those who do not own a

computer) (SEUSSIS, 2003).

And of course the biggest disadvantage of all is that this setup can only be used for

local formal training, thus excluding remote access of the lab setup from students and citizens

in the Lifelong Learning process (EU, 2003).

4.2. The first version of the prototype in an ERP application - 2-Tier architecture

ERP sytems and most KM tools are server based and this is the underlying theory

behind them, which is to share information amongst many users (Callaway, 1999). Some ERP

systems can be accessed through an Internet browser, some need a fat client mode of

operation (all application programs should be installed and updated on the client).

Before being able to use an ERP system for day-to-day operation, a lot of company

specific data (parameters) should be entered. Many ERP systems that can be accessed through

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a browser for day-to-day operation, also need a fat client (windows client) for the

parameterisation process.

As a conclusion the infrastructure needed for an ERP lab and most Client/Server based

applications labs is:

a) A powerful database server

b) LAN (Local Area Network) connecting the server and the clients and

c) Powerful clients.

This set-up is difficult to implement when there are hundreds of students (or citizens)

wishing to access the applications, each of which being located in a different place and with

varying local computer (client) resources. Additionally the software set-up process, if there

are many applications to be installed, can be very demanding and error prone.

One additional problem was that the specific ERP application chosen (from a local

software house) needed local client resources (mainly in terms of local memory), which were

unavailable.

The solution chosen was to shift from the fat client model to the thin client model

(presentation only on the client side). The server-side software used in order to be able to

realize the thin client model is Microsoft Windows Terminal Server (there is also third party

software available for this purpose). The installation on each client (client access) is minimal

(can be done over the LAN). All the software runs on the server and the client is only used as

a terminal to the server. Therefore the server acts as a database and application server (ERP

application) and as a terminal server (serving the remote clients) in a 2-Tier architecture

(Figure 3) (Macris, 2001).

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Figure 3. 2-Tier laboratory Architecture

This model can be used for any windows or even DOS UI application, which when

installed on the server, can be readily accessed and run by any remote client that has

permission to access the server, either through the local LAN or through the Internet.

This way the local laboratory on top of all software installed locally can also run

remotely all the software installed on the server, as though each client in the laboratory has

installed locally all the software installed on the server (augmented lab). The same applies to

any computer accessing the server through the local LAN or the Internet (virtual lab).

4.3. The second version of the virtual lab prototype - 3-Tier architecture

After the successful implementation and testing on two undergraduate (ERP based)

courses of the virtual lab concept, new applications were introduced for student training. The

choice of applications was based on a research conducted by IDC, in partnership with KM

World magazine amongst companies involved in KM initiatives that give insight in their

interest in using various technologies and services to support this initiative, indicating future

trends within the KM buying segment (IDC, 2002). One tool was chosen from those in the

mature technologies region, namely BI (as BI – Business Intelligence technology is

complementary to ERP, since it mainly uses ERP data) and one from the emerging

technologies region, namely DM (Document Management) since EDCM (Electronic

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Document and Content Management) exhibits the highest external spending amongst KM

technologies in the industry.

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Figure 4. 3-Tier laboratory Architecture

The installation of the BI tool took place on the existing server, using the same 2-Tier

architecture. The DM tool was installed on a new server, in order to avoid overloading the

existing server. All client components of the DM tool were installed on the existing server.

Both BI and DM tools installed, support a Web UI for accessing already processed data

(end-user access), but all administration (add new documents, create an interface to ERP data,

create a new OLAP database, etc.) takes place in a windows UI environment and therefore the

terminal server model is needed. Otherwise all client components should be installed on each

client wishing to access either the DM or the BI server, which is limiting if the application

must be accessed remotely by a large number of clients.

On top of that, students should not only be involved in the training process as end-

users, because this would give them a limited understanding of the capabilities of each tool.

Instead their involvement in the administration process is necessary in order to satisfy the

requirement for an overall understanding of all processes needed to complete a task using the

tools (SEUSSIS, 2003). By going deeper in the underlying philosophy of each tool the student

understands better the capabilities of the tool and is therefore more competent to use it in

order to solve a specific business problem, since learning is not a process of merely

transmitting information from someone who knows to someone who does not. Instead

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learning is an active process that happens through direct experience, by being engaged in

authentic tasks (Soloway, 1996).

The new set-up was implemented and tested successfully in one undergraduate and one

postgraduate courses. Student access was mainly through the local lab clients. The remote

access model (over the Internet/Intranet) was successfully tested (both using the local LAN

and the web), but not fully integrated in the training process because a different support set-up

is needed (both in supporting material and run-time support) when a student is called to

perform a lab session without the physical presence of the trainer to assist him/her overcome

the run-time problems.

5. Discussion and further development of the model

The main finding from the Findings section above is the need for a very flexible mode

of end-users’ remote access both in the e-Learning and the Life Long Learning educational

environments. When this need is further focused on business laboratory sessions, the main

obstacle is the nature of business software itself, which can operate in any of the three

presentation modes (a) Character (DOS), (b) GUI (Graphical User Interface - Windows) and

(c) Web UI (browser). With the exception of the Web UI which only needs a thin client

implementation on the client side, all other presentation modes can only operate in the

standalone or the fat client mode (only true client/server software can operate in the fat client

mode). Both the standalone and the fat client modes demand from each client for (a) powerful

hardware and specific software resources (Operating System and Utilities) and (b) local

installation on every remote client of all software needed per laboratory session.

The thin client mode implemented using the Terminal Server approach shifts the

problem from the remote client to the server and when all lab software is fully installed and

running on local (University) servers, the software is made automatically available to all

remote clients having the permission to access each server.

The advantages of this Terminal Server model are:

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a) The requirements from the clients (in term of hardware resources and local

software) are minimal, the version of the operating system can be old and the

only software needed is (a) browser for accessing web servers and (b) client

access for accessing terminal servers

b) The applications installed on the server can be accessed by any client (if it has the

permission), no matter where it is located (local labs, in the local LAN, offices,

home, other Universities, third parties) as long as there is access to the Internet

c) The training environment is stable and controllable, since it is located on a single

server and therefore upgrades or re-installations require minimum support

resources.

The disadvantage can be that, if there is a problem with the server then the entire virtual

lab disappears. In order to minimize the possibility of a failure, battery backup is used to

avoid power failures and server hard disks are mirrored dynamically to avoid hard disk

failures. The possibility of a computer failure (other than hard disk) can be overcomed by

having backup servers.

This set-up minimizes the cost of initial implementation (in terms of infrastructure)

since the only addition to the existing infrastructure is one server, server operating system and

client access software (depends on the number of physically connected clients).

The prototype can be further expanded in three directions:

a) Using the business cases implemented with the three environments (ERP, BI and

DM) and the virtual lab set-up on a distance learning synchronous lab set-up.

This involves two main tasks (a) improve the handouts in order to minimize the

need for trainer intervention and (b) provide the means to assist the trainers

overcome run-time problems

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b) Expand the size and the uses of the concept in order to be able (a) to support a

bigger number of concurrent trainees and (b) to introduce other lab courses in

other disciplines that can take advantage of the virtual lab set-up.

c) Introduce new business cases using the existing (installed) and new applications

and ICTs in order to achieve the requirement for integration of many software

and hardware technologies (SEUSSIS, 2003) and help the students understand

how each technology can be used to solve specific business problems.

5.1. The Inter-University virtual lab model

There is a lot of duplication of effort taking place in the education and training

marketplace. The educational system can afford this duplication when there is adequate

supply of educators, but it cannot afford it when there is a shortage of specialists, which is the

case when implementing training courses using specialised software tools.

To prepare a business case for students is different than preparing a business case for

professionals. Both students and professionals do not know how to use a specific software

tool. But a professional is usually aware of the business environment (domain knowledge)

and he/she lacks the specific knowledge of how to apply a technology in order to solve a

known business problem, whereas a student doesn’t clearly understand the business

environment. On top of that a group of students present strong differentiations amongst them

and heterogeneity in their characteristics (Soloway et al., 1994).

Therefore a case study designed by a software tool vendor in order to train

professionals in the use of a specific tool, might be inappropriate when used to educate and

train university students. For that reason new business cases should be developed to educate

and train students. The same business cases can be used in the Lifelong Learning process to

educate and train citizens, because if the trainee is aware of the business environment and all

he/she lacks is training in the use of a technology, then this trainee does not need Lifelong

Learning but technical training instead.

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Figure 5. Inter-University Virtual Lab model

Those business cases can be collected and installed in remote Case Servers where they

can be accessed by many educational institutions and departments using the virtual lab

concept (Figure 5). This configuration might also involve the software industry who have

been willing (at least in the local market) to help the Universities include their tools in the

University curriculum.

Except for the advantages because of the distribution of effort, the Inter-University

model of virtual labs presents (on top of the other advantages of the virtual lab approach)

significant economies of scale both in the implementation (initial costs) and the support

(support - running costs) of hardware (servers), software (licenses - support) and personnel

involved.

Conclusions

The virtual lab concept, for business software tools not supporting Web UI, using either

2-Tier or 3-Tier architectures can be used efficiently and effectively in order to host server

based software tools in the process of training both in a Practical (a computer laboratory

where students work individually and in small teams) and in a Real-life (where students solve

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real-life or nearly real-life problems in the computer laboratory) learning approaches (ICF,

2000) or a combination of the two.

The trainee access can be from anywhere there is a computer and a communication link

to the Internet or to the same LAN with the virtual lab, therefore allowing for physical or

virtual lab sessions both in formal and informal lab set-ups (as long as there is the appropriate

supporting material and run-time support). The same set-up can be used both for educating

and training students and citizens in the Lifelong Learning process.

The Inter-University model can extend the virtual lab concept and accommodate

clusters of similar courses using the same case studies. This model can be implemented by

bringing together many universities, departments and the local software tools vendors.

This shift from the fat client to the thin client mode of client/server architecture, on top

of the flexible design of the virtual lab sessions (IOAAA - Install Once, Access from

Anywhere, at Anytime), also has many significant advantages such as the low initial and

support cost, since the set-up only demands for server-side purchases and installation, leaving

all clients unaffected (in terms of both hardware and software requirements).

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List of Abbreviations

BI Business Intelligence

CS Computer Science

DM Document Management

DOS Disk Operating System

EDCM Electronic Document and Content Management

ERP Enterprise Resource Planning

GUI Graphical User Interface

ICT Information and Communication Technology

KM Knowledge Management

LAN Local Area Network

OLAP On Line Analytical Processing

RAM Random Access Memory

UI User Interface

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