WriteImage CEP Motorola Saves About US$11 Million ...



Overview

Country: United States

Industry: Communications

Customer Profile

Motorola has been in business since 1928. With headquarters near Chicago, Illinois, the company has become a global leader in wireless, automotive, and broadband communications.

Business Situation

Motorola needed a way to better manage its global infrastructure and gain greater control, reliability, and security, while reducing costs.

Solution

Motorola migrated from Windows NT® Server 4.0 to Microsoft® Windows Server SystemTM, consolidated its infrastructure, and implemented a change and configuration management solution.

Benefits

■ Estimated savings of U.S.$11 million in annual software deployment

■ More than 1 million software updates implemented in 2003

■ Microsoft Systems Management Server server count reduced by 50 percent

■ Domains reduced from 600 to 1

| | |“Thanks to Windows Server System, we have the ability to do more with less. Windows Server System helps us to simplify deployment and management so we can reduce the costs of ongoing operations.”

Steven Bramson, Senior Systems Architect, Motorola

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| | | |To gain manageability over its decentralized environment, Motorola created a single, global |

| | | |department tasked with deploying Microsoft® Windows Server SystemTM, integrated server infrastructure|

| | | |software with innovations that help companies do more with less. The company consolidated 600 domains|

| | | |into a single Active Directory®–based forest and tree environment with nine child domains, which will|

| | | |further collapse to a single child domain. Motorola plans to decrease its Web server count by a |

| | | |factor of two or more, freeing servers to be used for other applications. Software updates that |

| | | |formerly took months will be completed in less than a week. Motorola saved more than 247,000 hours |

| | | |implementing more than 800,000 software deployments to 65,000 desktops in 2002, and it estimates that|

| | | |it saved U.S.$11 million on such deployments in 2003. |

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Situation

Motorola is a global leader in wireless, broadband, and automotive communications technologies that help make life smarter, safer, simpler, synchronized, and fun. Sales in 2003 were U.S.$27.1 billion. Motorola creates innovative technological solutions that benefit people at home, work, and on the move.

With 65,000 desktop and portable computers plus embedded devices and other computers spread across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, Motorola realized that the costs and challenges of managing that global infrastructure were climbing rapidly. IT planning and support were handled in a highly decentralized way.

The company was unable to roll out standard configurations across the enterprise, or manage those configurations automatically or even centrally. The situation was serious when attempting to update third-party software programs or complete security updates to protect Motorola’s enterprise from viruses, hackers, and other security threats.

As an example, a planned server consolidation called for Motorola to change the WINS (Windows® Internet Naming Service) addresses on affected servers, a procedure that typically required a technician to implement the change on each machine by hand. To update software on desktop machines, technicians had to visit every desktop, then load the software from a CD or map out to a network share. The process of preparing for software updates was ad hoc, with IT professionals having to find ways to make source files available to their counterparts at remote sites, to find servers to support the network shares, and so on.

Complicating the situation was the increasing demand for remote accessibility.

“An increasing number of employees are working remotely, either at home or while traveling,” says Steven Bramson, Senior Systems Architect at Motorola. Bramson says that the initiative is encouraged in part by the reduced cost of portable computers and the company’s desire to help employees be more productive. “Three years ago, our ratio of desktops to portable computers was three to one,” Bramson says. “Now we have two portable computers for every desktop.”

The presence of more portable computers means more remote users, and that creates a further difficulty for IT administrators. Constant access to remote systems is essential, regardless of location. If a new virus or worm is discovered, it is critical to patch systems as soon as possible.

For Motorola, updating portable computers was even more challenging than updating its desktops. Previously Motorola could not install a client on laptops with a low-speed connection to the network, such as dial-up access. That was a major problem. Motorola needed to be able to manage remote systems just as effectively as computers connected on the office network.

Motorola wanted an efficient way to manage all of its Microsoft® Windows–based systems, determine the security and software status of every machine on the corporate network, and distribute software and security patches without disrupting user productivity over slow network connections.

Solution

Motorola has approached this major challenge in a series of key steps. First, Motorola created a single, global IT department to tackle the problem. Next, it addressed the infrastructure. Motorola began by consolidating domains, moving from the Microsoft Windows NT® Server operating system to the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server operating system and the Active Directory® service. The company is now consolidating the environment even further in a move to the Microsoft Windows ServerTM 2003 operating system, which will mean additional enhancements to manageability, reliability, and security.

Specifically, Motorola is moving its domain architecture to the Active Directory service in Windows Server 2003. Change and configuration management is being improved by deploying Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 with support from Microsoft SQL ServerTM 2000 Enterprise Edition. All these products are components of Microsoft Windows Server SystemTM integrated server software.

As a result, Motorola is gaining the lower costs and greater control that come with a highly manageable network. It can do more with less, according to Bramson, because the components in its Windows Server System–based architecture were designed to work well together. This demonstrates the integrated innovation of Windows Server System. For example, Motorola now can conduct system inventories of its 65,000 desktops whenever it wants to, identify system update needs, and then deploy those applications across the enterprise automatically.

Consolidating the Enterprise

To achieve those benefits, Motorola started by consolidating its environment.

To consolidate its 600 Windows NT Server domains and workgroups, Motorola used a series of regional account and resource domains and a nearly full-trust model. Figure 1 shows the consolidated Windows NT domains. More than 600 original domains and workgroups were consolidated to seven main account domains with seven corresponding main resource domains. By June 2000, this implied 70 trusts between the seven account domains and their seven resource domains, as well as 1,098 trusts to the other 300-plus domains. (Figure 1)

Next, Motorola began to migrate from Windows NT Server to the Active Directory service in Windows 2000 Server. Numerous legacy domains were migrated to Active Directory and consolidated into a single Active Directory forest and tree environment. The remaining Windows NT Server resource domains will be migrated during 2004.

In January 2000, the first user account was brought up in the new Active Directory–based ds. domain. The migration to Windows 2000 Server was planned as a multiphased effort in which the main eight account domains (seven regional, one for a business unit) were gradually upgraded in place and moved into the core simplified Active Directory tree. The functionality offered by Windows 2000 Server will allow Motorola to further refine its domain consolidation goal to a single production Active Directory domain (ds.), as well as an empty root (). Figure 2 shows the account domain structure under Windows 2000 Server before consolidation.

Motorola wanted to take advantage of the new technology in Windows Server 2003. During early 2003, Motorola upgraded 50 servers from Windows 2000 Server to Windows Server 2003. Of the 50 upgraded servers, 17 were Active Directory–based domain controllers spread across two domains.

The remaining 33 upgraded servers were member servers running other infrastructure services. Motorola plans to upgrade the remaining Active Directory–based servers in phases, completing the move by the end of 2004.

While upgrading all Active Directory–based servers to Windows Server 2003, Motorola will eliminate the remaining Windows NT domains by migrating them to Active Directory. In addition, the nine Active Directory child domains will be collapsed to a single child domain.

Motorola adopted a standard server environment for its Active Directory–based servers to streamline configuration and deployment, as well as simplify operational management with unified administrative procedures and tools. Motorola has an installed base of Dell PowerEdge 4400 and 4600 servers for its standard domain controller.

One of Motorola’s key decisions was whether to perform a fresh installation or an in-place upgrade. Motorola decided on an in-place upgrade, for three reasons: (1) an in-place upgrade did not require an outlay of capital for purchasing new servers, (2) the company had done a fresh installation during its upgrade to Windows 2000 Server, and (3) the company has had very good configuration management in place.

“The Motorola people have a good handle on what’s on each server, and how each one is configured, so there was a strong likelihood that they wouldn’t be upgrading potential problems into the new environment,” says Steve Terhune, Principal Consultant with Microsoft Consulting Services, which assisted Motorola with the migration. “This made for the perfect situation for an in-place upgrade.”

“Windows Terminal Server for remote administration was key for us,” says Bramson. “It allowed us to tightly restrict domain-controller management to a small central team. This enabled good configuration control. We were able to conduct remote, in-place upgrades of servers, thousands of miles away, to Windows Server 2003. Every upgrade has been flawless.”

“Also, the command-line tools in Windows Server let us improve the speed and accuracy of remote systems management,” says Bramson. “For example, we scripted a required change of WINS servers so we could remotely update many servers without even having to log on to each one. The change was made on the fly with no reboot required.”

Completing the Migration

Eventually, users, computers and groups in each upgraded account domain will be moved into the single ds. child domain using delegated administration in organizational units. Figure 3 shows the projected final state of the Active Directory–based structure. The resource domains also will be collapsed into the new ds. domain. The remaining domains will continue to undergo migration, collapsing, or both, as applicable.

Deploying Systems Management Server

Meanwhile, for its configuration and change management solution, Motorola first adopted Microsoft Systems Management Server version 2.0 in 2000 and then, in 2003, began the migration to Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003. The deployment originally contained 200 local SMS site servers rolling up to seven regional servers.

New features in SMS 2003, such as more powerful remote management capabilities, are enabling Motorola to consolidate this infrastructure as well. Bramson projects that the environment will consolidate 50 percent, to 100 servers, as Motorola completes this portion of the migration. Approximately 75 Microsoft SQL Server instances support the solution.

Motorola also plans to add an eighth SMS server to the hierarchy, to which the seven regional servers will roll up. All of the SMS servers in the infrastructure will pass data to the new server at the top of the tree. This will significantly improve overall manageability. The top-level server will receive the configuration information from the regional servers.

If a regional server goes down and needs to be rebuilt, that system can be restored much more rapidly. Changes can now be made centrally, on the top-level server. These propagate down through the infrastructure, which significantly reduces the amount of administration effort required. Most importantly, global queries for all the Windows-based systems managed by SMS can now be made instantly in a single place, without having to run separate queries on seven regional servers and without having to aggregate those seven query results. SMS 2003 makes this possible.

Motorola is continuing to roll out SMS 2003 to facilities that enter the infrastructure through acquisition or new construction. The central team decides whether or not new hardware is required. The SMS administrators use Terminal Server, part of the Windows Server operating system, to gain remote access to each of the globally dispersed SMS site servers and install the SMS software—without leaving their desks.

Once the server is up, Motorola adds a subnet list so that the server will know the boundaries of the network for which it’s responsible. Custom scripts then enable the server to connect to clients within that boundary, creating discovery records of the client machines and their software inventories.

From the Microsoft Management Console, with which the IT staff is already familiar, technicians can choose to install the SMS client software on all the connected clients or to any subgroup that they create and choose. Web-based reports of the installation progress make it easy for technicians to identify any clients for which the installation was not successful, without having to visit those clients physically.

Updating Software

To deploy software updates within Motorola’s 65,000-machine managed environment, administrators use the Microsoft Software Update Services (SUS) features in SMS in a series of processes that combine automation with user choice, so Motorola gets both ease of use and flexibility in its software deployments.

The SMS Server Synchronization Host obtains a list of available patches over the Internet and uses its parsing script to examine the XML-based patch list file (see Figure 4). Technicians review the available choices and determine which patches to deploy. The parsing script then points the chosen updates to the Distribute Software Updates Wizard on the SMS site server, and technicians use the wizard to target machines for the update (see Figure 5). The wizard downloads the requested patches and creates the software distribution package. The site server then alerts clients of the update’s availability. Technicians can consult Web-based reports to identify clients that do not successfully install the update (see Figure 6).

SMS gives Motorola the flexibility to allow users to install the update and restart their machines when it’s convenient, rather than confine users to narrow update windows that might inconvenience users or interfere with business processes. Technicians can set dialog boxes and system tray bubbles to notify and remind users of the updates at customized times, providing visibility for the need to update while avoiding major intrusions into the user’s computing experience.

Benefits

With its migration to Windows Server System, including Windows Server 2003 with Active Directory and Systems Management Server 2003, Motorola is gaining the benefits of a highly manageable environment.

“Thanks to Windows Server System, we have the ability to do more with less,” says Bramson. “Windows Server System helps us to simplify deployment and management so we can reduce the costs of ongoing operations, deliver highly reliable and secure IT infrastructure, and drive new capabilities for our future growth. Windows Server System delivers the manageability, reliability, usability, and improved security that our enterprise demands.”

Doing More with Less

Motorola started enjoying the manageability benefits of Windows Server System as soon as it migrated to Windows Server 2003.

Motorola has a small team that maintains the 250 Windows Server–based servers in the company’s global domain infrastructure. The team also deploys new Windows Server–based infrastructure services for the business units. Service availability has to be maintained all day, every day. The easy upgrade path means that Motorola is able to migrate its Active Directory infrastructure to Windows Server 2003 without having to add additional administrators.

By deploying Systems Management Server 2003, Motorola now has the solution to manage its worldwide environment faster, more easily and effectively. The solution inventories Motorola’s 65,000-machine managed network from a central location, reports system update needs, and deploys the appropriate solutions across the enterprise automatically.

“Previously, patches and other software changes have taken several months to fully roll out. Motorola expects to deploy updates to most systems within a week with Systems Management Server 2003,” says Bramson.

That’s a tremendous win for Motorola, one that makes employees more productive. They are more likely to be working with the most current software; colleagues throughout the world are more likely to be working with the same software versions; and the entire enterprise is more secure and, thus, more reliable.

Moreover, the IT staff can be more effective because a standardized desktop image is easier to support and plan for, making migrations to future technology more efficient. Systems Management Server is adding significantly to business agility by substantially speeding up the ability to migrate to the most up-to-date software.

One of the many new capabilities that Motorola gains with Windows Server System is easier remote management. The Advanced Client feature, new in SMS 2003, supports distribution, asset management, and remote troubleshooting—without requiring a fixed set of local servers or services. This means that the company can manage portable computers as users roam between various Motorola offices and their homes. Motorola administrators are now able to manage remote and on-site users without having to differentiate between them.

Windows Server System is also enabling Motorola to save costs in additional ways. For example, Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0, part of Windows Server 2003, will enable Motorola to reduce its Web server count by a factor of two or more.

Estimated $11 Million in Software Distribution Savings

The global, automated, streamlined software distribution process enabled by Windows Server System delivers huge bottom-line benefits to Motorola. In 2002, with Systems Management Server not yet fully deployed, the company performed more than 800,000 software updates, hotfixes, and security patches to 65,000 desktops, saving 247,000 working hours and $8.6 million. Motorola estimates that the solution will deliver more than $11 million in software distribution savings in 2003.

Beyond savings in software distribution, Motorola is saving in lower support costs, thanks to Windows Server System. SMS 2003 includes a suite of tools to help IT administrators troubleshoot and solve common problems with Windows Server–based configurations from a central location. Motorola is experiencing a reduction in the number of people required to support the desktop, and it’s a benefit that managers are banking on as they push Systems Management Server to do more remote diagnostics.

Motorola’s Asia organization is using SMS to remotely resolve 30 percent of its desktop issues. The entire company is experiencing a reduction in issue escalation because the SMS management console helps support staff to troubleshoot and resolve problems more quickly. Motorola has been able to resolve 17 percent of worldwide help-desk calls through its Remote Desktop Management initiative, enabled by SMS.

A more streamlined network, thanks to server consolidation, also means reduced costs for hardware and software and fewer people required to manage them. The move from SMS 2.0 to SMS 2003 will enable Motorola to cut its SMS server population by as much as 50 percent, with associated lower costs for hardware and software in future years. The SMS 2.0 deployment was originally managed by about 50 administrators. That number is down to about 12—one administrator for every 6,500 clients—freeing administrators to perform more value-added tasks.

Superior Reporting for Better Decisions

Motorola has found that the superior reporting available with SMS provides tremendous value to the company. Up-to-date reports delivered regularly lend added precision to all other system management functions, improving Motorola’s ability to target software deployments and helping with proactive planning, troubleshooting, and system security.

SMS 2003 provides reporting that helps IT make more informed strategic decisions about migrating to new technologies. For example, the company used SMS to find out how much of its desktop environment met the minimum hardware requirements for running Microsoft Windows XP Professional, which became standard in Motorola in early 2003. With more information at hand, Motorola can decide whether it would be more cost-effective to upgrade current machines or replace the hardware.

Easy Access to Decision-making Information

Because preconfigured reports are readily available on the Web, they are easily accessible to both IT administrators and IT management.

SMS combines desktop inventory and software distribution to show which Windows-based computers need critical system and security updates. Systems Management Server substantially reduces the effort required to deploy security fixes. The latest feature pack in SMS significantly saves time because it automatically deals with operating system variations for critical software updates. Importantly, SMS is able to confirm successful installation.

Microsoft Windows Server System

Microsoft Windows Server System is a comprehensive, integrated, and interoperable server infrastructure that helps reduce the complexity and costs of building, deploying, connecting, and operating agile business solutions. Windows Server System helps customers create new value for their business through the strategic use of their IT assets. With the Windows Server operating system as its foundation, Windows Server System delivers dependable infrastructure for data management and analysis; enterprise integration; customer, partner, and employee portals; business process automation; communications and collaboration; and core IT operations including security, deployment, and system management. For more information about Windows Server System, go to:

windowsserversystem/

Manageability and Microsoft's Dynamic Systems Initiative

Improving the manageability of solutions built on Windows Server System is a key driver behind the Microsoft Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI).  DSI is a Microsoft-led industry initiative aimed at dramatically simplifying and automating how businesses design, deploy and operate IT systems. DSI focuses on driving operational requirements back into IT systems at design time and creating a connection that flows from design, to operations, to the end users utilizing a system. Dynamic Systems are composed of applications that self describe their operational characteristics, operating systems that automatically respond to changing business needs and adjust data center resources accordingly, and management solutions that automate administration tasks and allow business policy to drive IT.  The end result to your business is dramatically decreased operating costs, improved reliability, and increased responsiveness across the entire IT life cycle.

The Microsoft strategy for delivering on DSI combines a long-term vision with a solid set of near-term product offerings that enable customers to take practical steps toward that vision today.  Windows Server System products including Windows Server 2003, Systems Management Server 2003 and the soon to arrive Microsoft Operations Manager 2004 are great ways to get on the DSI roadmap today. For more information about DSI, go to:



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Figure 6: Web-based reports make it easy to identify failed or incomplete distributions of software updates. The circled columns, lower right, summarize the monitoring of distribution success and failure.

Figure 4: SMS 2003 enables Motorola to obtain update lists from the Internet, choose updates to install, download and package the updates, and distribute them anywhere in Motorola’s 65,000-machine managed environment.

| |Software and Services

■ Windows Server System

− Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, with Active Directory and Software Update Services

− SQL Server 2000

− Systems Management Server 2003

■ Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS) |Hardware

■ Dell OptiPlex GX1/GX110/GX150

■ Dell OptiPlex GX 260

■ Dell Latitude C600 series

■ Dell PowerEdge 4400 and 4600 servers

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Figure 3: With the migration complete, users, computers, and groups in each upgraded account domain will be moved into the single ds. child domain using delegated administration in organizational units.

Figure 1: The first step in Motorola’s consolidation was reducing its 600 domains to seven resource domains and seven account domains, with corresponding trust relationships.

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© 2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Microsoft, Active Directory, Windows, the Windows logo, Windows NT, Windows Server, and Windows Server System are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Document published January 2004 | | |

For More Information

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For more information about Motorola products and services, visit the website at:

Figure 5: The Distribute Software Updates Wizard, seen in this partial screen shot, provides an easy, visual way to manage the deployment of updates.

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“Previously, patches and other software changes have taken several months to fully roll out. Motorola expects to deploy updates to most systems within a week with Systems Management Server 2003.”

Steven Bramson, Senior Systems Architect, Motorola

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Figure 2: In the intermediate step in Motorola’s consolidation, account domains were gradually upgraded in place and moved into the core simplified Active Directory tree.

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