Migration Factory - Part 1 - Migration Assessment and Planning using pre_yarn
In any Unified Communications (UC) migration, the first step is always understanding the current environment. This includes capturing the current state of the system, such as configurations, licenses, and possible issues. In this article, we'll focus on how to use pre_yarn, a tool that automates UC pre-sales analysis, to facilitate this process.
pre_yarn is a portable tool that automates the extraction of relevent data from your existing UC environment. It provides a comprehensive view of your system, offering insights into licenses, services, dial plans, users, applications, devices, lines, groups, and more. This level of detail makes pre_yarn an invaluable resource when preparing for a migration to Webex Calling Dedicated Instance (WxC-DI) and Multi Tenant (WxC-MT) and understanding what is currently utilized .
Overview Video
Understanding the Environment with Pre_yarn
The key advantage of pre_yarn is its ability to quickly and accurately understand your existing environment. Whether you're dealing with a modest 5,000-user setup or a more substantial 10,000-user environment, pre_yarn dramatically reduces the time required for data collection and analysis.
For a 5,000-user environment, pre_yarn completes the entire process - from data collection to analysis and recommendations - in just two hours. This contrasts with the 16 hours it would typically take when done manually.
Consider a larger setup with 10,000 users. Here, pre_yarn improves the manual process by a wide margin. While manually collecting data, combining it, and analyzing it would take around 42 hours, pre_yarn gets the job done in just 9 hours.
Configuration Analysis
Pre_yarn dives into the existing configuration to provide insights into various aspects of your UC environment:
Devices, Lines, Users, and Dial Plan: Pre_yarn examines your device pools, line configurations, and user details. It also delves into the dial plan, analyzing elements like partitions, calling search spaces, translation patterns, route patterns, and more.
Features: The tool scrutinizes UC features in use, such as call park, hunt groups, and pickup groups.
Trunks, Gateways, and CTI: Pre_yarn checks the configurations of trunks and gateways, essential for maintaining connectivity in the new environment. It also assesses Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) applications and recording setups.
Media Services: It examines your media services, ensuring that media resources like conferencing and music on hold are correctly configured.
Extension Mobility (EM) Data: Pre_yarn uses EM data to identify active users and their locations.
Phone Inventory
Pre_yarn provides a comprehensive inventory of all phones in your system, including:
Serial Number Inventory: This helps track and manage devices, essential for asset management.
End-of-life Reporting: Pre_yarn alerts you to any devices that are nearing their end-of-life, allowing you to plan for replacements or upgrades.
MPP Compatibility Check: The tool checks for Multiplatform Phones (MPP) compatibility, an important consideration when moving to a new UC platform.
Usage Analysis
Beyond configuration and inventory, pre_yarn conducts a detailed usage analysis:
Registrations and Firmware Versions: It collects real-time data on phone registrations and firmware versions.
Licensing Usage: Pre_yarn helps assess current licensing usage, ensuring you have an accurate understanding of your licensing needs post-migration.
Call Detail Records (CDR) Analysis: Pre_yarn extracts and analyzes CDRs to understand trunk and bandwidth requirements, intersite traffic, and usage of UC features. It can also identify inactive lines, helping you clean up unnecessary configurations and save on licensing costs.
Planning the Migration to Webex Calling
Once pre_yarn has gathered the data, it's time to plan the migration. Based on the analysis, pre_yarn identifies potential obstacles and provides detailed recommendations for the migration process. This might include dealing with outdated devices, adjusting dial plans, or addressing licensing discrepancies.
Find out more about migration strategies here Effective Unified Communications Migration Strategies
With its robust feature set, pre_yarn ensures you are well-prepared for the migration. The resulting plan will be comprehensive, addressing all aspects of your existing UC environment and how they will translate to the WxC-DI.
