Researching Products and Applications

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Researching Products and Applications

Armed with a detailed list of the applications that will be tested , the application testing team can begin contacting the vendors of the products and validate whether the vendor certifies its product(s) to be compatible.

An inventory of the Exchange- related applications should be created, and this spreadsheet can then be expanded as compatibility information is gathered; if designed properly, it can be used throughout the testing process.

Creating an Inventory of the Messaging Applications

It is usually fairly obvious which applications are installed on the Exchange Server or connect to it and are considered to be part of the messaging infrastructure. If an application uses Exchange Server resources or is installed on an Exchange Server, it should be tested in the application testing phase. If a different messaging system is in place, it is more likely that the exact applications in use will require more significant upgrades or equivalent products will need to be identified.

As illustrated in Table 17.2, a spreadsheet can easily be created that lists the messaging servers currently in place and the software applications installed on each.

Table 17.2. Server Inventory List

Server Name

Server OS, SP#, Role

Messaging OS (w SPs)

Software Installed (w version #)

CAEX1

Windows 2000 Server SP3

Exchange 2000 Enterprise, SP3

Veritas BackUp Exec v.x Veritas Exchange Agent v.x

Trend AntiVirus v.x

RIM BlackBerry v.x

CAEX2

Windows 2000 Server SP3

Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server, SP3

Veritas BackUp Exec v.x

The key items that should be recorded are the names of the server, the versions of the operating system and messaging server software installed, the role of the device, and the names , manufacturers and versions of add-on software products.

Care should be taken to identify all applications running on each messaging server, including tape software, antivirus software, and network monitoring and management utilities, which are in addition to the more obvious database, email messaging, document routing, or other business applications.

If Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) or a similar management product capable of generating an inventory list of installed applications (along with hardware capabilities) is in use, it saves time by automatically detecting the software applications installed.

Prioritizing the Applications on the List

When the list is completed, it's a good idea to assign priorities to the applications. Departmental managers should be consulted for their opinions on which applications are essential and enable their users to perform their work on a day-to-day basis. Often there may be applications in place that are rarely used, and can be removed from the new environment.

Prioritization can occur based on the criticality of the application. Three basic levels, which are self-explanatory are critical, near-critical, and nice to have. After this first level of categorization has taken place, a rough order of installation can be assigned. This order may change based on the results of the application testing.

This additional set of information is helpful during the testing process because applications that are listed as nice-to-haves and are at the bottom of the list can be passed over if time and budget constraints are too tight, or if the application or utility proves problematic . Certain utilities should be considered critical, such as tape backup software and Exchange agents , antivirus software, and ”in zero downtime environments ”the network management tools required to monitor the performance of the servers.

Paging connectivity software was essential for many organizations, but in many cases has been replaced by newer technologies, such as the RIM BlackBerry. Faxing software was very popular several years ago but may not be needed any more, so it can be put at the bottom of the list.

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Morimoto R., Coca J., Gardinier K.

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