How Foxconn Transitioned to Smart Manufacturing with Sangfor VDI
In 2019, Sangfor Technologies partnered with Maxnerva Technology Services to help Foxconn Technology Group successfully break free from the problems with traditional PCs and transition from traditional manufacturing to smart manufacturing.
Let’s revisit the case to explore how Foxconn benefitted from Sangfor’s aDesk Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution.
What is Virtual Desktop Infrastructure?
Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) is a virtualization technology where a PC operating system is installed on a server as a virtual machine (VM). The VM can be accessed over a network connection using an endpoint device, such as a PC, mobile device, or a thin client, and is displayed as a virtual desktop. Users can interact with the virtual desktop and its applications as if they were running locally.
Background
Foxconn Technology Group
Foxconn Technology Group (hereafter referred to as Foxconn) is a world-renowned high-tech enterprise specializing in the R&D and manufacturing of 3C products (computers, communications, and consumer electronics). In 2021, Foxconn was ranked 22nd in Fortune Global 500. As a leading manufacturing enterprise, Foxconn is at the forefront of Industry 4.0, vigorously pursuing the digitization of industrial production to transform from traditional manufacturing to smart manufacturing.
Maxnerva Technology Services
Maxnerva Technology Services (hereafter referred to as Maxnerva) is a publicly listed company in Hong Kong (HK.01037) affiliated to and invested by Foxconn. Maxnerva is a system integration specialist in Industry 4.0, a high-growth segment with compelling IT spending imperatives. It delivers manufacturing IT services and solutions focused on Smart Factory, Smart Office, and Securities. Their solutions leverage Industry 4.0, IoT (internet of things) / M2M (machine to machine) in manufacturing, and big data-related technologies.
Pain Points & Requirements
Foxconn’s large-scale business meant that hundreds of thousands of PCs were deployed to support the work of its 1.2 million global employees on production lines and in offices. However, the drawbacks of traditional PCs were becoming increasingly apparent and problematic, especially concerning data security and operations and maintenance (O&M).
Research conducted by Maxnerva revealed the following issues with PCs on Foxconn’s production lines:
- PCs on Foxconn’s production lines store a large amount of production order data, which demands utmost data confidentiality. However, traditional PCs store data on the local hard disk during business processing, which makes it difficult to secure the data.
- Foxconn’s large number of PCs frequently experienced software crashes, configuration errors, and other failures. These led to high O&M costs and low efficiency. O&M was especially troublesome for production line PCs, which needed to be in operation 24/7.
- Foxconn uses many applications, and application requirements vary from department to department. This brought considerable challenges to upgrading software, especially upgrades to PCs on the production lines.
- Traditional PCs restricted employees to a fixed work location and did allow them to work remotely.
Project Implementation
After thorough research and testing, Maxnerva eventually opted for Sangfor’s aDesk virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution to solve the problems Foxconn was experiencing with traditional PCs. At the same time, Sangfor was tasked with building the IT architecture to lay the foundations for Foxconn’s digital transformation initiatives.
In this project, Sangfor aDesk VDI was deployed in six Foxconn manufacturing plants (Longhua, Guanlan, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Wuhan, and Taiyuan). Over 2,500 virtual machines were deployed in the project's first phase, and numbers grew as the project progressed.
Take the Zhengzhou plant, for example. Eight HCI servers were deployed as Virtualization Management Platforms (VMP) in a cluster to host 600 virtual machines. Two hardware Virtual Desktop Controllers (VDC) provided access management of virtual desktops. Two external storage devices were used for backing up virtual machines to ensure service recoverability.
Project Value
With the deployment of Sangfor aDesk VDI, Sangfor helped Maxnerva meet Foxconn’s needs for data security and convenient operations and maintenance. Good compatibility with Foxconn’s FBT tablets and responsive technical services enabled Foxconn to free itself from the various problems associated with traditional PCs and transition from traditional manufacturing to smart manufacturing.
Data Security
After deploying Sangfor aDesk VDI, data is stored on servers instead of local hard disks. USB drives and other removable storage media are uniformly prohibited from copying data from virtual desktops. Anti-screenshot and screen recording capabilities provided added protection against data leakage.
Centralized Management
With Sangfor aDesk VDI, administrators can centrally deploy and manage all virtual machines and conveniently make adjustments according to production needs.
Reduce O&M Costs and Complexity
Traditional PCs are made of many components, resulting in frequent hardware failures that impact everyday office work. Replacing traditional PCs with virtual machines based on Sangfor Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) dramatically reduces the hardware failure rate.
Even if a virtual machine fails, administrators can quickly respond from the comfort of their own office using the unified management platform. Administrators can easily locate and solve the fault, reducing O&M costs and simplifying the O&M process.
Sangfor aDesk VDI also provides a software deployment function. With one click, administrators can deploy and upgrade software on all virtual machines, which significantly improves the convenience and efficiency of software upgrading.
Remote Working
As long as there is an internet connection, employees can use various devices to access their virtual desktops from anywhere and at any time, just as if they were working in front of their actual workstations. Sangfor aDesk VDI is compatible with most endpoint devices – even Foxconn’s idle tablets and mobile phones could be used as devices for remote working.
Learn More about Sangfor aDesk VDI
Reach out to us for an inquiry to discover how your organization can benefit from Sangfor aDesk VDI or visit the Sangfor aDesk VDI product page to learn more about its advantages, features and capabilities, use cases, customer testimonials, and more.