Bare Metal (PC Farm)
While the majority of DaDesktop operations utilize virtual desktops, certain tasks require the power of physical hardware. With the bare metal solution, every participant is assigned a dedicated physical desktop or server, all seamlessly orchestrated through the DaDesktop platform.
Exclusive Physical Access
Rather than sharing a virtual environment, each participant is provided with their own dedicated physical machine.
Remote Classroom Management
Link your existing physical classroom infrastructure to DaDesktop, enabling full management of the machines without the need for on-site presence.
When Bare Metal is Essential
- Deploying software that is incompatible with virtualization, such as ONAP and OpenStack.
- Utilizing hardware that cannot be effectively virtualized, including specific GPUs, Mellanox cards, and other specialized network equipment.
- Delivering courses where interacting with firmware or physical hardware is a core component of the curriculum.
- Overseeing physical classroom environments that require remote administrative control.
Operational Mechanics
Every physical machine links to a DaDesktop node via a control cable known as ddnexus. When provisioning a standalone or fresh-start desktop, simply select the "Metal PC" option. The system will then deploy the desktop configuration directly onto the physical hardware.
PC Farm Architecture
Existing office desktops can be integrated to function as bare metal nodes. In this ecosystem, each physical desktop is referred to as a potato. The server responsible for managing these units is called a pumpkin (also known as a DaDesktop node or ddnode). The USB cable that connects each potato to the pumpkin is termed a potato stalk.
These potato stalk cables are widely available through marketplaces like eBay and Alibaba.
Start Your Free Trial Today
Run seamless virtual IT training with cloud-based labs, no downtime, just scalable learning that works.