This state-run government agency provides IT services to municipalities. For over 40 years, this agency has been offering platforms for finance, human resources, transport, social affairs, and real estate. Additionally, it provides municipalities with updates on mobile solutions and offers the Citizens Service Portal, the most advanced eGovernment platform in Germany.
“Our development and testing facilities are distinct from the rest of the IT department,” said the head of infrastructure. “We're constantly working to enhance our eGovernment platform, focusing on security and redundancy,” he added. They strive to keep up with new updates because, as the customer put it, “we needed a fresh perspective on our systems to avoid missing the forest for the trees.”
“Given our prior experience with government institutions, we knew the importance of meticulous documentation,” explained Gerhard Mautendorfer, comdivision’s project lead. “Particularly to ensure no data loss during database migrations,” Mautendorfer added. The task involved upgrading vCloud Director and migrating from a vCloud Director with an external Microsoft SQL server to a vCloud Director Appliance with an embedded Postgres SQL and a connected NSX manager. A key challenge was minimizing downtime. The research department used the vCloud Director instance as a testing ground for their IaaS services, necessitating a reliable rollback option if needed.
Transitioning the operating system and vCloud Director version required understanding the implications of these changes. Once the necessary steps were taken and the certificates reimported, the system was brought back onlinee.
Following a thorough check using comdivision’s standardized checklists, the system resumed operations. The customer also requested enabling automatic database backups for the vCloud Director instance. “We conducted a thorough Health Check to ensure no detail was overlooked,” stated Mautendorfer. This involved collecting log and performance data for the vCenter Server instance, the hosts, NSX, and vCloud Director, and presenting a comprehensive report to the customer.
“The work Gerhard did was exceptional,” commended the head of infrastructure. “Even when faced with a minor yet critical error due to a copy-paste issue, Gerhard remained composed, allowing us to resolve it effectively.” Despite these challenges, which typically lead to delays, comdivision successfully completed the project within the allotted time and budget. “The greatest recognition of our work is when a customer inquires about our availability for their next project,” Mautendorfer said with a laugh.
