Arvin/Gabriel South Africa is a member of the global ArvinMeritor group. Arvin is a manufacturer of exhaust and catalytic converters and Gabriel of ride control systems for light vehicles and commercial trucks and trailers.
With the amalgamation of Arvin and Meritor in July 2000, it was necessary for the local companies to standardise their IT systems. Enterprise Connection was given the mandate to find and provide solutions that would best suit their business needs.
"Enterprise Connection decided to conduct the migration of Arvin/Gabriel`s network to the ArvinMeritor Network in a phased manner, in order to minimise disruption to the users," says Jacques du Toit, Microsoft Technical Expert at Enterprise Connection.
Enterprise Connection upgraded the physical LAN to a switched 100MB segmented backbone and optimised the existing hardware infrastructure by installing server racks and consolidating hardware. Doing the following completed the migration:
* Installing a new server into the ArvinMeritor Domain as a BDC and File & Print Server. Migrating User and Departmental data to the new server.
* Installing a new Exchange server into the ArvinMeritor Domain and joining the existing Exchange site, and moving user mailboxes to the new server, while implementing the global e-mail standard.
* Creating all the users (300) and groups in the new domain while changing the naming standard.
* Consolidating the security policy used in the old Domain to a more structured one in the new Domain.
The migration process also included moving the HR member server, which handles all access control to the premises. Enterprise Connection also migrated the intranet to a new member server and installed a Microsoft SQL server to facilitate the Timesheet look-up, by implementing an extraction process from the Access Control system to SQL.
The whole ArvinMeritor Corporate Network is now standardised on a Microsoft Windows NT Server and the Directory Services have been implemented in a Single Domain Model with centralised administration. A Microsoft Exchange Server has been installed as a corporate messaging platform, with selective user`s being allowed access to internal and SMTP mail.
The entire migration took approximately four months, with another two more months to implement the various new policies, including the following:
* Implementing Backup Exec 8 and a new back-up process, Grandfather, Father, Son.
* Implementing Norton Antivirus on all servers and desktops, including Exchange scanning.
* New user account creation and file permissions, as well as user account termination.
Rob Jones, Key Accounts Manager for Enterprise Connection comments, "Arvin/Gabriel required better network management and security at Group level. They also wanted to utilise global resources and make the most of intranet-based business processes. In the end, being an expert in global Microsoft integration, Enterprise Connection managed the migration and implementation of Arvin/Gabriel`s business requirements and provided the relevant skills for the project."
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