assessments, for example, form part of the standard process of adoption. Introduction

CIOs and IS/IT Directors and Managers are increasingly aware that the Linux platform can

offer a low-risk, robust infrastructure when developed into a mature, enterprise-class

platform. LinuxIT’s industry leading LIMA service is designed to help organisations develop a

resilient Linux operating environment that is fully aligned to your technical and business

requirements, dramatically reducing deployment time, simplifying maintenance, increasing

stability and agility, and reducing support and management costs.

Introduction

The increasing reliance on Linux in a mission critical capacity means that most organisations’ Linux estates are expanding. Several Linux servers are simple to manage, but 100’s can fast become unmanageable unless proven best practice is constantly applied to keep everything under control. In the early days, Linux was predominantly used for tactical and non-strategic reasons. And because the standard commercial model and associated costs didn’t apply, it wasn’t always evaluated with the same rigour as a proprietary technology. Due to the investment required of proprietary software, ROI calculations, POCs, pilots and security

assessments, for example, form part of the standard process of adoption.

Linux didn’t always get put through these filters - it very often got in via the back door. What that means is that there is rarely any explicit strategy for selection, design, build or management of these servers. Instead, there is all too often a patchwork of disparate Linux distributions, configurations and management processes with little or no documentation. That spells real risk, especially if the engineers who installed it and manage it leave the business. So it’s imperative to identify and apply best practices against Linux as soon as possible. Otherwise, at best Linux will not deliver the full potential of its inherent advantages, and at worst disaster could be looming.

A service designed to deliver more

efficient operations and impressive

economies of scale from your

Linux infrastructure through the

application of best practice.

Higher ratios of servers and users

per administrator and significantly

lower downtime costs every time

Best Practice

Considering Linux through the lens of ‘best practice’ allows CIOs and IS/IT Directors and Managers to identify whether the strategy, architecture, service and systems management are congruent with their standards and fit for purpose. With this understanding they can evaluate to what extent Linux successfully underpins their mission critical applications so as to deliver value and competitive advantage to the business.

Aims & Objectives Aim

To establish the maturity of the current manifestation of Linux in order to help the organisation develop it to a level commensurate with technical and business requirements.

Objectives

This service is aimed at generating and sharing knowledge through consultation that enables your organisation to:

• Gain an awareness of the current state of the Linux environment • Generate a clear future state vision for the Linux environment

• Provide maturity progression path • Drive operational efficiencies • Reduce costs

• Mitigate risk

How it works

The LIMA assessment program utilises the Linux Infrastructure Maturity Model (LIMM) to define a level of maturity via analysis of the current state. Through this conceptual framework it is able to identify areas for

improvement against best practise. These include areas that will help organisations reduce costs, increase agility, security, service level management and staff development. It allows the organisation to incorporate the improvements in standard operating procedures which can then proliferate throughout the organisation. It defines a viable roadmap, giving incremental value to your organisation while making technology and service improvements. That will ensure a consistent and incremental approach towards the ideal future state, while delivering what your organisation needs in a reasonable timeframe.

Report

This LIMA culminates in a structured report and presentation to key stakeholders.

Phased Approach

There are three key elements to the assessment:

Current State

The current state analysis element of this assessment involves gaining a “business truth” of the maturity of your Linux environment so that it is possible to plan effectively for moving from the current reality to the desired state. It is measured holistically against key metrics.

The LIMM is divided into five levels, from no Linux (level 0) through the most basic Linux installation (Level 1) to a completely virtual, automated, and optimised service (Level 4).The level that applies to each individual infrastructure will relate directly to unique skill-set, budget, vision and size of organisation applied by the service owners up to the given point of the appraisal.

The LIMA survey provides repeatable, quantitative data collection and analysis against industry benchmarks. The expert-led

consultancy workshops enable qualitative data collection and analysis through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders from the ICT teams.

Future State

The future state is a vision of Linux infrastructure maturity for your organisation. Although it pertains to an ideal, it is developed pragmatically, taking into account the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats at your organisation. It is a description of what each of the key categories will look like once the right level of maturity is achieved.

Transformation

Here, LinuxIT provides recommendations to be undertaken as a priority to advance your organisation towards the desired level of maturity. They are high-level, discrete transformation elements formulated against a best practice approach that are key steps to reaching that level of maturity.

Although the maturity model develops maturity and can often enable the effective use of Cloud technologies, virtualisation, and service management optimisation tools and techniques, there’s no requirement that every instance has to reach Level 4 status. One of the benefits of the LIMM is the ability to quickly asses the future goals of the service owner. One organisation may need to become a Level 4 (Optimised) offering, while another may only need to achieve Level 2 (Controlled). The level evaluation will be unique for every instance as will the steps required to meet the future demand.

The Linux Infrastructure Maturity Model (LIMM)

The Linux Infrastructure Maturity Assessment (LIMA)

Linux

Infrastructure

Maturity

1

1

The Maturity Kingpin

A Standard Operating Environment /Standard Operating Environment Management Platform (SOE/SOEMP) is the optimum environment to mature to. A SOEMP enables organisations to break free from the drudgery, risk and inefficiencies of maintaining a DIY system and the only way to make Linux an enterprise platform.

The objective is to develop enterprise-level standards that can be implemented during future migrations and new projects. For any organisation, reaching these new levels of operational efficiency allows the resources previously consumed by maintaining operations to be redirected to more innovative and strategic initiatives, such as cloud computing, that drive value.

A standard operating environment approach focuses on:

• Standardisation — to ensure consistency across the server estate. For example, standardisation prevents the one-off configurations of fragile artefacts that spawn unique support issues and consume extra knowledge to build and maintain

• Repeatability — to ensure knowledge of IT systems is captured and recorded consistently. For example, having a methodical approach helps to create viable, sustainable system management processes

• Automation — to drive standard, repeatable IT system management processes. For example, this results in minimising, or even eliminating the need for resource-intensive manual intervention in the deployment phase. After conducting your LIMA we will design a SOE that supports your future vision for applications, middleware, services and business processes.

What does success look like?

Successful designs are:

• Focused on the planning, design and deployment of enhancements in the current build

• Based on the standards for security, deployment and management

• Targeted on achieving the required performance, stability, and security changes.

Key to a successful implementation is an SOEMP that allows administrators to configure, provision, update, and monitor all of the enterprise’s systems more effectively.

This same tool should also allow administrators to quickly gain a high degree of mastery over these new systems. Install and provision new systems.

For a Best Practice Linux Infrastructure Maturity Assessment…

Find out more about how we can reduce the costs and stress of managing your Linux infrastructure, give us a call on 0845 606 3002

or email [email protected]

About LinuxIT

LinuxIT is an IT Services company specialising in Linux systems management with an unrivalled record in deploying best practice Linux and

Open Source Software. LinuxIT’s professional services provide enterprise quality services and support from a strategic to operational level

aligning the IT systems with organisations vision and strategy.Employing expertise and reference architectures amassed over 14 years, LinuxIT work with leading commercial and public sector organisations in their use of Linux as the infrastructure platform for their mission critical IT systems. Our team has over 100 years combined experience in helping organisations make more of their IT systems, become more

efficient and achieve real world ROI. LinuxIT have worked with both established Linux users, and those interested in embracing the unique

benefits that flow from its adoption. www.linuxit.com.

Benefits incl

A Mature Strategy Configurations Managed Systems Integrated

Effective Monitoring & Reporting with Detailed MI Proactive Management Focus Consolidated and Rationalised

Detailed SLA’s

Effective Backup Policy Effective DR

Budget and Costs Managed Risks Identified/Mitigated