System and method for automated migration from windows to linux

• US 20050278432A1
• Filed: 06/14/2004
• Published: 12/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BeyondTrust Corp.
• Original Assignee: BeyondTrust Software, Inc. (BeyondTrust Corp.)
• Inventors: Feinleib, David A., Moran, Brian K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,805,721 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/213
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4451 User profiles; Roaming

Abstract

A system and method for automating the migration of configuration settings and data from computer systems running the Windows operating system to computer systems running the Linux operating system. The method utilizes data from one or more sources to create the configuration of the target system, and translates between settings related to the Windows systems and Linux systems involved. As a result, it simplifies the otherwise complex and time-consuming task of migrating from one server to another, specifically when migrating between two operating systems that provide similar functionality but are configured in distinctly different ways.

Claims

1. A method for automatically migrating from a Windows server to a Linux target server, comprising:

automatically extracting Windows configuration information pertaining to Windows services hosted by a Windows server;

automatically generating Linux configuration information for a target server to support analogous Linux services that are analogous to the Windows services hosted by the Windows server; and

automatically installing appropriate Linux components and configuration files on the Linux target server to perform the analogous Linux services in view of the Linux configuration information that is generated.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the analogous services include file share services, and the method further comprises:

extracting Windows file share information from Windows registry entries stored on the Windows server;

translating the Windows registry entries to corresponding Linux file share configuration information; and

storing the Linux file share configuration information in a Linux file share configuration file on the Linux target server.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically migrating data files stored on the Windows server to the Linux target server.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

generating a backup of the data files that are migrated.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein migrating the data files comprises:

copying the data files from the Windows server to the Linux target server; and

deleting the data files on the Windows server.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

scanning the data files for viruses; and

not copying a data file to the Linux target server if the data file is detected to have a virus.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a network name for the Windows server; and

renaming the target server with the network name of the Windows server.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the migration process includes migrating Windows Active Directory information to the Linux target server.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein migrating the Windows Active Directory information comprises:

extracting Windows Active Directory information from an Active Directory database;

replicating the Windows Active Directory information in an OpenLDAP (Open Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) repository hosted by the Linux target server.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling a user to selectively undo all or a portion of a migration process.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

searching a network to identify Windows and potential Linux target servers connected to the network; and

enabling a user to select a Windows server comprising a migration source and a target server comprising a migration target, wherein configuration information is migrated from the migration source to the migration target.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the Linux configuration information in a repository; and

retrieving the Linux configuration information from the repository; and

installing appropriate Linux components and configuration files on multiple Linux target servers to perform the analogous Linux services in view of the Linux configuration information that is retrieved.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein installation of the appropriate Linux components and configuration files on the Linux target server includes automatically installing a Linux operating system on the Linux target server.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the Linux target server comprises a Linux server running an instance of the Linux operating system prior to initiation of the migration process.

15. A machine-readable medium to provide instructions, which if executed perform operations to facilitate migration from a Windows server to a Linux server, the operations including:

extracting Windows configuration information pertaining to Windows services hosted by a Windows server;

generating Linux configuration information for a target server to support Linux services analogous to the Windows services hosted by the Windows server, the Linux configuration information including Linux configuration files; and

installing, in view of the Linux configuration information that is generated, the configuration files and appropriate Linux components on the target server to enable the target server to perform the Linux services that are analogous to the Windows services.

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions are embodied as a carrier-wave file.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the Linux services that are analogous to the Windows services include file share services, and execution of the instructions performs further operations including:

extracting Windows file share information from Windows registry entries stored on the Windows server;

translating the Windows registry entries to corresponding Linux file share configuration information; and

storing the Linux file share configuration information in a Linux file share configuration file on the target server.