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New York Life F ield Office NT Server Upgrade Plans

New York Life F ield Office NT Server Upgrade Plans. This document was prepared to help NY Life make informed decisions regarding its use of NT server technology in its “Field” offices.

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New York Life F ield Office NT Server Upgrade Plans

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  1. New York LifeField Office NT Server Upgrade Plans This document was prepared to help NY Life make informed decisions regarding its use of NT server technology in its “Field” offices. Network management has evaluated how existing Field Office NT servers are employed and we have anticipated its future use. The following presentation depicts the results of our research and our recommended course of action. Howard Bergman

  2. Table of Contents • The Current Environment • The Business Problem • The Technology Problem • Options for New York Life • Renew IBM equipment lease - costs and benefits • Lease Compaq Technology - costs and benefits • We recommend Leasing Compaq Technology • We recommend employing a “Network & Integration Lab” for server and desktop certification

  3. The Current Environment indicates that anNT Server Hardware & Software upgrade is required • Current hardware lease is coming due in 1999 • Current hardware is inadequate for future growth, insufficient Disk and RAM • Operating System (NT 3.51) is outdated & has been superceded by NT4 and NT5 is due in 1999 • New applications are being rolled out which require more robust hardware • Base software - Rumba, Anti-virus, Arcserve … are outdated • Domain structure should be revised per Microsoft/NYL standards

  4. The Business ProblemUsers demanding more service • Business community has requested shared disk space on local file servers • Field offices have requested placing user “Home” directories on the server • Business community has requested placing shared applications (FTAPPS) on local file servers • Based on past experience, we anticipate additional application rollout requests • There is currently a pilot program “FTCS” (Field Technology Contact System) application on each server. FTCS uses SQL/Anywhere which executes on each server. FTCS requires a minimum of 32MB RAM. The bulk of the existing servers have only 64MB RAM.

  5. The Technology ProblemExisting Servers are insufficient • “GO” Training servers will be consolidated and will require hardware upgrades (additional Disk and RAM) • Current servers are failing • The IBM704 / IBM325 servers are outdated and parts can NOT be purchased for certain upgrades - such as RAM • The current deployment of tape & disk on the same SCSI channel is causing problems, and should be replaced • The current configuration of the field servers employs disk mirroring for fault tolerance. Upgrading to RAID 5 is more practical and provides greater fault tolerance.

  6. Options for New York Life • Renew the IBM equipment lease • Replace servers on an “ad-hoc” basis as required • Lease current Compaq Technology • Replace all IBM servers as their leases expire with new Compaq servers • Proliant 3000 for offices with 11 users or more • Proliant 1600 for offices with 10 users or less

  7. Renew IBM equipment leasecosts and benefits • Lease + maintenance is $1.8Mfor 3 yrs. (not including NY Life manpower) • Lose competitive advantage / user productivity due to continued use of limiting technology • Continuing to pay for and employ outdated technology • Higher cost per server to deploy “ad-hoc” upgrades when compared to volume purchasing • Increased maintenance costs and effort • Limited supply of replacement parts • Difficult to maintain multiple equipment standards • Reactive “emergency” replacement of servers ( users decide when to upgrade - rather than CID )

  8. LeaseCompaq Technologycosts and benefits • Lease cost is $2.3M for 3 years rollout cost is estimated @ $1M • Significantly increase DISK/RAM/Fault tolerance & server availability • Upgrade software to NT4 (Windows 2000 ?) • Upgrade baseline applications • SNA, Rumba, Arcserve, Powerchute, MS-Office (2000), Norton Anti-virus, Laplink • Implement standard NT domain names

  9. LeaseCompaqTechnologycosts and benefits (continued) • By upgrading server hardware and operating systems, CID will be able to: • Resolve lease expiration problem • Provide for business growth • Accommodate business requests for new applications and related services • Improve user support / system reliability with Compaq Insight Manager • Reduce maintenance costs / complexity • Receive improved vendor support

  10. We recommend LeasingCompaqTechnology • By upgrading to Compaq, users are more productive and NYL is more competitive • Improve user service and support • CID is pro-active, NOT reactive • Upgrade to current applications/hardware • Less expensive to maintain 1 technology set, compared to a mixed set or an older technology set

  11. We recommend implementing a“Network+Integration Lab” • The lab will provide network, server and desktop certification in addition to third level support for applications. • The LAB will ensure that: • Users receive improved quality of delivered products • A business resource can sustain the requirements of a new or upgraded product • Integrity of existing applications are not compromised and conflicts are identified • Management should mandate that applications require “LAB Certification” prior to rollout

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