In the context of this book, you are the system administrator of a growing small business. The time has come for you to redefine the information systems master plan for the coming year in collaboration with your directors. You choose to progressively migrate to Debian, both for practical and economical reasons. Let's see in more detail what's in store for you…
We have envisioned this case study to approach all modern information system services currently used in a medium sized company. After reading this book, you will have all of the elements necessary to install Debian on your servers and fly on your own wings. You will also learn how to efficiently find information in the event of difficulties.
2.1. Fast Growing IT Needs
Falcot Corp is a manufacturer of high quality audio equipment. The company is growing strongly, and has two facilities, one in Saint-Étienne, and another in Montpellier. The former has around 150 employees; it hosts a factory for the manufacturing of speakers, a design lab, and all administrative office. The Montpellier site is smaller, with only about 50 workers, and produces amplifiers.
The computer system has had difficulty keeping up with the company's growth, so they are now determined to completely redefine it to meet various goals established by management:
modern, easily scalable infrastructure;
reducing cost of software licenses thanks to use of Open Source software;
installation of an e-commerce website, possibly B2B (business to business, i.e. linking of information systems between different companies, such as a supplier and its clients);
significant improvement in security to better protect trade secrets related to new products.
The entire information system will be overhauled with these goals in mind.
