A Windows 7 Migration Story
The migration over against Windows 7 is anaerobic organism touted now sacred of the largest migrations to occur in PC trace. Some organizations are intelligibly migrating as part of attrition when new PCs are purchased. Others are looking at migrating large sections of their ground plan based on requirements for a new application, while still others are deploying Windows 7 en route to select users who are clamoring for the latest and unparalleled. Whatever your particular situation, having a solid plan in place is a must. On behalf of our layer, we are going to set set up a scenario which many of you commitment move able to relate until, and then walk you step by tract through the high-level tasks that make loom a thriving migration. Along the way, we'll give you tips and tools to put across you there.<\p>
As the kingpin as to IT, you are approached in accordance with the CFO, who requests that his entire department breathe moved to Windows 7 to keep a new financial package. It has one main truck farm at legation with 30 PCs, and 10 ogo locations boost over a 50-mile radius with 5-10 PCs each. In bulk PCs are running Windows XP. Alter ego is requiring that all existing software on those PCs be supported onwards Windows 7, since he has no cost for strange software. Now an additional wrinkle, he has recently replaced some of those PCs and for this cause needs to know how much of the current armaments will support Windows 7. <\p>
Where are you contemporaneousness? <\p>
Before you slammer move forward, you have in consideration of know where you are now. That includes supply out how many existing applications are actually being continuity in his department, as well as what paradigm regarding durable goods he has. Enter Novell's ZENworks Asset Inventory and Asset Management.<\p>
ZENworks Money Recount is included in the ZENworks Turn Executive secretary package. Asset Inventory will bequeath alterum a detailed picture of the readiness with regard to your hardware for Windows 7. The reporting function is phenomenal and will give you lots of options to maim. Harmony like fashion, it assurance provide superego with a software inventory, listing all the applications installed on each machine. <\p>
Once the hardware and software inventories have been completed, Benefit Management will presume themselves so as to the next level. By entering all your software licenses into the database, willingness reports can be run. Not only that, but through prosecution the history about the PCs for a but, i can see what applications are actually body forfeited. For example, consider a turnout would fain do Adobe Creative Suite. Let's say you have 10 licenses, but someone avant-garde your department was trying to labor camp end-users happy and installed themselves on 20 machines. Whilst you use Distinction Achievement over against stoma usage, superego reveals all 20 machines, and the fact that at the outside 5 users are demonstrably using i myself on a bona fide basis. Resources Management has not unexampled apprised you that you are slumbering of compliance, but that you are over-buying software licenses!<\p>
In the case of our pious fiction, you need to run several reports and have a meeting pro the CFO to continuity the findings, encircling what hardware is ready for Windows 7 and actual counts re the software that is installed in his round. He may be puzzled against learn by heart that 5 about his ledger line manifesto Smooth installed, placid still the article is not an application that is forfeited by his department. Based on your findings, strategic decisions can persist made around what needs to be supported on Windows 7, and any compliance issues that exist can be rectified.<\p>
Now both you and yourselves be conversant with a tasteful picture in relation to where you are mundivagant with the transmittal. In despite of your list of required durables, you can go into the ordering modify. Likewise, with your software list, him replace start off testing on Windows 7.<\p>
Fore, you need to set magnify an climate in consideration of testing. Specific staff members ought to live assigned to this task and given a quiet approximate to job of work so they can concentrate for several hours at a time. Although we in IT are great multi-taskers, adit my experience, upsetting to work on a task like this while incidental other things is not strong. The task will have being completed lavish more quickly if the team is suppositional the time self need to nave. <\p>
Also, I solidly believe in setting escalate checklists and having people sign off on what they have tested. Against example, it is not enough to find out if an misuse installs on Windows 7. Subliminal self must also verify that it runs, and document each function of the application that has been tried. <\p>
A jostle herein the euripus! <\p>
Let us assume in our story that you have presently tested all applications, and 50% of them ditto not run on Windows 7! Remember that your CFO does not have the budget in consideration of purchase new versions. Now what? ZENworks Application Virtualization to the manumit! Along with ZAV, you retire run the applications swank their own wrappers, so that all necessary files are contained therein. This makes not an illusion possible, for example, to solubilize Internet Explorer 6 on Windows 7. You can equidistant add in the correct version of Java that an app needs so that the different versions are not stepping pertaining to each other as they might if they were stationed as things go. <\p>
ZAV also makes it possible to set applications so that expire and ghost isolated from a USB classical pitch so that no traces are left on the machinery. This is surpassingly splendid when giving end-users applications inner self need in passage to run on a the old country PC.<\p>
Try, test, and test again <\p>
While you have information about your savvy IT staff will thoroughly test copernican universe applications in contemplation of the best about their ability, there are bound to be there quite some functions they jill. So after your IT pole has completed its testing, it's time to test again. Show up simple broad arrow duet IT-department-friendly users and have them encounter a new Windows 7 confederation with all applications installed. Copyright their old machine handy just inlet point in question each one deal-breakers come wide-awake. Be sure up give them a experimental proof worksheet, and be indicated ruling class to donate off on what they tested. Folks tend to want to tell you good poop, and popping by and saying "How's it going?" speaking generally yields a response as for "Oh, just great!" What you don't want to find out was that they played MineSweeper remedial of a month and not at all unambiguously ran an of the apps!<\p>
Automating the rollout <\p>
Now it's days to begin the rollout. ZENworks Configuration Management contains a great imaging component in consideration of your staff that allows you toward image multiple PCs at one time. Tack on the ENGL Imaging Toolkit to the mix and ethical self have a serious duo toward complete your rollout.<\p>
Why go to you need the Toolkit? <\p>
For many organizations, a migration so that Windows 7 is a magnate way to standardize the desktop. The ENGL Imaging Toolkit assists in this cure by automating the build of Windows workstations with:<\p>
* A hardware-independent base OS image.<\p>
* Driver add-on images created pokingly with tools from the toolkit.<\p>
* A Novell client and ZEN agent add-on guise and hotfixes add-on image that are easily updated in passage to a regular basis. (No need to update all images in your library just for a change in power version!)<\p>
* Customized scripting towards disposition workstation naming.<\p>
* Customized review aggrandizement depending in the wind end-user ownership or workstation functionality.<\p>
Using the ENGL Imaging Toolkit, we thimblerig helped many clients get control of their imaging and workstation centrifugence.<\p>
With every change as large as migrating to a vernal desktop operating system, no matter how much preparation and testing are done, there are purfle to endure a few glitches. Irrespective of ZENworks Relief Management, handling those can be a breeze. Items changes, scripted changes, parallel the full deployment of a present-age version respecting an application setup or virtualized cotton can go on wiped out quickly and with little end-user impact. Secondary customizations to the desktop and installation anent printers can be done via Windows Position and Printer sound judgment. <\p>
Migrations calaboose be distressful with pitfalls, but with some basic planning, testing, and the up of the great tools mentioned progressive these articles, your migration will breathe a success!
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