The Wahyudiharto's Blog

The team & me had already migrate the core server for about a week ago into a Linux server. The core server which serve the corporate computer operational (such as: Email Server, DHCP Server & Proxy Server) are being running as well as before.

Next schedule to be done is migrating the clients. There are more than 300 computers in the building with various hardware specification & have to be finished before the end of next month. Well, this is our great jobs even with small amount of staffs (9-10 peoples).

The migrating jobs are not easiest as say. There are lot of things we should beware off before getting started the jobs. However, the importance things includes:

1. What kind of Linux will be chooses
This is a real beauty contest of Linux benchmarking scheme to find out what is the best, link & match to the computer hardware. The driver support for the un-plug & play also become your care. Next to the pre-installation of Linux is knowing the CPU & memory load regarding to the others major hardware exists.

At a glance, we were having successful experiences on migrating the branches a year before with Fedora Core 4. The elections were followed by several self-beauty contest with various of Linux. Meantime, we are planning the same mechanism in HQ. The finalist are Fedora Core 5, Fedora Core 6, Open SuSE & PCLinux. The Fedora Core 6 are quite heavy to load that not too fit in most of hardware we had. The using of Open SuSE are also not suitable to implement since it might need more learning by the regional staffs which having knowledge in Fedora Core 4. Since PCLinux come from Debian family (which having a great optimalization & compact Linux kernel), ahrghh it is so difficult to get a live online support (for me). So, finally we choose Fedora Core 5. That it is most reliable & more easy to use up. Just for sure relax condition, you might need to add the RAM up to 256 MB for it minimal requirement.

2. The installation mechanism
Provide the installation manual book to threat the same way of installing process, so that all computers will running the same configuration.

By the time, I’d already arranged the installation guidance of Fedora Core 5. From it started about how to create room partition with disk image created by Norton Ghost utility until it done about how to configure & running the internal corporate basic application.

3. Application before & after the migrating process
This is the hardest point that have to be achieved. The application which rolling the basic corporate operational should run at the same manner & behavior after the migrating process. The way that have to care about is the application performance as the whole process. Whether it is reliable or not, give this point in a big attention so it would run on it better performance.

In the office, we had several applications based on various databases. While the consolidation program are using 16 bit fox-based compiler, we also had HRD program which developed with 32 bit Power Builder compiler using the Oracle as the back-end database.

Fortunately, the DOS emulator (dosemu 1.3.3, the latest stable DOS emulator package from ASPLinux RPM version I found on rpmfind.net ~ don’t forget to add the package compat-slang-1.4.9-27.2.1.i386.rpm for support on console) are much supporting the Fedora Core 5. Also the CrossOver 5 are quite compatible & robust to handle the Windows 32 bit application. So, both are more smoothly endorsing the migrate process. Just another yet lucky me!

4. Control & behavior each users after the migrating process
Well, it was about quarter century peoples were ready to know Windows. No wonder, there will be much yells when they hitting Linux for the first time. This is a new challenge for you, how to make them “silence”?

The job is much harder when we have to planning something about loosing users worried when they are not too familiar with Linux. The point is, we are talking about the Windows similarity GUI & common replacement application. First of all, we leading the users into a KDE interface (the best & better desktop manager in Linux, AFAIK), then we fill in the application which have the same functionality in Windows. There are OpenOffice to replace the Microsoft Office for examples. Even it will raise a small number of contradiction, but it is the consequences.

5. Preparing the online support
Last but not least, create a full team to assists the newbie users. They will yell louder if you are not in his side. Allow the phone line open in the office hour & make a quick clear answer to respond.

We are designing to make a team shifting at work to helping the users. It is an optimal way showing who’s in charge to pick up the phone line extending to team long live performance.

This article will continue at the end of the finalization…

Labels: My Works

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