Customer case
MANAGING SEVERAL DOMAINS IN ONE CONSOLE
ASSOCIATION – EDUCATION & TRAINING
How to manage multiple domains in a single console with WAPT? We explain it all from the case of Jordi MORILLO, systems & networks administrator at Education and Training: infrastructure, issues, needs, use and gains with WAPT.
Presentation
Education and Training is a non-profit association under the French law of 1901 that specializes in training and has its origins in the fight against discrimination and illiteracy, based in Normandy. As it has evolved, the organization has offered new refresher and basic learning courses as well as qualifying and diploma courses (but not only).
800 administered stations
20 locations
2 adminsys
The association’s IT infrastructure
Education and Training has 20 sites throughout Normandy (department 76 and 27), which represents 800 client stations. A Samba Active Directory domain is set up for the “Trainees” part as well as a Microsoft Active Directory domain for the “Administration” part. The two Active Directories are not linked by approval relationships.
2 active directory
42 deployed softwares
Problems encountered :
Education et Formation has observed 2 problems linked to the 2 different Active Directories:
Education and Training found 2 issues related to the 2 different Active Directory:
On the “Administrative” side, users were administrators of their workstation, so they were able to install any software. Therefore during an update, it was common for other programs to be installed without the user realizing it (Installing Avast antivirus when updating Adobe Reader for example).
The computers in the “Intern” part were using SambaEdu, while integrating the WPKG solution for deployment. The solution was not very functional and did not provide any inventory feedback.
Testimony
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The product is useful, it saves time.
Why use WAPT?
For Education and Training, WAPT’s strength lies in its ability to manage multiple domains in a single administrative console. Adminsys also appreciate the ease of installation and use. The fact that WAPT is developed in Python was an additional argument for the association, as was the strong community behind the software.
Version, Support, and Training
Education and Training opted for WAPT with its 1.3 version; the Community and Enterprise versions did not yet exist. In the second year, the association purchased support tickets to support the development of the software.
In 2019, the association is opting for WAPT Enterprise to be able to manage Windows Updates on the trainee pool, take advantage of reporting with specific queries as well as use certificate authentication.
Test phase
- 2 months of testing
- 15 test machines
- Package development
What WAPT has brought to Education & Training
On the admin side, the issue was resolved by removing administrator access to users. A switchover of these workstations to Windows 10 was performed at the same time.
With users still needing certain programs, the system administrators developed a package grouping the utilities needed by all. Although some packages remain visible to users, users must contact the system administrators to install this software.
WAPT was chosen to replace WPKG since it provides the notion of reporting that WPKG lacks (not offering status or item status).
Estimated gains using WAPT
On the admin side, Education et Formation has gained in terms of security, since it’s the system administrators who control installations and updates on the park.
Time has been saved on the “Trainee” part, which was in poor condition (no feedback, regular crashes). The adminsys now take care of deployment and software updates more quickly.
We can therefore say that Jordi MORILLO and his team are now equipped to manage several domains from a single console thanks to WAPT.
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Estimated gains using WAPT
Video feedback
Some of our clients agreed to talk about their experience in pictures. Find them in the dedicated Youtube playlist: