- Name: Airbus Defense and Space, S. A. U.
- Sector: Aerospace industry
- Number of employees: More than 5,000 employees in Spain
- Location: Getafe (Madrid), Illescas (Madrid), Seville, Cádiz (Spain)
The engineering challenge at Airbus
Airbus Defense and Space, one of the leading European companies in the aerospace industry, was facing a significant challenge in its Engineering areas. Despite having corporate IT equipment, they were sized primarily for administrative tasks, which was insufficient for engineers working on more complex projects, such as numerical analysis, embedded software, mission systems or training aids. The chosen solution had to ensure compliance with the rigorous security standards of airworthiness certification, which includes regulations from NATO, the European Defense Agency, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
The innovative solution: UDS Corporate
To address this problem, Airbus chose to avoid the traditional approach of installing Engineering software on the physical computers assigned to each user. They decided to build a flexible, agile and low-cost platform, implementing a Linux and Windows desktop virtualization solution using the DaaS (desktops as a service) model with UDS Corporate from Virtual Cable. The choice was based on the need to provide engineers with an isolated and safe work environment, adapted to the specific characteristics and requirements of each program or project, without modifying the configuration of their corporate teams.
As José Bernardo Alós explains, Computing & Comm. Responsible Development / Exp. Data Management at Airbus, “UDS Corporate gives us greater flexibility and demonstrable efficiency at work, as well as a significant cost reduction and an improvement in terms of sustainability.”
Implementation and impact of UDS Corporate at Airbus
With the help of Virtual Cable Platinum Partner Fujitsu, they designed a hyperconverged VDI infrastructure using HPE Proliant servers running Proxmox VE. “This combination provides us with a very easy-to-use graphical interface and does not require separate client software to manage the DaaS infrastructure, which represents a significant cost reduction. In addition, it allows remote desktops to be adapted to the specific needs of each program without making changes to corporate processes. Each engineer can choose the remote desktop that suits their needs,” says José Bernardo Alós.
While providing them with a personalized work environment, Virtual Cable’s solution provides an essential HTTP/S security layer to ensure data protection and compliance with national and international regulations. “The fundamental difference of our industry with respect to others lies in a strongly program-oriented work approach, since we are dedicated to the Defense sector, which implies that each program must behave in isolation from the others, due to the restrictions imposed by its security classification, export control regulations, which means that each program has its own set of methodologies, processes and tools, even though they are participated by the same Engineering personnel.”
Results and benefits achieved
José Bernardo Alós highlights that the UDS Corporate implementation project has also helped them solve the challenge of being able to continue working with legacy products, developed in the 80s. All these advantages have been very well received by engineers, especially in critical areas. such as simulation, mission systems and high computing.
In summary, the implementation of UDS Corporate has brought multiple benefits for Airbus Defense and Space:
- Flexibility and optimized performance for engineers: Each employee can access a customized remote desktop that meets the requirements of their program or project, without needing to alter existing software on their corporate computer.
- Automation and cost reduction for IT: The solution has eliminated the need for specific physical equipment for each program, resulting in significant savings in hardware and energy. In addition, it automates important processes thanks to integrated version control: it is possible to republish a VDI service and all users have that new version distributed massively and automatically in a matter of seconds.
- Energy efficiency and improved organizational sustainability: The elimination of duplication of physical equipment assigned to each engineer has improved energy efficiency and contributed to sustainability.
The future of Airbus with UDS Corporate
Airbus has ambitious plans for the future, intending to expand the UDS Corporate solution as new physical resources and users are added. The compatibility of this VDI solution with any third-party technology has encouraged them to evaluate working with vGPU and the option of using 100% open source high-performance display protocols to virtualize workstations for graphic design.
This roadmap highlights the company’s confidence in the effectiveness of this solution, as well as its satisfaction with the support service. “One of the points that we value most is the quality of the Technical Assistance Service, since it is directly the technical staff of Virtual Cable who has resolved the doubts that we have had during the deployment,” says Alós.
The collaboration with Virtual Cable and the choice of UDS Corporate have been essential for Airbus Defense and Space to overcome the technological challenges it faces in its sector. Additionally, they have allowed the company to meet the rigorous security and excellence requirements that are fundamental to its operations. The combination of advanced technology and safe, flexible solutions has proven to be a key factor in Airbus’ continued success in the defense industry.
VDI INFRASTRUCTURE (DaaS)
- Broker: UDS Enterprise (UDS Corporate)
- Hypervisor and hyperconvergence platform: Proxmox VE
- Storage: HP Proliant Networks: 4 GbE ports
- VDI OS: Linux and Windows
- Access devices: Corporate equipment
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