The server nobody switched off
A college moves to a new storage service. The old server stays in a cupboard, still on, still holding 10,000 student files.
Two years later it is thrown into a skip. The disks go with it, with every file still on them.
The end of a solution needs a plan too.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Monitor | watch how a system is doing, using measures and alerts |
| Evaluate | judge how well the solution meets what it was meant to do |
| Optimisation | making a working system faster, cheaper or easier to use |
| Change management | the agreed steps for asking for, approving and making a change |
| Decommission | switching a solution off for good and removing it |
| Migrate | move users and data from the old solution to the new one |
| Decision log | a written record of what was decided, what was done and what happened |
| Sanitise | wipe data from a device so that it cannot be recovered |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can describe monitoring, decommissioning and migrating, and explain how each stage is done safely and recorded.
Starter
Have a go
Starter
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Stage 6: monitor and evaluate
After release, keep watching. Monitor how the solution runs: speed, errors, free space and user feedback. Evaluate whether it meets the original aims.
If you find ways to do better, use optimisation through continuous improvement. But follow the agreed change management steps. No quiet changes.
Stage 7: decommission
Decommission means the solution ends its life. It is switched off for good.
Do it safely. Tell users. Copy off anything that must be kept. Sanitise the disks so data cannot be recovered. Remove accounts and access. Update the records. Dispose of the hardware in a lawful way, as you learned for WEEE.
Stage 8: migrate to a new solution
Migrate means move the users and data to the new solution.
Plan the move. Copy the data. Test that it arrived whole. Often both systems run side by side for a short time. Then switch over, check again, and only then decommission the old one.
Check
Have a go
Check
4 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.