[EdLUG] Advice on Linux migration task

[Martin Love]

Hi Tahir,

The first think I would be doing is setting expectations with the 
Project Manager. If everything was documented to migrate 40 servers in 
just 10 weeks is a tall order. You will absolutely run into problems 
that will take time to resolve and to make matters worse you have no one 
to fall back on. Setting realistic expectations will take the pressure 
off you. Just having that pressure lifted will mean you'll inevitably 
make less mistakes.

As to what questions to ask the sysadmin.. Who are his contacts in each 
of the departments that use these systems. If you have a contact there, 
even a non technical contact can help point you in the correct 
direction. In academic institutions you usually find the users of these 
bespoke applications have a really good handle on how they are setup and 
function.

Just me tuppence worth.

Martin

On 19/07/2021 18:01, Tahir Hafiz wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I've started a new remote role in an academic institution.
> But the first task seems to be to migrate around 40 Linux servers (a 
> couple of them seem to be Solaris, the rest Ubuntu) each running 
> different bespoke applications for various academic purposes from one 
> organisation to another organisation within the next 10 weeks or so.
>
> The problem is that there is scant documentation as to what these 
> Linux servers do and the purpose of the applications running on each 
> one, how they were set-up (individually it seems by various academics 
> over the years who have since left), and the majority of servers are 
> on AWS, some on Google Cloud and a few on OpenStack. The Project 
> Manager is looking at the purposes of the servers to be migrated from 
> a business point of view.
>
> The current Linux sysadmin has been doing the job of three people 
> maintaining all these systems, he has not documented anything all 
> these years and is leaving in 4 days.
> What kind of good questions should I ask him before he leaves? He is 
> the only one that knows how everything works.
>
> Is there any good inventory software for Linux that will tell you what 
> services, ports being listened on, active applications running? What 
> are the best ways to figure out what a server does?
> I think as time is so short I need to find a way to lift and shift a 
> server from one organisation to another - any advice on how to do 
> this, e.g. AWS and GCP or OpenStack that can "lift and shift" a server 
> from one organisation's cloud to another?
>
> Cheers,
> Tahir
>
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