Migrating to Windows 2000 - Automatically
By Phil Neray (Issue 3 2000)
This article describes how organizations can leverage proven solutions from Dell OpenManage to automate their migration to Windows 2000-allowing them to get it done faster and more cost-effectively while minimizing demands on valuable IT personnel.
Many organizations are currently implementing or planning enterprise-wide migrations to Windows 2000 Professional, to take advantage of its enhanced reliability and performance, ease of use, new security features, and unparalleled support for mobile users.
IT departments involved in such strategic initiatives need a simple and cost-effective method to implement this migration. Dell OpenManage solutions, such as ON Command CCMTM from ON Technology, help solve the short-term migration problem-while providing a software delivery infrastructure that can be leveraged for future delivery of any software throughout their networks.
ON Command CCM Delivers Software Across Networks
ON Command CCM is an enterprise-class system for remotely delivering applications and operating systems across corporate networks to desktops, mobile PCs, handhelds, and servers (see Figure 1 ). As part of the Dell OpenManage program, ON Command CCM is now available pre-installed from Dell and can be purchased via Dell's enterprise sales organization.1 It is a proven solution that is currently being used to deliver software to over 500,000 PCs worldwide in a range of environments from workgroup to enterprise wide.
Figure 1. The Corporate IT Delivery Model
The system uses "scheduled push" technology to deliver software to multiple PCs simultaneously, from centralized Windows NT or Windows 2000 servers. IT administrators can remotely "wake up" PCs, schedule deployments for off-hours, and tightly control bandwidth usage to minimize impact on network resources and end-user productivity.
The administrative user interface is a snap-in to the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), as shown in Figure 2 , providing a standard and consistent interface for all Windows 2000 management functions. The system is based on an open and scalable client/server architecture as shown in the sidebar. ON Command CCM also leverages group information contained in either Windows NT Domains or Active Directory (Note: It does not require implementation of Active Directory).
Figure 2. ON Command CCM Administrative Console (MMC snap-in)
Automating Windows 2000 Migration—For New Dell PCs
Imagine that you have just ordered several thousand new PCs from Dell, which are scheduled to arrive with Windows 2000 pre-installed on the hard drives. Your challenge now becomes "How do I install all of my corporate applications and configure them for my particular environment, without physically visiting each PC?"
First you can have the lightweight ON Agent pre-installed on your PCs along with the system image before they are shipped from the factory. An alternative is to automatically install the agent from a simple login script when the PCs arrive at your site.
When the PCs are plugged into the network and boot up, the agent automatically finds its ON Command CCM server via multicast and identifies itself to the server. The server then automatically incorporates each PC into its Information Database, using the Media Access Control (MAC) address as a unique identifier.
Using the ON Command CCM console, you can now assign applications and configuration settings to each PC on a per-PC or group-wide basis (see Figure 3 ). For example, a group of core applications (such as Office 2000, Lotus Notes®, Novell Client, or Adobe® Acrobat®) might be assigned to all PCs, and a group of sales applications (such as Oracle, SAP, Siebel®, or Citrix® thin-client) to only the sales PCs.
Figure 3. Assigning Applications via Point-and-Click Menus
You can also configure PCs remotely with department- or company-specific settings such as default printers, preferred NetWare servers, browser home pages, or screen savers, via drop-down menus from the administrative console—no need to edit complex scripts.
The ON Command CCM server pushes software and configuration actions to each PC for unattended installation by the ON Desktop Agent. The server also maintains a detailed history of all transactions on a per-PC basis in its Information Database. Administrators can extract data from this database in standard SQL format in order to create queries and reports and prepare for future deployments (for example, by creating target distribution groups and checking for prerequisite software). A single click in the administrative console can also rebuild PCs to a predefined state if a problem occurs, such as end-user misconfiguration or virus corruption.
Automating Windows 2000 Migrations—For Existing PCs
So now that you have taken care of your new PCs, how do you migrate all your existing PCs to Windows 2000? The process is as simple as assigning the new operating system with its applications to all target PCs from the administrative console.
By remotely waking up machines and controlling them immediately after network boot, ON Command CCM makes it possible to build machines over the network rather than requiring a visit to each computer. (See the sidebar for a discussion of how ON Command CCM leverages built-in manageability hardware contained in the BIOS of Dell PCs to accomplish this.)
ON Command CCM performs remote unattended installs of Windows 2000 with complete control over how the OS gets installed—for example, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Domain Name Server (DNS) settings, System IDs, and Time zones) again without editing complex scripts (see Figure 4 ).
Figure 4. Installing and Configuring Windows 2000 from the Administrative Console
Once the OS has been installed and configured, you can use ON Command CCM to remotely install and configure applications as described in the previous section, thereby completing the migration to Windows 2000.
Mobile and Remote PCs
Most IT organizations support users in remote locations and mobile users that typically access corporate LANs from low-speed dial-up connections. ON Command CCM provides several options for addressing these bandwidth-limited situations. For example, users can receive unattended application installs from a CD inserted into the computer or from a local file server—all under the control of a centralized ON Command CCM server.
ImageCast IC3 from StorageSoft
Dell's image management offering also includes a robust disk imaging ("cloning") solution from StorageSoft called ImageCast IC3 that can be used to build new or existing PCs with Windows 2000. The system image may include a set of base applications and the ON Agent. ON Command CCM can then be used to configure the PC and deploy additional applications.
Migrating User Settings with Desktop DNA
Miramar's Desktop DNATM software utility can migrate a PC "personality," such as user preferences and user data files, from one PC to another. ON Command CCM can automate this process for multiple PCs simultaneously by installing and running Desktop DNA from the centralized ON Command console—first capturing the settings on existing Windows 95 PCs, then migrating the settings to new Windows 2000 PCs.
Building for the Future
Technology is constantly changing, creating an ongoing need to deliver new software—such as service packs, updated drivers and virus signatures, and new versions of applications—to all of your users.
How do you "get ahead of the curve"? By anticipating change and planning for it. Once you have implemented ON Command CCM to automate the migration to Windows 2000, you can leverage the same infrastructure to instantly push all updates to users with the simple click of a mouse-over the network. The end result? You have successfully leveraged technology to make your organization more competitive—your end-users are happier and more productive, your valuable IT staff is free to focus on next—generation strategic initiatives, and you have dramatically lowered the cost of managing your network.
Phil Neray (pneray@on.com) is vice president of marketing for ON Technology Corp. Phil has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from McGill University with additional graduate-level studies in Economics and Accounting from the MBA program at Boston University.
