Your data will be non-compliant & at risk on Windows Server 2003. On July 14 th 2015, Microsoft will cease its support (including automatic bug fixes, updates and online technical assistance) for Windows Server 2003. Appropriately, the server s End-of-Life is being referred to as One of the biggest business-technology evolution stories of the decade (Dell, 2014). WHITEPAPER - March 2015 1
What does Windows Server 2003 End-of-Life mean for your business? Introduction Businesses around the world are being compelled to migrate away from Server 2003 immediately in order to avoid server performance issues and threats to security. However, migrating to newer versions of Windows Server is more than a case of just installing a new operating system. Prior to performing the migration, you would need to examine your existing infrastructure; discover which components of your IT environment are still employing Server 2003 technology; categorise your applications; determine the best destination for your applications e.g. the Cloud; mitigate any risks; and upgrade your hardware, all in line with your business future needs. Continued use of Server 2003 technology bears significant risks - you will inevitably have to pour resources into monitoring and shielding any servers running Server 2003. The choices you make in addressing this critical change can affect your IT strategy for the foreseeable future, so it is essential to review an array of options, whilst bearing in mind that time is not on your side. Microsoft first announced the impending end-of-life of Windows Server 2003 over 5 years ago. Today, over 23 million servers in the world are still running this technology, despite the advanced warning and the significant risks associated with employing Server 2003 post-end-of-life. From July 14 th 2015, continued use of Server 2003 technology will mean: 1 No Support - When problems are inevitably encountered with hardware, drivers, application compatibility, virtualisation or general interoperability, there will be no Microsoft Support life-line to call on for the answer. 2 No Updates - In 2013 alone there were 37 Critical Updates released for Server 2003. Imagine, if you can, what impact zero updates and bug fixes will have on the security and productivity of your infrastructure. Contents Introduction 2 What does Windows Server 2003 End-of-Life mean for your business? 3 Tips on Migrating 4 Discover & Access 6 Target & Migrate 7 Conclusion 8 How can Exponential-e help you? 8 3 No Compliance - After support ends, continued use of Server 2003 means your business will probably fail to meet industry-wide compliance standards and regulations, putting your existing accreditations in jeopardy. IT departments in the health care, financial and legal fields will be particularly affected and should be especially concerned. 4 Higher Costs - Without the customary support from Microsoft, isolating and protecting your 2003 servers will ultimately end up costing you more. Why expose your company to risk and spend more than you have to? WHITEPAPER - Your data will be non-compliant & at risk on Server 2003. 3
1. Discovery Survey your Estate 40,000 30,000 Utilisation Statistics ON PREMISE INFRASTRUCTURE VIRTUAL DATACENTRE 4. Migration Migrations Window Applications - Which are a good fit for Cloud & which are not. Licences - Do they allow Cloud deployment. Data - Where is it and how will your app. access it - The Network is key here. Dependencies - Application, Network 3 rd parties dependencies. Documentation - Existing & new. 20,000 10,000 Package instances use Used: 9,589 (24%) Not Used: 29,911 (76%) Unused package instances 75.7% UNUSED 14.07.15 100 GigE VPLS Network Topology and Logical Routing System Changes - change firewall rules, change DNS Records and update active directory polices. Failover using Disaster Recover & Business Continuity Tools. Data Migration. OFFICE 3 VIRTUAL DATACENTRE (VDC) 2. Design Internet OFFICE C - IT ASSETS (CPE) 5. Test Network Tests Based on Discovery Data Type of Private Cloud ModelShared, Dedicated, On-Premise or Hybrid. Type of Network Layer 2, Layer 3 or Hybrid. Type of Billing Pay-as-you-go (PAYG), Committed or Hybrid. Design Topology, High-Availability, INTERNAL DATABASE HEAD OFFICE - LONDON E-PIPE OFFICE 2 VPLS EDD Throughput, Latency and Packet Loss Application Performance & Load Testing Failover scenarios RPO & RTO User Acceptance Security, RPO & RTO, Users Access, Bandwidth requirements etc. INTERNET VIRTUAL DATACENTRE (VDC) OFFICE A OFFICE B VIRTUAL DATACENTRE Tips on Migrating: 3. Preparation HEAD OFFICE - LONDON IaaS Server Replication Seeding Centres Data Sync Tools IT Audit Understandably, you may not have faced any business drivers compelling you to migrate in Proof of Concept the past, however time is running out. Now is the best time to begin the migration process. Creation of a Single Environment. Use of Disaster Recover & Business. Build - Creation and build of new servers. INTERNAL DATABASE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES DISCOVERY DESIGN PREPARATION MIGRATION / BUILD TEST When it s time to migrate to a modern infrastructure, our advice would be to follow a four-step migration process: discover, assess, target and migrate. 100 GigE VPLS PROJECT MANAGEMENT 5
Discover & Assess Catalogue your software & workloads by discovering, inventorying & analysing what is running in your environment. Target & Migrate Following the assessment phase, you will have identified the key work patterns in your business from an application and workplace perspective. Although there are many target destination options available to you, bear in mind that the world of IT has significantly moved on since 2003 and users now have different demands and expectations for corporate IT. Life has become so fast paced that users expect to access all data at the touch of a fingertip, when they need it and from wherever they are. Hence your chosen target destinations for your applications and data workloads need to be mobile, agile and securely accessible from anywhere. Fundamentally, you have two main migration options: On premise deployment or a Cloud deployment, that includes IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. There are a range of tools & resources available to ease this process, whether migrating on premise, in the Cloud or spanning across both. Sure it sounds simple to discover and assess all of your 2003 systems and applications, but when was the last time you had a look in your server room to confirm what that old tower server from 2001 actually does? In a perfect world we would have brilliant and clear documentation on every system, application and function in our IT environment. In the real world, IT staff have probably inherited a portion of these systems with little or no hand-off. Completing the assessments by hand is therefore likely impossible. Catalogue your software and workloads by discovering, inventorying and analysing what is running in your environment using a purpose built software tool. A good software asset management tool will enable you to take stock of your IT estate and we would recommend choosing an intelligent tool that not only performs inventory, but can give business intelligence on what the true usage is per user. Utilise the tool to assess the behaviour of each person using your IT environment; including their time, location, access method and usage, as these factors will have a direct impact on the capacity and processing needs of your chosen upgrade/migration path. It s amazing how often businesses will learn that their older servers are no longer needed! Evaluate your applications & workloads, categorising them by type You will also need to define their level of criticality, complexity & risk. Once you have a solid understanding of what your users actually touch on a daily basis, it s important to assess the significance of each system in the greater view of your business. Evaluate your applications and workloads, categorising them by type (e.g. Microsoft server roles, Microsoft applications, 3 rd party applications etc.). You will also need to define their level of criticality, complexity and risk. At this point, you will realise that some systems may be due for retirement and deserve little time or energy, whereas other systems are still mission critical. The stage of assessing your systems is also the perfect opportunity to engage with outside professionals, who will help you understand if your existing software is addressing your business challenges in the best way. Many legacy applications have been completely eclipsed by new SaaS offerings or mobile apps, and now is the perfect time to make those moves rather than investing in upgrading servers. Before migrating, it is essential to consider security and privacy as well as vendor lock-in. Trust is a key part of this; you will need an IT partner that has stringent independent audits and a clear exit strategy, should things go wrong. It is important to complete your due diligence and speak to a reference customer to help build confidence and eventually trust. Vendor lock-in is seen as one of the potential drawbacks of migrating to the Cloud. In fact, a recently published Gartner analysis report* states that lock-in and standards even surpass security as the biggest objection to Cloud computing. Yet, before solely opting for on premise deployment, it is worth understanding that Cloud comes in many flavours. Most businesses will find that they need a variety of different solutions to best fit their needs when migrating away from Windows Server 2003. Depending on who you talk to, each definition may vary slightly. To put it simply, Clouds are either public (accessed via the Internet) or private (only accessed from inside your LAN, behind your firewall); the remaining differences tend to then focus around their architecture (how they manage their virtual machines) and what they include from the application stack (so are the servers handed over to you directly or do you have to build on-top of their platform using their tools and technologies). The important point to understand is that each Cloud has its own pros and cons, not all louds suit all business challenges. Most businesses will find that they need a variety of different solutions to best fit their needs when migrating away from Windows Server 2003. Accordingly, we recommend partnering with an IT partner that operates a true hybrid Cloud, giving you the freedom to move data on or off premise with zero lock-in and zero additional bandwidth charges. Choose a solution that will meet the flexibility and mobility needs of today s always connected society. Once you have truly determined the best target destinations for your various applications and workloads, you can begin implementing the migration. A typical migration for a small to mediumsized enterprise can take a minimum of 100 days to complete and notably longer for larger organisations. However, there are a range of tools and resources available to ease this process, whether migrating on premise, in the Cloud or spanning across both. WHITEPAPER - Your data will be non-compliant & at risk on Server 2003. 7
Conclusion With the deadline fast approaching (July 14 th 2015), it is crucial for businesses to treat migrating away from Windows Server 2003 as a matter of urgency. Continued employment of Server 2003 technology will threaten your security and compliance and inevitably leave your business vulnerable to server management and performance issues. From examining your IT infrastructure, through to performing the migration, we appreciate that the transition can sound daunting. However, as highlighted earlier, isolating and protecting your 2003 servers will ultimately end up costing you more, so why expose your company to risk and spend more than you have to? Migrating away from Windows Server 2003 at this time is nothing less than an investment in your organisation s future. An assured approach to easing the migration process is to engage with outside professionals. The right Professional Services team will recommend an intelligent software asset management tool to perform the discover and assess stage of your migration. For the target and migrate stage, a fitting Professional Service team should combine a variety of target destinations to create a bespoke solution that suits your specific needs; driving your business to a modern IT environment that will enable growth, flexibility, mobility of data, added security and compliance. Partner with a Professional Services team that are qualified and experienced enough to match your expectations in the following areas: the security and integrity of your data, the latency of end-user acceptability, the singular responsibility of providing an end-to-end SLA and the zero tolerance of downtime. How Exponential-e can help you? Professional Services: IT Audit: Our highly qualified and experienced Professional Services team at Exponential-e will examine your existing infrastructure, consider your business future needs and mitigate any risks to ensure a successful transition from Windows Server 2003. These practitioners are multiskilled and uniquely placed to drive your business to an IT environment that will enable growth, flexibility, mobility of data, added security and compliance. www.exponential-e.com/professional-services Avoid the headache of manually reviewing your IT estate with our IT Audit solution. Monitor all activity across your infrastructure with our single reporting tool, allowing you to see minute detail on things such as software installations and the utilisation statistics for individual users. The performance of individual machines will also not be affected due to the non-intrusive nature of the install. www.exponential-e.com/it-audit 8