Educational resource management and optimization using virtualization technologies

Virtualization is around since many years in IT but in the last years it became one of the hottest topics in the field. In this paper we present our work in introducing virtualization technologies in the educational process in order to reduce costs required by hardware and software upgrades imposed by rapid evolution of technology. The courses most affected by this evolution are those that use equipment and devices that are configured, controlled and monitored by computers or which are working in very close relation with computers. We present the results of a pilot project for introducing virtualization in the laboratory works of three courses and we and show the problems that aroused. The implementation of the pilot project resulted on one side in the delaying by years the moment of hardware and software upgrading and on the other side the possibility to use newest software on computers running old operating systems.