AgdaPkt 2017-01-09 Closed and Joint

Browse Search

6.1.C. - Page 1 REPORT To the Honorable Mayor and City Council From the City Manager January 9, 2017 SUBJECT Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Asset Disposal RECOMMENDATION By motion, authorize disposal of 90 Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) terminals as surplus personal property, and authorize City Manager or designee to sell the items to the City of Mountain View for $100 per terminal BACKGROUND In March 2013, the City Council approved Citywide implementation of a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Included were 100 terminals, servers, and all the required licenses. VDI is an alternative to a traditional server / desktop computing environment. In VDI, the terminal acts only as a display portal while all the processing occurs on the server. In a traditional server / desktop environment, all the processing occurs on the desktop. The benefits of VDI include lower costs (terminals cost less than personal computers), centralized management of applications, and rapid deployment of end points. VDI was implemented at public computer terminals at the Main Library, with the intent to implement it Citywide upon successful Library deployment. After more than two years of unsuccessfully being able to stabilize the environment, including hiring a third party expert and involving the vendor of the solution, Information Technology (IT) staff concluded the solution did not generate the benefits anticipated. Ultimately, the VDI solution did not have the necessary reliability and compatibility with the department's mission -critical applications. As a result, the terminals were replaced by traditional personal computers. The servers included in the original purchase were re -provisioned for use in the City's virtual server environment, and maintenance and ongoing licensing costs were abandoned. Several companies specializing in purchasing used electronics declined to make an offer for the terminals, citing their lack of demand and uncertainty of being able to resell them. The City advertised the availability of the VDI's on the regional list serve utilized by local governmental Information Technology Managers. The City of Mountain View was the only agency which expressed interested in purchasing the VDI's. The cost for new and used terminals on EBay, Amazon, and other after -market sites ranges from $40 to $175, depending on the quality, age, and quantity of terminals being purchased.