Enterprise Level Deployment of Delphix - Goals and Objectives

Welcome back! In today's post I will be discussing my overall approach for an enterprise level deployment of Delphix Virtual Data systems in our fictitious healthcare company.  I will list the basic Goals and Objectives that we will be working towards as we step through the deployment.  If you are new to Delphix technology, please go to https://www.delphix.com or just search for Delphix online.

To bring you up to speed from the last post, here is the project history and requirements deliverables we are working towards...

Project history and required deliverables

The three items mentioned below are critical to the understanding of this system rollout. The documents discussed will be specific enough to be included in the blog but generic enough to allow you to keep, reuse and modify, or throw away as you deem appropriate.

1. The company has already purchased 4 Delphix Data Virtualization Engines with Agile masking and the Jetstream Self Service interface.

2. We have 60 days to complete the transformation

3. We will create a solution design document, a project plan, an integration plan, a test plan, a rollout plan, a requirements traceability matrix, and a final system design document.

Do date we have identified the IT components of the Company's various health care IT systems and we have marked the systems where Delphix will have an integration point. The figure below is marked with Delphix the Logo shows where in the IT architecture the Virtual Copy Data Management System will be used and a mask icon to show where the Delphix Agile masking solution will fit.

The Implementation Overview

As with any IT system implementation of size, there is a project plan or an implementation plan with specific key miles stones or deliverables. I have lead and delivered many projects that required cross team IT integrations. I tend to follow the same implementation process regardless of the system being delivered. I have created this blog to step you through the phases and deliverables of an enterprise level Delphix Implementation. I break a Delphix deployment implementation into four distinct phases that I group subtasks and key deliverables into: Pre-Planning, which is where the blog stands today, Initialization and Startup, Development, Configuration and Integration, and finally Operations and Maintenance. Each one of these phases will further require documentation, planning, testing, and/or execution steps specifically designed to satisfy the overall goal. In this case, the project at hand is the replacement of Non-Production Physical Copy Data Management with that of the Delphix Virtual Copy Data Management systems with an added Agile Data Masking Component.

Defining the project goals and objectives.

My standard approach to building any IT system delivery solution is to identify the project goals and objectives. And to define these goals and objective involves interviewing the end users of the Solutions. From an infrastructure technology standpoint Delphix technology replaces physical copies of application file systems and databases, it has a data masking/security component, and a technology component.   From and operational perspective the provisioning processes of these Applications and Databases will change, the masking of non-production systems will be new to this company so that entire processes will need to be defined, and the process of self service provisioning will also be a goal. This means we have 6 high level goals to this implementation. Within each of these goal are many objectives that will help us obtain our goals. The underlying objectives will be further divided into requirements that we can then build into a project plan. But for now let me list the goals and objectives that are fairly standard for this type of technical implementation project:

1. Replace non-production physical applications and database systems with Delphix Virtual Data Copy Management Systems (VDCMS)

   1. Identify and document the DC location, Hardware, Software, Customers, SLA Ownership, Storage Allocation, Network and Subnet, Management Ownership of all application and database systems that will be transitioned to Delphix VDMCS.

   2. Identify and document competing projects for the systems mentioned.

2. De-Identify all non-production data systems that support HIPAA protected data systems

   1. Identify, profile, document all systems from step 1a that process HIPAA related data that.

   2. Determine required obfuscation algorithms needed to meet company security policies

3. Install and Configure a Delphix VDCMS and Agile Masking Engines

   1. Define, design, and promote Delphix VDCMS and Agile Masking deployment reference architecture

   2. Identify and document additional hardware and software needs for supporting the Delphix VDMCS implementation

   3. Initiate additional hardware or software purchasing

   4. Determine and integrate Delphix reference architecture within Disaster Recovery planning

   5. Determine and document additional or redirected staffing requirements to support install, configuration and operations of Delphix VDCMS and Agile Masking

   6. Determine, document and instantiate roles and security access to Delphix Virtual Data and Masking Engines

   7. Determine, document, configure and instantiate Delphix replication process for High Availability

   8. Determine criteria and execute performance acceptance testing

4. Define, document, implement any provisioning process steps and workflows within the confines of Delphix VDMCS

   1. Integrate provisioning with existing ITIL practices and workflows (i.e. new dSource, vDB, vAPP requests, and support tickets)

   2. Add any Configuration Management Databases  (CMDB) update fields

   3. Change automated processes to use Delphix functionality

   4. Define, design, integrate any additional automation processes

   5. Define, document, initiate VDCMS policies definition, template, Jetstream, and object naming conventions

   6. Define, document, initiate VDCMS object retention, synch, snap synch policies.

   7. Educate staff on new technology and processes

   8. Determine validation and acceptance criteria

5. De-Identify all non-production data that support HIPAA protected data systems within the VDCMS.

   1. Configure and Integrate Delphix Masking with secure system environments

   2. Determine and document appropriate de-identification algorithms and masking points

   3. Educate staff on new technology and processes

   4. Determine audit criteria and frequency

   5. Determine validation and acceptance criteria

6. Initiate the Delphix VCDMS Jetstream Self-Service functionality for Development and Benefit Management personnel

   1. Define, Document and Deploy Application and Database Templates and Containers for Data on Demand self-service

   2. Define security and access requirements

   3. Determine appropriate naming conventions for Data Versioning, bookmarks, and branching

   4. Educate staff on new technology and processes

   5. Determine validation and acceptance criteria

Next Installment Post in PrePlanning and Solutioning - Solution Design

This ends the blog for today. Follow my next post we will  continue on to the enterprise solution design and briefly touch on the requirements analysis aspect.