Historically, the client had a complex, disparate, geographically distributed IT infrastructure, namely:
— A fleet of automated workplaces from various manufacturers;
— 30 Active Directory domains, each with its own policy and rules of use;
— No current CMDB;
— 4000+ software titles;
— Peripheral devices from various manufacturers.
It was extremely labor-intensive for the company's employees to use different systems, since any request for information could only be processed and transmitted manually due to the lack of centralization.
It was decided to combine 30 disparate domains into two large domains - ALD Pro for computers and Active Directory for user work, and also to transfer the entire current infrastructure to the new Astra Linux OS with maximum preservation of all applications, peripherals, and user functionality - to ensure business continuity. To solve this complex problem, the client turned to ICL Services.Key Challenges
- Collect data on the workstation infrastructure for the models of computer equipment, software and connected peripheral devices used.
- Conduct an analysis of the compatibility of the workstation, software and peripherals with the target Astra Linux OS, suggest ways to eliminate the identified problems.
- Prepare a reference image of Astra Linux and the necessary copies of software.
- Conduct an automated transition from Windows OS to Astra Linux OS, while maintaining the current or similar software in functionality on the agreed number of workstations.
- Adapt users to work in the new OS and with a new set of software.
To solve the tasks set by the client, ICL Services used its own previously developed approach to the automated transfer of user workstations to a domestic operating system.
First of all, the team examined the infrastructures for the equipment, software, and peripherals used. For this stage, it was proposed to use the proprietary ICL Services product for managing user workstations - Colibri-UEM. We installed agents, received information about the current state of the ARM infrastructure fleet.
Using the tool, the team collected the necessary inventory information for subsequent analysis and solution of the problems found - for example, lack of RAM, replacement of equipment and software, etc.
In order to most productively transfer the entire automatic workplaces fleet to the new OS, prioritization of migration waves was carried out after checking the compatibility of equipment and software.
For those systems that would be extremely problematic to transfer to Astra Linux, additional migration scenarios were developed. For example, combining Windows OS with Astra Linux OS, or saving Windows based on an Astra Linux image with subsequent saving of work.
To date, the team is implementing the following work:
— Creating an image of a new OS based on Linux and preparing software.
— Comprehensive testing of the solution on a focus group and step-by-step migration of the remaining devices.
For both tasks, the team also uses the Colibri-UEM, designed to manage heterogeneous workstation infrastructures, which means it will allow preparatory actions to be performed on Windows OS, automatically deploy Astra Linux OS over the network and automatically complete the configuration of the workstation running Astra Linux.
In addition, the team plans a large-scale adaptation of the customer's users and IT specialists to the use of the new OS, new copies of the software and the Colibri-UEM system.
Products and technologies
- Colibri-UEM
- ALD Pro
- Active Directory
- Astra Linux OS
Results
- The client received the most complete, up-to-date information on the state of disunity in the IT infrastructure, the need to replace and update the fleet of automated workplaces.
- We transferred 900 workstations to operate in the Astra Linux environment, taking into account the entire work environment, within the established time frame.
- We implemented the possibility of further scaling approaches that have proven themselves to other divisions of the company.
- We minimized the risk of end-user downtime thanks to preliminary analytics.