Microsoft SQL ServerCustomer Solution Case Study

Meteorological Service Partners with Dedicated Support Team to Optimize IT Environment

OverviewCountry or Region: GermanyIndustry: Government agency

Customer ProfileBased in Offenbach am Main, Germany’s National Meteorological Service, the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), is part of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building, and Urban Affairs.

Business SituationThe DWD experienced unacceptable disruptions to the availability of its Active Directory. An analysis showed that an outside IT service provider had incorrectly configured the Active Directory service.

SolutionIn partnership with Microsoft Services Premier Support, the DWD conducted risk assessments and developed a process to improve the Active Directory configuration and increase availability.

Benefits Direct access to dedicated team of

Microsoft technical experts Optimized IT environment Alignment of business goals

and IT investments

“With the assistance of Microsoft Services Premier Support, we have increased the availability of our Active Directory to nearly 100 percent.”

Marcel Sander, Lead Expert, Windows Server and Clients, Germany’s National Meteorological Service, the Deutscher Wetterdienst

To respond quickly to weather-related requests from nautical, aviation, and agricultural agencies, and to warn the public of impending climate-related dangers, Germany’s National Meteorological Service, the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), has implemented a comprehensive IT infrastructure. However, the DWD experienced disruptions to service that caused it to fall short of its high standards for availability and performance. An analysis of the disruptions showed that an outside IT vendor had incorrectly configured the directory service. To remedy this problematic implementation and to maximize its current IT investments, the DWD partnered with Microsoft Services Premier Support and gained access to a dedicated team of technical experts. As a result, it has improved the availability of its service to nearly 100 percent and can reallocate time and resources to optimizing its IT environment.

SituationSince 1952, Germany’s National Meteorological Service, the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) has been responsible for meeting meteorological requirements arising from all areas of economy and society in Germany and for monitoring weather and meteorological conditions for the Federal Republic of Germany. Today, the DWD is part of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building, and Urban Development. Its primary mission is to provide the general public and businesses (such as nautical, aviation, or agricultural services) with weather and climate information in order to protect air and sea traffic and to warn against adverse weather or weather-related dangers.

For example, when pilots call the DWD to obtain weather forecasts for their flight routes, the DWD weather consultants look up the relevant weather data on their computers. “This data must be available in a matter of just a few seconds,” says Marcel Sander, Lead Expert for Windows Server and Clients at Germany’s National Meteorological Service, the Deutscher Wetterdienst. “If the DWD fails to provide the necessary data or advice, the airport has to close down.”

To maintain high availability, the DWD has implemented a powerful IT infrastructure, including 183 servers running the Windows Server 2003 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems. However, the DWD encountered problems with its Active Directory directory service. “We discovered that a directory service installed on servers running Windows Server 2003 R2 did not always meet our very high standards,” says Stephan Wehner, System Administrator at

Germany’s National Meteorological Service, the Deutscher Wetterdienst. Not only did they encounter challenges during shift changes when consultants logged on and off the system, but also with authentication when employees attempted to connect to servers running Microsoft SQL Server 2008 data management software. “There were failures to access the print service and faulty access tokens were issued,” explains Matthias Dupke, System Administrator at Germany’s National Meteorological Service, the Deutscher Wetterdienst. “There were also problems with authentication when connecting to Microsoft SQL Server from a laptop when on the move.”

To improve system availability, the DWD conducted an error analysis, which ultimately revealed that the systems had not been configured properly when they were originally installed by an external IT vendor. Although the directory service worked, the configuration was not optimal, resulting in interruptions to service. The IT Department realized that, in order to remedy this problematic implementation and optimize the company’s existing infrastructure, the DWD would need direct access to Microsoft technology experts. “After analyzing the situation, we knew that our goal of optimizing system performance could only be reached with background knowledge and information beyond the skill of our in-house experts,” says Sander.

SolutionTo ensure that the DWD could meet its high availability system requirements and to minimize disruptions, the IT Department decided to enter into a Microsoft Services Premier Support agreement. With direct access to the world’s top Microsoft

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“We realized that it was only through direct access to Microsoft experts that we could achieve our very high standards of quality and performance, while also gaining the necessary support to improve our system even further.”

Marcel Sander, Lead Expert for Windows Server and Clients, Germany’s National

Meteorological Service, the Deutscher Wetterdienst

technical experts—24 hours a day, seven days a week—the DWD gains accelerated support for immediate escalation of urgent issues, strategic advice for optimizing its current system, and knowledge sharing and trainings tailored to meet its employees’ needs.

“We realized that it was only through direct access to Microsoft experts that we could achieve our very high standards of quality and performance, while also gaining the necessary support to improve our system even further,” explains Sander.

The Premier Support agreement includes access to a dedicated Technical Account Manager (TAM) who regularly analyzes the problems with the Active Directory service and proposes strategies to solve them. These solutions include:

Risk assessment programs to help determine the overall health of the IT environment and identify potential problems before they affect employees. As part of the risk assessment program, Microsoft experts checked the entire IT environment, in addition to operating processes such as disaster recovery.

The IT department then analyzed the results of the risk assessment with the TAM, and the team immediately found ways to improve the Active Directory service. “When we first conducted the risk assessment program four years ago, it was clear that there was potential for optimization,” Sander recalls. “Based on the risk assessment results, I was able to prepare a list of targeted weekly tasks for each IT administrative team.”

A dedicated support engineer who provides hands-on assistance at the DWD facility once a week to help the IT department optimize its system. “We can handle the day-to-day business,” Sander explains. “But we rely on the experience of the dedicated support engineer to help us with the planning, design, and execution of more complicated tasks, such as a migration.”

Product support workshops with Microsoft experts. IT department employees participate in regular workshops with subject-matter engineers, during which the IT staff can ask specific questions about networks and Active Directory.

BenefitsBy partnering with Microsoft Services Premier Support, the DWD has gained the following benefits:

Direct Access to Dedicated SupportThe DWD has direct access—24 hours a day, seven days a week—to Microsoft technology experts who partner with employees to provide hands-on training and knowledge transfer. “Microsoft Services Premier Support offers us a wonderful set of support and optimization tools,” Sander says. “Going forward, we plan to use these tools in a way that is consistently aligned with our business goals and IT investments, and anchored in our company culture.”

Optimized IT EnvironmentOn the advice of its dedicated support team, the DWD repeated the risk assessment program every year for six years. As a result, Active Directory failures were gradually reduced. “Today, we have

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“Microsoft Services Premier Support offers us a wonderful set of support and optimization tools. Going forward, we plan to use these tools in a way that is consistently aligned with our business goals and IT investments, and anchored in our company culture.”Marcel Sander, Lead Expert for Windows

Server and Clients, Germany’s National Meteorological Service, the

Deutscher Wetterdienst

reached a level where I can pretty much rule out Active Directory failures as a source of disruption,” Sander explains. “With the assistance of Microsoft Services Premier Support, we have increased the availability of our Active Directory to nearly 100 percent. Unplanned events are now a thing of the past.”

According to Sander, when the server environment and the Active Directory service work flawlessly, the probability that problems will arise during migrations to new versions is significantly reduced. And because the IT team isn’t distracted by service disruptions, employees can focus on their core job functions and take the time to plan out a migration strategy more precisely and efficiently than prior to engaging Microsoft Services.

Guidance to Align IT and Business ObjectivesThanks to improvements in the IT environment, Sander reports that financial losses due to service interruptions have been reduced. Also, it has not been necessary for the DWD to add staff to the IT department even though the requirements continue to grow through the development of new technologies. Because the DWD worked with Microsoft Services to optimize its IT environment, the DWD can achieve nearly 100 percent availability of the Active Directory service with a small number of employees.

In the end, it is also a question of personnel, according to Sander. “There can only be success if the entire team embraces the value of partnering with Premier Support and the initiative is fully integrated into our operating processes,” he says.

“These years of painstaking work would not have been possible without the dedication of our goal-oriented and highly motivated employees. Results such as these are not achieved by individuals; everyone played their parts. I am grateful to each and every one of our team members for their contributions and am proud to be a part of the team.”

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Microsoft ServicesMicrosoft Services is a global team of professionals who are dedicated to helping customers maximize the value of their investment in Microsoft software. Microsoft Services touches customers more than 715 million times a year, helping them plan, deploy, support, and optimize our technologies. They also work closely with Microsoft Partners by sharing their technological expertise and product knowledge on a regular basis.

For more information about Microsoft Services, go to:www.microsoft.com/services

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For More InformationFor more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers in the United States and Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:www.microsoft.com

For more information about Deutscher Wetterdienst products and services, call 49(0)69 8062-0 or visit the website at: www.dwd.de

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published August 2012

Software and Services Microsoft Services− Microsoft Services Premier Support− Dedicated Support Engineer

Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise− Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise

Technologies− Active Directory