Active directories 12th, May 2004

Meeting was opened by Iain Logan (Computing Service), who invited Peter Mitchell (Computing Service) to give a short presentation to the group.

History

The potential cost savings afforded by supporting MS desktops with MS directories mean we should investigate their use ASAP.

Aim

Due to the intention to introduce Active Directories, the Group were invited today in order to canvas their experiences and / or opinions. Computing Service was seeking consultation at the earliest possible time in order to minimise future problems. Computing Service does not have a pre-proscribed approach to this issue, but due to historical reasons and ?Current Position? has to find a way forward.

Current Position

Peter Mitchell stated that at this time, Computing Service were required to develop in three areas, that is Exchange Mail, Finance Office, and a Migration Process for Computing Service?s NDS.

In order to carryout the development of Active Directories within the Computing Service and their possible use in other parts of the campus, the experiences and knowledge of the Group would be valued by Computing Service.

Future Development

Peter Mitchell laid out two alternative approaches for the structure of the University?s Active Network(s), that is:

· Central Approach: this was named the ?Single Forest? model, which would have multiple domains allowing devolved processing and some local control.

Peter Mitchell would, however, recommend a design that had at least three Main Domain Centers at separate sites.
Peter Mitchell had a preference for this model, as he saw clear benefits for the IT Community, for example standard administration and reduced implementation costs and support (the former benefit relating to Computing Service and the latter benefits to the IT Community).

· Individual Approach: this was named the ?Multiple Forest? model, which would have single domains.
Peter Mitchell could not recommend this model due to the duplication of effort that it intrinsically involved.

Open Discussion

Peter Mitchell asked for feedback with regard to his proposed approach to future developments and noted that Roger Mackenzie would be willing to answer any questions that he was unable to respond to.

Key issue appeared to be migration. In particular, those Departments that already had a Directory System in place would need to see substantial benefits in order to justify the introduction of Active Directories, with the Chemistry Department, Computing Science Department, Crichton Campus and Physics Department all noting their recognition of this position.

In general, the opinion given at the meeting reflected a desire for total control at the Department / Faculty level. However, the presence of a silent majority made it difficult to gauge reaction to the proposals. Computing Science noted that there was very little data on this issue for the group to reflect upon, which would possible account for the general lack of feedback. Was acknowledged that agreement of a way forward was not possible at this time.

The eventual end of DNS was also addressed, with the Group being informed that under the current IT Strategy, which has a 3-year horizon, there was no plan to phase out NDS. Peter Mitchell stated that ?parallel development? would be the preferred way forward in order to minimise development and migration risk.

Finally, on the issue of benchmarking, Peter Mitchell noted that there had been some development in the past, but that conclusions needed to take account of the maturity of the technology. Improvements in the technology were seen to negate the usefulness of previous benchmarking data.

Next Steps

A ?Crossed Forest? involving the Departments of Computing Science and Computing Service would be carried out and the outcomes presented in a paper to the Group.

In addition, a Working Group was being formed for Active Directories and the intention was to keep the Group fully apprised of its work.

Thanks and Future Meeting

Iain closed the meeting by thanking Peter Mitchell for presenting and then managing the consequent discussion in conjunction with Roger Mackenzie.

Finally, Iain Logan noted that the next meeting would take place on the 9th of June 2004 and would be presented by Mark Partridge, Computing Service, on the Standard Staff Desktop.