THE ANATOMY OF A SOLAR COMMUNITY HUB
10,000 hours of student education per year
Infrastructure is connected to the internet
Powered by the sun with solar panels
Repurposed shipping containers
STEM , IT , certification center , entrepreneurship , robotics , fab lab , life skills and health
Labs are often externally decorated by the community
Open area can accommodate up to 20 Dell laptops suitable for outdoor use with a charging station inside the container
10 learning stations
• Dell Wyse desktops
• PowerEdge server
• Dell networking switch
• Dell projector
• VMware Horizon
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DIAGRAM BY RANDALL MARTIN just very rural — it may take six hours of driving on a dirt road to get there ,” he says . The original concept entailed converting a single shipping container into a ready-made computing center that could be dropped into place . The solar panels ensure that the computers have power , even if the community is far from a traditional electrical grid .
Converting the shipping containers and adding solar was relatively simple , Malherbe , client solutions technologist at Dell Technologies , says . But figuring out how to get enough power for computers , operating systems and applications , along with reliable internet , was more challenging . That ’ s how Malherbe became involved . He has expertise in thin clients , which are computers and applications that run off a centralized server instead of a local hard drive .
“ When we first started , the technology wasn ’ t as flexible and usable as it is today ,” Malherbe says . The computers couldn ’ t handle any mediarich content because download speeds were so slow . Back then , the communities mostly used the labs to learn how to use computers and operate standard applications .
As the technology has evolved , so has the project . Dell and its partners have shifted their strategy from building labs to creating the larger SCHs , which are double the size . The sides and windows open to create an environment similar to an internet café , complete with accessible Wi-Fi . “ So you can work in the hub or take a rugged netbook or mobile device and go sit under a nearby tree ,” Malherbe says . Each SCH is equipped with Dell computers and networking gear designed to run on a thin-client network with minimal power needs . These products were selected for durability , long life and energy efficiency .