HP today announced that it is helping the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Smart Learning Program raise the level of education in the UAE by connecting all schools across the region with an HP Converged Infrastructure solution.
The project, which was completed in less than three months, supports the Smart Learning Program started by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to empower future generations of Emiratis with 21st century educational skills and tools. The MBRSLP is transforming traditional education into interactive learning, using HP Converged Infrastructure to facilitate communication and enhance student performance.
As well as building a reliable, scalable new virtualised data center environment comprising HP servers, storage and networking, HP has connected 123 schools with a robust, highly available HP wireless network which enables 1,350 teachers and more than 12,000 students across the UAE to enjoy a more interactive learning environment.
“By nurturing a new class of entrepreneurs, we want to transform the UAE’s economy into a model where growth is driven by knowledge and innovation,” says Mr. Mohammed Gheyath, Director General, MBRSLP. “HP has helped us create a unique educational environment that facilitates communication. On one hand, it enables students, teachers and parents to interact, coordinate and work easily. On the other, it allows the Ministry of Education to supervise and monitor the program to ensure that it is delivering on its objective to enhance and develop education across the Emirates.”
As an end-to-end systems integrator for the MBRSLP, HP Technology Services ensured smooth, rapid implementation and integration with the existing e-learning management system. In addition, HP will provide hardware and software support as well as education services to optimise the Converged Infrastructure solution and help prevent system downtime.
Flexible financing and asset lifecycle management services provided by HP Financial Services will allow a phased rollout of the program while conserving capital and optimising cash flow.
“Education is a top priority in the UAE,” says Eyad Shihabi, managing director, HP Middle East. “HP’s experience in the sector, along with proven products based on open standards for easy integration, will provide the MBRSLP with a scalable, cost-effective solution to meet its objectives. HP is very pleased to be an enabler of education in the UAE.”
As part of the HP Converged Infrastructure, high capacity HP ProLiant DL360p Gen 8 rack-mounted servers in the main and regional data centers optimise performance per watt and per square foot while maximising power efficiency. HP ProLiant BladeSystem c7000 enclosures with energy-efficient HP ProLiant BL460c Gen8 server blades and resilient HP BL660c Gen8 server blades deliver maximum application performance. In addition, HP ProLiant DL560 Gen8 servers, each with four high-density Intel Xeon E5-4600 processors, save data center space.
Self-configuring, self-provisioning, self-optimizing HP 3PAR StoreServ 7000 Storage systems maintain service levels and data integrity by delivering the highest levels of resiliency, reliability and performance. At the same time as increasing storage efficiency, HP storage minimises future hardware investments and lowers data center power and cooling costs. Data is securely archived on HP StoreEver MSL4048 LTO-6 Tape Libraries.
At the heart of the main data center network core, powerful multi-service HP 12508 switches provide rapid failover for full disaster recovery as well as 100GB capability to manage future growth, while HP 10504 switches deliver 99.999 percent uptime. Highly available 10 Gb Ethernet HP 5820AF switches deliver the bandwidth necessary for secure, high-speed communications, and 50 intelligent HP 5120 switches provide wire-speed connectivity to users and client devices.
For maximum efficiency, the entire local area network is centrally managed with HP Intelligent Management Center (IMC) software which allows the IT team to see the whole wired and wireless LAN, manage it from a single console, and deliver maximum availability.
In each school, energy-efficient HP 5500 Switch Series with the latest traffic prioritisation technologies ensure secure, resilient connectivity for tablets and notebooks, while HP MSM760 Premium Mobility Controller with HP MSM460 dual radio 802.11n wireless access points make mobile device connectivity easy.
