Security: Phasing out legacy servers for enhanced protection

Information Technology
computer
Not long ago, the University had over 500 legacy servers. Each server presented potential vulnerabilities due to the lack of vendor support.

Upgrading those servers to newer, supported versions of the operating system was not feasible due to hardware limitations. The optimal course of action was to decommission those vulnerable servers and transition the associated applications to new server environments.

The project underway identifies the unsupported operating systems, their associated servers and hosted applications. So far, a total of 300 servers have been decommissioned, 60% of what is in scope. This will contribute to the overall strengthening of infrastructure security at the University. Ongoing efforts to retire old servers will continue into 2024.

As the project progresses toward completion, acknowledging the application managers’ and clients’ efforts in this project is paramount. Their exceptional leadership and expertise played a pivotal role in this project.