The Lyondell NT Project

Lyondell Petrochemical profits from a visionary NT strategy

Randy Lewis, IS director for Lyondell Petrochemical Company in Houston,Texas, is a man with a vision. In 1991, Lyondell--one of the nation's largestpetrochemical companies--decided to re-engineer its IS department. The companychose Lewis to lead the effort, although his vision of a distributed, butintegrated, information architecture with strong central management was notpopular in that industry at the time. During the next four years, that visiontransformed Lyondell's IS architecture, bringing it up to the state of the art.

The change began with hardware. Lewis knew that to stay current withtechnology, he needed to replace his computer fleet every three to four years.In 1991, purchasing workstation hardware from Gateway 2000 was significantlyless expensive than buying from Lyondell's traditional suppliers. So, heswitched to Gateway. This move was bold because clone manufacturers were stillbuilding their reputations for quality. But the savings on hardware helpedfinance the necessary expansion of Lyondell's network and software.

The software suite Lewis chose also was unconventional but impressive forits time. Lyondell was one of the first large petrochemical companies toimplement Windows and the Microsoft application suite as an enterprisewidestandard.

Lyondell replaced its aging mainframe and its scattered, loosely connectedLANs with more than 1200 Pentium and 486 workstations with multiprocessorservers, high-end routers, and switching hubs. By 1993, Lyondell had networkedall its workstations, giving employees standard software and one email andscheduling system.

The Need for NT
In late 1994, Lewis was planning the next phase of the IS re-engineeringwhen he realized Lyondell needed another change. He guided Lyondell's decisionto replace its legacy mainframe applications with SAP's integrated client/serverapplication suite.

Lewis knew that running such mission-critical applications as SAP requireda more robust, manageable environment than the company's current Windows 3.1 andNovell architecture provided. To meet this requirement, Lyondell beta testedSAP's software under Windows NT Advanced Server on Compaq Proliant servers.Lewis was impressed with NT Server, and he knew that Lyondell's standardhardware configuration (a Pentium with 32MB of RAM) would support NT Workstationon the company's desktops.

Up to that point, the company had been waiting for Windows 95's release. Tohelp evaluate the choice between Win95 and NT, Lewis turned to Frank Normand ofComputer Techniques, Inc. (CTI). Normand's company had performed a similaranalysis for Lewis in Lyondell's first standardization and DOS-to-Windowsmigration in 1992. CTI had implemented the migration with great success, socalling again on Normand's talents was natural for Lewis.

In early 1995, CTI completed its technical analysis, which revealed NT'ssuperiority to the as-yet-unreleased Win95. NT outperformed Win95 inscaleability, reliability, security, and robust crash protection. Installing NTon the servers and desktops would let Lewis reduce the number of OSs for hisoverextended technical support groups. So, Lewis gave CTI the go-ahead to begintesting NT for implementation.

Starting the NT Installation
For the next two months, CTI tested various domain models and server andworkstation configurations. Then Normand challenged his three-man core technicalteam by announcing, "Next week, we will install NT." He knew thatgetting started was often the toughest part of an implementation.

The technical team directed a small installation group of four hardware andsoftware technicians through the first installation--the 50 desktops in the ISdepartment. CTI decided to use the IS department as a test case because thestaff would provide immediate and knowledgeable feedback, which is exactly whatNormand's team got. CTI quickly used the lessons from the IS department anddesigned new installation procedures.

Normand developed pre- and post-installation test plans. He then added atechnical writer and software tester to the core team, four people to thetechnical installation team, and a manager to coordinate the whole installationteam. In addition, Normand divided the workstation installation into threephases to distribute the work over the installation team's differing skilllevels.

Phase 1
The goal of Phase 1 was to verify that the workstation hardware met thetechnical team's minimum standards and to install the NT files from theinstallation server. Lyondell considered a 486/66MHz with 16MB of RAM and atleast 90MB of available hard disk space, the minimum acceptable on an NThardware platform. Although NT required only about 52MB, the installation teamplanned to replace the 16-bit versions of Word and Excel with the new 32-bit NTversions, which defined the 90MB limit. If a target machine did not meet theseminimum standards, the team upgraded the machine with memory or a new harddrive, or replaced it with a new Pentium.

With the workstation hardware requirements out of the way, the juniormembers of the installation team began installing the Phase 1 software. Theyused a custom installation script that the core technical team had created. Thescript used Fastback for DOS to save a backup image of the DOS/Windowsworkstation to a Novell installation server. After the backup, the team used thescript to install NT directly from the installation server.

The next task in Phase 1 was to configure the necessary network protocolsto reach the NT servers the technical team was building. Using an automated,push-button installation routine and detailed installation documentation,Normand was able to rely on less experienced, less expensive technicians to layNT's first layer.

With the backup, Phase 1 took an average of 1.5 hours per machine. Then theinstallation team configured each workstation to immediately boot to DOS. Bysetting the attributes of the newly installed files and directories, the teamwas able to hide them, so users were unaware that NT existed on their machines.Because the progress of the installation was transparent to users, they couldwork unimpeded by scheduling logistics or technical difficulties. At the sametime, Phase 1 laid the foundation for the experienced technicians to do futureconfiguration work.

Phase 2
Phase 2 began the migration of the users' Windows desktop and initialization(.ini) files to NT. The senior CTI installation staff who performed Phase 2 hadto allow for user customizations. For example, the NT Setup program does notmigrate the four program groups that both Windows and NT have (i.e., main,accessories, games, and startup); instead, NT provides new groups. So, theinstallation team had to use a special procedure to account for any user changesin these four groups.

In addition, during Phase 1, the installation team had learned not tomigrate Windows desktops with video resolutions greater than standard VGA. TheIS department installation revealed that icons frequently lost their colors whenWindows desktops with high-resolution setups were migrated to NT. Normandinstructed the installers to switch the Windows desktop to standard VGA and thenreset to the higher resolution in NT after migrating the groups and icons.

Next, the team handled other configuration issues such as setting themachine name and configuring the TCP/IP protocol to use the Dynamic HostConfiguration Protocol (DHCP). Because Lyondell tags each computer with aunique, sequentially numbered barcode, the installation team used the barcode asthe machine name. By using the barcode instead of a username, the IS operationsstaff avoided having to rename machines when employees transferred within thecompany.

Phase 2 also included assigning printers and creating customized logonscripts for each user and machine. Normand implemented a six-tiered logonstrategy using standardized and customized NT command (.cmd) files. Everyone inLyondell's enterprisewide domain executes the first standardized script. Thisscript is useful when the whole company needs to initiate an activity foreveryone on login. For example, CTI used this script early in the project toautomatically and unobtrusively retrofit the installed users' NT Registries. Thesecond script provides a site-customized logon. A Lyondell site is one of sevenplant or main office locations. Lyondell has used the second script to flash aninnovative, site-tailored safety reminder to employees when they log on. A thirdscript provides standard drive connections (or "mappings," in the oldNovell terminology) to shared data areas on servers. These connections are basedon the employee's workgroup or department. To balance the email load amongservers, a fourth script assigns a post office location for Microsoft Mail. Afifth script is personalized for each user's needs (e.g., to provide extrapersonal drive connections or set up special programs or environment needs). Thesixth script, which is machine specific, typically redirects printer ports tolocal printers for DOS applications and ensures that the TEMP directory is emptyat boot time. This multilayered logon script accommodates most logon needs, andit balances standardization and flexibility.

When CTI assigned each workstation to a domain during Phase 2, Normand andhis technical team chose NT's Master Domain model. Each resource (e.g.,workstations, servers, and printers) had membership in site-based domains. Incontrast, the team established all user accounts in one, enterprisewide masterdomain. Because the site-based domains trust the master domain, users have onetransportable logon, and site-based technical personnel can perform localhardware administration. So, Phase 2 established the security administration forthe local machine. In the meantime, the technical team set up shared resourcesand groups on the servers and created user accounts.

After the first few installations, much of the installation work wasrepetitive and sometimes tedious. Also, because someone had to key ininformation, simple typos could cause a configuration to fail. To resolve theseproblems, Normand and his technical team turned to Windows NT APIs and a Ccompiler and created utilities to automate part of the installation. Theseutilities let CTI directly modify the NT Registry in a repeatable, automated wayand replace the slow, error-prone, manual process. Later in the project, CTIdeveloped additional utilities to automatically create, configure, and enableuser accounts; set up home shares; and migrate data and email from the Novellservers to the new NT servers. These utilities saved countless hours inconfiguration work, improved the quality of the installation, and greatlyreduced the amount of rework.

After Phase 2, which averaged 45 minutes per machine, the installation teamagain set each workstation to boot to DOS. This configuration let users continuework and didn't disturb their existing DOS, Windows, and Novell environment.

Quality Control
In addition to simplifying the implementation, the phased approach helpedthe project accomplish one of its critical goals--quality. Quality is a hallmarknot only of Lyondell, but Normand demands it, too. His experience withLyondell's first DOS-to-Windows conversion in 1992 convinced him that he neededa specific quality assurance (QA) procedure. So, he developed one as an integralpart of the project.

With Phase 2 finished, the technical team's software tester booted theworkstations to NT to test each DOS and Windows application. This testingidentified applications that worked under NT and those that didn't. The softwaretester gave these test results to the technical team to find solutions.

Often, the solution was simply to contact software or hardware vendors forupdated products. Sometimes, the solution meant reconfiguring NT; other times,the team had to reconfigure the application. The technical team spent many hourstalking to Lyondell's Microsoft Premier Support line and combing throughCompuServe forums and TechNet databases.

If Normand's team couldn't reconfigure an application to run under NT,members replaced it or put it on a list of problems needing a solution. The teammade sure to ask each machine's user how important the application was. Ifapplications that were crucial to the employee's job didn't work, theinstallation team reconfigured the workstation to dual boot NT and DOS/Windows.Although booting to DOS was inconvenient, users could move forward with the restof the company in using NT, while using the old applications. As the projectprogressed, the installation team learned much more about configuring suchapplications, and of course, vendors began delivering 32-bit versions of theirproducts.

Phase 3
Finally, CTI began the last phase of installation. Phase 3, or "flipping"the machine to NT, was an irreversible process. It involved replacing many16-bit applications (e.g., Word, Excel, and Rumba) with 32-bit versions. Besidesthe dual-boot machines, Phase 3 included converting the DOS File AllocationTable (FAT) drive partitions to the new high-performance NT File System (NTFS).

CTI performed post-installation testing. This final QA check ensured thatCTI did not release a machine for use until it worked as expected. Theinstallation team completed a detailed QA checklist for each machine, and aninspector signed and dated the checklists.

Success and More
In summer 1995, Lyondell announced that it had purchased two polymer plantsand a research facility--adding more than 250 workstations and several servers.Lewis asked Normand to replace all the workstations with new Compaq Pentiummachines and include them in the NT project. Although CTI had to install thesemachines in a short time, the team's dedication, hard work, and efficientautomation utilities let CTI absorb a 20% increase in scope and still finish theproject on schedule. The team installed more than 1500 workstations and 40servers with Windows NT in less than a year.

CTI has successfully completed Lyondell's NT project, and the company isenjoying its new, state-of-the-art, 32-bit system. Lyondell is working hard tore-engineer its business process, using SAP software as the catalyst. The ISoperations managers are learning how to efficiently manage the new NTenvironment with its greatly enhanced capabilities. The CTI team, after a shortrest, is looking for more NT installations.

As for Randy Lewis? He's busy planning the next steps in his vision oftomorrow and embracing the inevitable challenges it will bring.