Train operator Eurostar has completed a major IT
overhaul, standardising hardware and software infrastructure and
culling more than 170 applications.
The IT project involved the replacement of
Hewlett-Packard/Compaq PCs and servers with 60 Dell Poweredge
servers and 1,200 Dell desktops, and the migration from Netware
servers to a Windows Server 2003 environment. "We did a complete IT
upgrade," said Tony Longhurst, general manager of IS technical
architecture at Eurostar.
He said Eurostar had deployed Windows XP SP2 to standardise the
version of Windows across its desktop infrastructure and installed
a Dell/Clariion storage area network.
Longhurst used Altiris software to improve visibility and
control of Eurostar's IT and used Wise Package Studio package
management software to simplify the installation of
applications.
With the new infrastructure, Longhurst said the average
turnaround time to fix PCs has been reduced from one hour to
between 10 and 15 minutes. The IT infrastructure can be managed
remotely, enabling desktops to be built from any of Eurostar's
offices, he added.
Later this year the company is planning to deploy patch
management technology from Altiris to manage the process of
installing security patches, firmware updates and device drivers on
its servers. Altiris is already deployed for desktop patch
management.
Although it is rare for a hardware manufacturer to issue a
critical patch, Longhurst has had to deal with patching in the past
and wanted an automated system. "By using Altiris on the servers,
we will be able to keep all our hardware infrastructure up to
date," he said.
The company is also providing 400 staff with full remote access
to the company network, using RSA tokens to enable two-factor
authentication. The user authentication system is based on
technology from Juniper Networks and is controlled through
Microsoft Active Directory.
Vote for your IT greats
Who have been the most influential people in IT in the past 40
years? The greatest organisations? The best hardware and software
technologies? As part of Computer Weekly’s 40th anniversary
celebrations, we are asking our readers who and what has really
made a difference?
Vote now at:
www.computerweekly.com/ITgreats