Solving the Challenge of Distributed Legacy Data Centers (Webinar Forward)

Articles

Managing legacy servers is already a daunting task. But when these servers are spread across multiple locations, the complexity and risk increase exponentially.

A European multisector giant knows this challenge very well. They had multiple legacy servers spread across different parts of Italy. These servers were risky, costly, and difficult to manage.

Migration was an obvious choice. However, due to the complexity involved, it required meticulous planning and precise execution. That is when they needed experts who had successfully managed similar transitions before.

Stromasys, in partnership with Stefanini, successfully deployed Charon to consolidate these legacy servers into a single virtual data center. This project was a huge success, and other organizations can gain valuable insights from it.

To help decision-makers in addressing similar situations, we have created this webinar titled “From Multiple Legacy Environments to One Virtual Data Center : A European Multisector Case Study,” where you will get a complete breakdown of this project: starting from planning, execution, to results.

Project Overview – A Complex Legacy Infrastructure

The project involved several SPARC servers hosting Solaris and PA-RISC Servers hosting HP-UX, most at 64-bit and some at 32-bit. In addition, there were a few AlphaServers and VAX servers hosting OpenVMS.

All of these servers were spread across different locations in Italy. Therefore, the aim was clear: consolidate them into just one virtual data centre.

To achieve this, it was necessary to copy and migrate them to the new infrastructure, conduct testing, and then deploy them in production. Only after completing these phases could the original servers be decommissioned at their respective data centers.

The team opted for the Charon Emulator to facilitate a smooth migration. But what made Charon the ideal fit for this project?

• Charon accurately replicates the original hardware environment without the need for physical hardware
• With Charon, the customer could shut down their traditional data center and continue running their legacy applications on the cloud
• The minimal disruption to business operations and the higher return on investment made Charon the obvious choice for such a complex project

The Initial Approach

The initial aim was to conduct a thorough assessment of the current data center, along with a clear understanding of the primary objectives.

The next step involved gathering essential information about the servers to be migrated. This included updating details on user accounts, network addresses, and operating system versions, in collaboration with the end user.

Once the data collection was completed, the next steps were focused on creating a clear overview of the source machines and defining the configuration of the target machines.

Preparing the Environment

• A document was drafted, detailing the characteristics of the host Linux VMs
• The document was shared with the customer to move forward with the creation of the VMs
• The customer also provided the necessary data to access the Linux VMs and transfer the software kits & ISO images

Assessment and preparation are only a fraction of this interesting project. There is more involved than just that:

• How did we prepare the environment?
• How was the implementation and migration?
• What were the challenges involved, and how did we solve them?
• How was the cut-off prepared and executed, especially in this case, as most of the original servers were in different locations?
• Finally, what were the results achieved and our suggestions for decision makers considering such migration?

Don’t miss these critical aspects of the project. We have broken down each one in detail. Unlock the true potential of legacy server emulation with our exclusive webinar.

Watch it now