LSP: migrate from Windows NT to Linux
Migrating file and print sharing services from a Windows machine to a Linux box is time consuming and often prone to error. To perform such an endeavor manually, an administrator must set up hundreds (if not thousands) of user accounts, then create file and print shares, and then copy files from the Windows environment to Linux. This manual work can take hours, if not days, to complete properly. LSP, from DAS Technology, is a utility that automates the entire conversion process. The software automatically converts users and groups, and copies files from the Windows to Linux Server, but it also goes a step further. It can migrate any Web pages being served by an existing Windows machine to Apache Web server on a Linux machine, and can copy any FTP files and configuration parameters from the Windows environment to Linux. As an added bonus, it can also migrate the NT server’s DNS and DHCP configurations.
For our tests we used a Red Hat 6.2 server running on a Dell PowerEdge 1300 and a Windows NT 4.0 server running on a Dell PowerEdge 2300. On the Red Hat system, we downloaded a TAR file from the company’s FTP server and decompressed it into a work directory. Likewise, we downloaded a ZIP file containing a SETUP.EXE installation program to install on the NT Server. (As part of the installation on the NT Server we made sure to install Service Pack 3 and the Option Pack.)
LSP’s NT to Linux migration process happens in four stages, alternating between the NT and Linux servers. The first stage involves running a data collection program on the NT server--this process obtains the server information--such as share names, directory and file structures, Internet Information Server configuration data, and so on--that LSP will migrate.
The second stage is executed on the Linux side. In this step, you enter the necessary information for configuring the Linux server--such as IP address, gateway, and so on--and a connection to the NT server is established. Stage 3 involves transferring configuration data and user files from the Windows server to the Linux server. In the last stage, the NT server is shut down and the new configuration is activated on the Linux server so that it can provide file and print services. Using LSP’s Linux-based administrative GUI we inspected the migrated file shares and changed their access permissions accordingly.
How well does it scale, can it do thousands of users? Can you find data on LSP’s max limits? To be integrated into the opening description grafs.] The demo version is limited to migrating 10mb of data, while the full version has no restrictions. Naturally, scalability is restricted only by the amount of time and processing power – thousands of users and millions of files will take a great deal of time to move.
On our test conversion, LSP performed almost flawlessly--our user accounts, file shares, and files had all migrated smoothly from Windows to Linux. We experienced only two difficulties: first, we had problems migrating one user (mdeignan) from Windows to Linux—but this was likely due to the fact that this user had an existing account on the Linux server. The second problem was that DHCP options (default gateway addresses, DNS servers, and so on) did not migrate correctly. However, these minor glitches were easily corrected with LSP’s administration GUI. It should be mentioned, though, that the administrative GUI is not as stable as it ought to be; we experienced program crashes while accessing various sections of the tool.
LSP has a few other downsides. Developed in Taiwan, the product’s documentation and interface are plagued by poorly translated text. Also, the current version of LSP cannot correctly migrate security groups that have names that contain spaces (such as "Internet Users"). Finally, the software supports a limited number of distributions (only Red Hat 6.0 and TurboLinux) and, on the Windows side, supports only Windows NT 4.0 with IIS 4.0, and not Windows 2000 Server with IIS 5.0. However, the online FAQ states that the product will support Windows 2000 in its next release.
LSP is a good product for performing an NT-to Linux migration, as long as your environment is still running NT 4.0 with IIS 4.0. The product is suited for enterprises with users numbering in the hundreds or thousands (any less than that would be just as easy to migrate by hand). LSP sports a few problems--some documented, some not—that should be fixed (or at least formally documented) in order for administrators to migrate an NT environment to properly. But LSP’s automated migration process can be a huge time-saver, especially for larger environments with thousands of users; and at a list price of $500, the convenience of LSP is more than worth the price.