Microsoft Infrastructure OptimizationCustomer Solution Case Study

Agency Improves Network Service, Reduces Costs with Directory Service Health Check

OverviewCountry or Region: United StatesIndustry: Government—State and regional

Customer ProfileThe Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) oversees roadways, waterways, aviation, and railroads in Tennessee. The agency is headquartered in Nashville and has 4,000 employees.

Business SituationTDOT wanted to fix problems with its directory service that led to lengthy user logons, slow network performance, and frequent help-desk calls.

SolutionTDOT decided to engage in an Active Directory Risk Assessment Program, a Microsoft-provided assessment of the Active Directory service.

Benefits Elimination of logon and network

availability problems Annual support savings of U.S.

$125,000 Foundation for infrastructure

improvements

“Doing the [Active Directory Risk Assessment Program] enabled us to take a proactive stance with our IT infrastructure so that we could decrease the amount of reactive work.”

Dustin Heath, IT Operations Manager, Tennessee Department of Transportation

Before the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) upgraded its Active Directory–based infrastructure to the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system, it wanted to fix lingering, unidentified problems that had hampered user logon and network performance and resulted in increased help-desk calls. TDOT took advantage of a Microsoft Services offering called the Active Directory Risk Assessment Program, an in-depth health check of the Active Directory service. Working with Microsoft, TDOT performed an assessment before and after its upgrade and fixed several problems. As a result, TDOT ended up with a well-designed directory structure that gives employees trouble-free logon and excellent network performance—and reduced support costs by U.S.$125,000 a year. TDOT now has a foundation for supporting a growing network without staff increases and taking full advantage of Active Directory.

SituationThe Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) plans, implements, maintains, and regulates the roadways, waterways, skyways, railroads, and public transit systems in Tennessee. Its mission is to move people and products safely, efficiently, and in an environmentally friendly manner. The agency employs about 4,000 people across the state.

The agency’s IT infrastructure includes 271 Windows operating system–based servers, 2,500 PCs, and 129 applications. TDOT uses the Active Directory directory service to provide authentication and domain naming for the entire infrastructure.

From 1998 to 2008, TDOT ran the Windows NT operating system on its servers. In December 2008, it upgraded to the Windows Server 2003 R2 operating system and placed seven domain controllers in six locations across the state.

In June 2010, TDOT wanted to upgrade its Active Directory–based infrastructure to Windows Server 2008 R2, but first wanted to check the health of its directory service. “Ever since we began running Windows Server 2003 R2, we had noticed flaws in the way that password replication was working and also experienced name resolution inconsistencies that affected employees’ ability to access certain resources such as file servers and printers,” says Dustin Heath, IT Operations Manager for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. “The password replication problems really frustrated users, and we got several calls a week about logon problems.”

Network performance also bogged down occasionally, and sometimes the Active Directory service failed. “We had no way to measure the performance of our network and weren’t always sure why Active Directory failed,” says Devakanth Roshan, Network Engineer in the Tennessee Department of Transportation IT Department. “Our only indicator of performance and availability problems was how many complaints we got.”

Before upgrading to Active Directory Domain Services in Windows Server 2008 R2, TDOT wanted to fix these problems to make sure that it would be able to deliver a better user experience, reduce management work, and take full advantage of the latest functionality in Active Directory.

SolutionHeath contacted his local Microsoft representative and asked for a third-party assessment of its directory service architecture. Microsoft recommended a Microsoft Services offering called Active Directory Risk Assessment Program (ADRAP), which was included at no charge in the transportation agency’s Microsoft Premier Support contract.

Microsoft ADRAP is an in-depth analysis of an organization’s Active Directory service. Senior Microsoft Services consultants and engineers use a Microsoft proprietary software program called the Active Directory Snapshot Tool to provide real-time information about the performance, configuration, and overall health of key Active Directory components.

24

“Our only indicator of performance and availability problems was how many complaints we got.”Devakanth Roshan, Network Engineer, IT

Department, Tennessee Department of Transportation

TDOT was pleased to learn about the service and had a Microsoft Services consultant visit during February 2010 to perform the assessment. During the three-day engagement, Microsoft Services ran the Active Directory Snapshot Tool and provided TDOT with a detailed report on all the elements in its directory architecture that needed to be fixed. They included changing Domain Name System–related parameters, changing site and subnet settings, and fine-tuning security settings.

From March to May 2010, TDOT fixed all the issues identified in the initial ADRAP, and then upgraded its Active Directory–based infrastructure to Windows Server 2008 R2. In May, the same Microsoft Services consultant visited TDOT and audited its new infrastructure running on Active Directory Domain Services. The consultant pronounced the TDOT environment the cleanest he had ever seen in four years of conducting 36 ADRAP assessments a year.

BenefitsBy engaging in a two-step ADRAP process, one before an operating system upgrade and one following, the Tennessee Department of Transportation was able to ensure a highly successful upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2 and Active Directory Domain Services.

Elimination of Logon and Network Availability ProblemsWith its well-designed infrastructure based on Active Directory Domain Services, TDOT has eliminated logon problems and network performance slowdowns. “Logons are nearly instantaneous now, which helps employees be more productive and

eliminates the need for them to spend time contacting the help desk,” Heath says. “We’ve also experienced no Active Directory failures since the assessments; in fact, we’ve experienced ‘five nines’ [99.999 percent] network reliability. Before, even when the network was up, users perceived any slowdown as downtime, so our reputation with users is way up.”

Annual Support Savings of $125,000By eliminating logon and performance problems, the TDOT IT staff has drastically reduced related support calls. “Tickets for Active Directory–related problems have gone to zero compared to three to five tickets a week in early 2009,” Heath says. “That’s a [U.S.]$125,000 annual savings in help-desk staff savings. All state governments are cutting costs right and left, so that savings is significant. Doing the ADRAP enabled us to take a proactive stance with our IT infrastructure so that we could decrease the amount of reactive work.”

Heath’s staff is able to support a growing number of servers and data without expanding its support team. In June 2008, the agency had 171 servers, and in June 2010 it had 281. In one department, geographical information system data has grown from 7 to 60 terabytes in one year. “The agency has a much higher reliance on IT systems than even two years ago,” Heath continues. “All the Active Directory improvements we’ve made have enabled us to handle this growth. It’s made it easier to deliver servers to users and made our systems more manageable.”

Foundation for Infrastructure Improvements

34

“Tickets for Active Directory–related problems have gone to zero compared to three to five tickets a week in early 2009. That’s a $125,000 annual savings in help-desk staff savings.”

Dustin Heath, IT Operations Manager, Tennessee Department of Transportation

With an optimally designed infrastructure based on Active Directory, TDOT has created a solid foundation for moving forward and implementing new capabilities such as deploying Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007.

“Without eliminating low-level directory service problems, we would have had problems that would have prevented the installation of System Center Configuration Manager,” Roshan says. “Also, without the ADRAPs, we wouldn’t have been able to successfully upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2. We would never have looked at some of the lower-level issues that the ADRAP uncovered. With the insight we gained from the ADRAP, we were able to create a reliable, high-performance Active Directory–based infrastructure that provided a foundation for many more innovations.”

Microsoft Infrastructure OptimizationWith infrastructure optimization, you can build a secure, well-managed, and dynamic core IT infrastructure that can reduce overall IT costs, make better use of resources, and become a strategic asset for the business. The Infrastructure Optimization model—with basic, standardized, rationalized, and dynamic levels—was developed by Microsoft using industry best practices and Microsoft’s own experiences with enterprise customers. The Infrastructure Optimization model provides a maturity framework that is flexible and

easily used as a benchmark for technical capability and business value.

For more information about Microsoft infrastructure optimization, go to:www.microsoft.com/io

44

For More InformationFor more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers in the United States and Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:www.microsoft.com

For more information about Tennessee Department of Transportation services, call (615) 741-2848 or visit the website at: www.tdot.state.tn.us

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published June 2011

Software and Services Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise

Technologies− Active Directory Domain Services

Services− Microsoft Services