More migration tools: Aelita

I hope this is the last we’ll have to talk about migration for a while, but I can’t leave this topic without pointing out the fine tools available from Aelita Software. I do this, I hasten to add, not because I’ve been threatened with grievous bodily harm for overlooking the company (I haven’t, they are all very nice people at Aelita) but because Aelita’s tools are proven in the marketplace and deserve your consideration.

The company was established in 1998 by folks who: a) really liked the promise of Windows NT as a network operating system; and b) really disliked the available tools, utilities and management services for the NOS. So they decided to build their own. By the time Windows 2000 was launched, they were able to put together their Controlled Migration Suite, a boon to overworked network managers everywhere.

Since then, Aelita has continued to develop the tools managers and administrators need, combining the features most often requested with an architecture designed with speed in mind. Along the way, it has also contributed to your knowledge by sponsoring some of the free electronic books I mention from time to time (from realtimepublishers.com) including “The Tips and Tricks Guide to Windows 2000 and Active Directory Administration”.

Of greatest interest to us today, though, is the latest incarnation of the Controlled Migration Suite (CMS). Designed as a “soup-to-nuts” all-inclusive migration package scalable to organizations of all sizes, CMS includes the three most needed migration services:

* Enterprise Directory Reporter – a comprehensive configuration reporting, analysis and security assessment application useful not only in planning Active Directory and Exchange 2000/2003 deployments, but also as an ongoing assessment tool to check your current installation.

* Domain Migration Wizard  – Aelita’s award-winning tool for NT Domain-to-Active Directory migration. Aelita promises to deliver complete migration, optimized for WAN environments with zero system downtime and no impact on users.

* Enterprise Migration Manager – The Active Directory-to-Active Directory migration tool with features from simply “Pruning & Grafting” Active Directory to completely redesigning it. It also promises “ZeroIMPACT” (Aelita’s trademarked term) to ensure users’ workflow will not be interrupted during a migration.

Optionally (at an extra charge), you can add the Exchange Migration Wizard and/or the Server Consolidation Wizard. This last tool can be very useful in today’s downsizing and “rightsizing” environment but it can be just as useful when mergers and acquisitions threaten to play havoc with your network design.

Aelita offers a free evaluation version of CMS (register at https://www.aelita.com/reg/download/). While you’re there, pick up the free books too. While you might have too many servers (that’s why you need the Server Consolidation Wizard), you can never have too much information available especially information that helps you do a better job.