The University Of Haifa Has Chosen Parallels RAS

“Accessing published applications from anywhere with only a small, easy-to-install client is great. Parallels RAS is priceless!” Sorin Solomon Head, Network & Operations Team

The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library at the University of Haifa uses Parallels Remote Application Server to efficiently publish 50-odd local applications and provide remote access to its staff, faculty and students at a cost-effective price.

The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library – University of Haifa – Overview

The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library, one of the largest academic libraries in Israel, is the central academic library at the University of Haifa, serving the teaching and research needs of all faculties and programs. Spanning an area of 16,000 square meters and with 2.5 million print and electronic items (as of 2013), along with a team of professionals that is augmented by innovative technology, the library provides a wealth of information to its students, staff and faculty. While anyone from 16 years of age can use the resources in-house, students, staff and faculty can access resources remotely, from anywhere at any time.

The Challenge

The library hosts 50+ local applications and was looking into the possibility of publishing them remotely so that the staff, faculty and students can access them from anywhere at any time. With over 2.5 million items available for members, the library needed a powerful and efficient remote application server that could be installed easily, at a cost-effective price. Application publishing and reporting were the two important features that were required. Moreover, the library had several old databases that could not be easily integrated into the existing system.

The Solution

Parallels RAS effectively answered this challenge. The library installed Parallels RAS to publish 50+ local applications, mostly local electronic databases and tutorials. At any time, around 100 concurrent users were using the apps. Hyper-V was used as the virtualization platform.

Parallels RAS was easy to install and configure. It was reliable, efficient and cost-effective. It effectively removed the headache of handling older databases.

Initially, the library used an older version of the Parallels RAS software. It was a good solution for their problem. When they needed to boost performance, the obvious solution was to upgrade the software to the newest version, especially considering its new, additional features.

By using Parallels RAS, the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library was able to remotely publish applications and resources to its members. No assistance at all was required from the Parallels support team, with just one exception – to get some guidance on the upgrade process. The replies were prompt and professional. Parallels RAS did a great job in dealing with legacy databases.

Key Benefits

The library benefited immediately from Parallels RAS’ ease of deployment. Locally published applications were securely and remotely accessible to users with a small and easy-to-use client. Moreover, the software did not run into any issues when working with old databases. All the issues previously encountered with newer clients (especially Windows 7) and support for newer printers, disappeared. Apologetic letters to patrons were no longer needed. Last but not least, significant cost savings were achieved.

About the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library

The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Library is one of the largest academic libraries in Israel. Part of the University of Haifa, this library spans an area of 16,000 square meters and showcases 2.5 million items: books, journals, cartographic materials, bibliographic databases, films, audios. All the material is subject to viewing permissions designated by copyright owners. With motivated professionals and advanced technology and information systems, the library is committed to imparting high quality education to its members. For more information, visit http://lib.haifa.ac.il/.