Proof of Concept & Pilot

The Maywood Solutions Proof of Concept Service offers a uniquely tailored package, enabling definition and resolution from every concern that may stop an organisation from progressing to a full rollout of a Virtual Infrastructure. This service is based on quantitative analysis of existing servers and desktops along with future requirements. By running a Proof of Concept Maywood Solutions manage the risk of deploying a new technology and ease the process of implementation and acceptance of Virtualization.

Prerequisites

To successfully complete a Maywood Solutions Virtualization Planning Workshop. The Planning Workshop provides the foundation and information required for a proof of concept.

The Process

The Proof of Concept is completed by a partnership between the customer and Maywood Solutions Certified Virtualization Professionals. The exact platforms and functionality to be tested are defined during the Maywood Solutions Infrastructure Planning Workshop. This includes the following for either server or desktop virtualization:

Server Virtualization:

  • Installation and configuration of required server / SAN / network hardware and infrastructure.
  • Installation and configuration of the chosen Virtualization platform software. This will have been decided upon during the planning workshop and is dependant on the customers requirements and functionality / features of the software to meet these requirements.
  • Installation and configuration of guest operating systems.
  • Installation of customer specific applications.
  • Performance tuning of the Virtual Infrastructure.
  • Configuration and testing of DR and HA functionality.
  • Functional testing of the virtual servers against the acceptance criteria as defined in the planning workshop.
  • Documentation


Desktop Virtualization:

  • Installation and configuration of required server / SAN / network hardware and infrastructure.
  • Installation and configuration of the chosen Virtualization platform software. This will have been decided upon during the planning workshop and is dependant on the customers requirements and functionality / features of the software to meet these requirements.
  • Installation of a test domain and infrastructure to support test user accounts.
  • Installation and configuration of guest desktop operating systems and applications.
  • Installation of the chosen connection broker software and other associated components.
  • Installation and configuration of client devices such as thin clients.
  • Functional testing of the virtual desktop infrastructure against the acceptance criteria as defined in the planning workshop.
  • Documentation


Physical to Virtual

A key part of the Proof of Concept is replicating applications and their running environments from their existing physical machines onto virtual machines. This can present a whole set of new challenges as an application’s installation disks may not be available or the configuration may have been changed since the initial installation. Maywood Solutions industry leading skills practice moving such applications and maintaining the same level of service to end users.

Proof of Concept Deliverables

The POC will adhere to the guidelines set out in Planning Workshop. It will demonstrate the suitability for the customer to run a Virtual Infrastructure. From here the technology should move to a small scale pilot to measure end user acceptance.

For more information on how Virtual Infrastructure can transform your business contact Maywood Solutions today.