Fast And Easy Windows Deployment In Superlab Test Environment

Creating first-class laboratories

Novell, a world-renowned American Software Corporation, is viewed by many as one of the pioneering organisations in the technology space. Today Novell delivers infrastructure software for the Open Enterprise. The company is a leader in desktop to data centre operating systems based on Linux and the software required to secure and manage mixed IT environments.

Novell’s main testing laboratories are based in Provo, Utah and this is where teams of software engineers run ongoing tests on new code and product updates before release to the market. Additionally, shipping software is regularly benchmarked to ensure that it is ‘fit for purpose’ and meets the ever-growing needs of customers. Novell had a requirement to be able to test software on both Windows XP and Vista in their lab. ZENworks 10 Configuration Management was used to provide the imaging solution but additional automation was required to enable rapid deployment of the testing environment and the existing Superlab solution was not Vista compatible.

By working in partnership with ENGL, and using the ENGL Imaging Toolkit™, the Superlab has been able to simulate all kinds of test environments, helping the software engineers to:

• Improve desktop imaging and administration
• Dramatically reduce deployment time and maintenance
• Deliver more flexibility and efficiency into the laboratories
• Move from checking functionality to enhancing the test environment
• Operate at optimum levels of productivity
• Focus on core competencies such as testing Novell products

Testing requirements

Novell’s laboratories run two types of testing: benchmarking shipping product to record baseline performance statistics and reviewing either new products or new code to create a ‘real’ environment so that problems are identified and addressed before the product actually starts shipping. Flexibility is another important aspect of Novell’s lab work - having the ability to respond to different levels of demand, such as testing on slower and faster networks, more complex environments created to replicate customer environments.

In early 2007, Novell decided to speed up and enhance its ZENworks testing in the Superlab with the objective being to create a unique and robust environment – in essence Novell would be testing both physical and virtual machines with a variety of configurations and customer scenarios.

Novell and ENGL have enjoyed a long-term commercial relationship, where ENGL provides a suite of enhancement tools to customers for fast-tracking the deployment of Windows with Novell ZENworks. Together Novell and ENGL help customers to realise the benefits of a Standard Operating Environment (SOE), allowing them to simplify the management of their Windows estate by fully automating this process. It was therefore a natural extension to this existing relationship for Novell to approach ENGL when it came to reviewing its lab requirements.

Creating the right environment

A team of Novell software engineers were tasked with creating this new test environment, and quickly realised that this would involve substantial resourcing costs which simply hadn’t been budgeted for. In addition it was going to be a very hard task for Novell to find the appropriate technical resources with the right level of knowledge and expertise.

Todd Layton, Senior Software Engineer for Novell takes up the story:

“We have a combination of physical and virtual machines which we run a variety of tests on. Each PC is basically three machines in one; with one physical and two virtual machines running in parallel

Our team's charter is to replicate the customer environment. In order to this, we have to use the product in the same way that the customer would. This therefore involves activating a new user account, i.e. generating a PC build process for each machine. And this is undertaken on two levels – from the end user perspective, as well as for the administrator user.

In the past, we have found that this build process could take hours just to get the machine ready - multiply this by 1,000 machines and you start to appreciate the time and man-power involved in set-up alone.”

Delivering a winning formula

As this was a new initiative for Novell, a proof of concept was undertaken. ENGL scoped out a detailed project plan, working closely with Novell’s software engineers to help define the test labs needs with a particular objective of moving from a manual approach to a fully automated build process.

Within a relatively short period of time it was evident the value that ENGL’s Imaging Toolkit would deliver. Additionally, Novell was particularly impressed by the level of knowledge and advice provided by ENGL’s technical team, and the decision was taken to use the Imaging Toolkit in the Superlab.

The amount of intervention required by a Novell technical person is now reduced considerably - test engineers simply make some changes in the ZENworks Configuration Management Control Centre and the machine automatically builds and deploys. Building the machine involves an initial outlay but keeping these machines updated also involves substantial maintenance costs and Novell has seen significant savings in both areas. Todd Layton concludes:

“ENGL has been fantastic, incredibly responsive and really knowledgeable. They have always been ready and willing to help out and even do extra research to make our lives easier. The Superlab has been able to deliver a reliable service to the rest of the organisation and make cost savings as a result of implementing ENGL’s Imaging Toolkit.

It is difficult for me to quantify a Return on Investment with any accuracy but involving ENGL in our testing has enabled us to test with virtual machines and has enabled a quicker setup time. ENGL has saved us lots of time in getting the Superlab ready to test various ZENworks products before releasing them to our customers.”

Further information

For more information, please complete an online enquiry form or call +44 (0) 8700 115 116.

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