We pass to Open Source. Gendarmerie. To be continued.

    The continuation of this post about the history of the transition of the French gendarmerie to Ubuntu and open source.
    The topic will contain separate quotes about the reasons for the transition, organizational issues, budgeting, technical issues, lessons learned and future plans from the experience of the French gendarmerie on Open Source Os. Case Study Quotes from the European Commission's Open Source Observatory and Repository

    Introduction


    “In 2005, the gendarmerie took another step towards free software. The first major transition was the replacement of Microsoft Office with an open source counterparty, OpenOffice, which was not only free, but also offered exactly the modularity and transparency required by the gendarmerie. Pascal Yes (e) nek (Pascal Danek, System Architect of the Gendarmerie IT department) describes the choice in favor of independence from any company: “We did not want any of our software to force us to use a certain OS” ”
    “When Microsoft announced the release of its new Vista OS in 2006, it became clear to the gendarmerie that at some point in the near future migration would be needed not only for applications, but for the entire operating system. The circumstances were just right: the team leader has already gathered considerable experience in working with open sorce software in the course of several completed projects since 2001; in addition, the interface usability of many GNU / Linux distributions has been greatly improved since then. [...] Since many programs were already open and, most importantly, the servers were already running on Debian GNU / Linux, the Gendarmerie began developing a migration plan for the Debian-based distribution Ubuntu GNU / Linux. In the end, the French Ministry of Defense supported the decision with a moratorium on installing Vista . ”

    Organization and political background


    “As for the migration process to Ubuntu, a small team of five to ten people (Bureau Securité Architecture) around Pascal Danek and his colleagues were tasked with developing a migration plan for the new OS. The team began to work in the late 90s. Their suggestions were needed to make the decision to upgrade to Ubuntu. ”

    Budget and financing


    “There is no special budget for switching to Ubuntu. The amount of funds for the acquisition of new jobs and the administration of existing ones has not changed and, most likely, will not change in the future. In addition, the savings due to open source software are about 7 million euros annually. ”
    “ The initial stages of migration were carried out without attracting additional funds. To support the system in the long run, Bureau Securité Architecture decided to work with a commercial partner to provide technical advice on a high level. An open tender is being held for this.- a prerequisite under French law. Currently, Canonical Ltd. provides free support. (Ubuntu development company), as the project is important and interesting for both parties. "There is no information yet on what the budget is for" third parties ", as the choice at the time of writing has not yet been made.

    Technical issues


    “Planning the development of typical jobs that include all the necessary programs and applications and running on Ubuntu requires careful consideration of a number of factors.”
    “The team started with questions: what do we need? Which applications depend on Microsoft, and which are compatible with Ubuntu? These and other issues were considered during studies aimed at developing a plan for a standard workstation that will meet the needs of the gendarmerie on all issues. After completing the study in mid-2007, it was found that a standard workstation needed 35 applications. ”
    “ [...] The convenience of the Ubuntu interface was one of the arguments in favor of their choice, since this made the transition from Windows 2000 / XP relatively easy. ”
    “Since a large number of applications have remained the same and can work without problems on Ubuntu (for example, OpenOffice, Firefox) or web-based, the process of switching to a new OS does not create significant technical difficulties. [...] As an example of obstacles in the transition process, Danek gives a joint calendar in Outlook, which was actively used by the administration and for which it was more difficult to find a copy under Ubuntu. But a solution was found - OBM (Open Business Management), an application that could replace (at least to a large extent) the functions of MS Outlook. In the end, the gendarmerie hopes that it can completely abandon the use of Windows in some way. The goal of 2009 is the migration of up to 15,000 jobs to the new operating system.
    From an end-user perspective, the transition went unexpectedly smoothly. Almost no additional training and education was needed for local police forces using computers in their daily work. This is partly due to the fact that most applications have remained the same, but the Ubuntu interface is easy to use.
    Pascal Danek indicates that the transition from Windows 2000 / XP to Vista would be a more difficult task, since the new version of this OS introduces a large number of new features and a redesigned design, which can confuse the user. If difficulties nevertheless arise, there is a special tutorial application (Didacticien, “Teacher”), which is installed on each workstation and can provide additional instructions for solving problems. Additionally, there is a “hot line” where local police stations can receive technical assistance. True, this line is used quite infrequently, since most of the issues can be resolved in the process. ”

    Legal issues


    “The decision to switch to Ubuntu did not require any legal measures, since this is an internal affair of the organization and does not require additional funds. Nevertheless, French law requires certain legal procedures when partnerships with commercial organizations require additional government spending. The gendarmerie was required to take the following measures:
    • Creation of an open tender, in which all requirements and specifications are specified.
    • Sending it [tender] to the state tender committee.
    • Publication of the tender.
    • Waiting for a response from potential commercial partners.
    • Choosing the most suitable partner.

    It is expected that the winner of the tender will be announced at the beginning of 2009. "

    Collaboration with other government agencies


    “Examples of other French government agencies introducing open source: the French National Assembly in 2007 decided to transfer 1,145 workstations to Ubuntu; The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries transferred its servers to Mandriva GNU / Linux in 2005. The Paris Consulate uses open applications on their laptops (as decided in June 2008). ”
    “The gendarmerie is already collaborating with Canonical, however, without a formal contract. Canonical sees the scope of this project as an ideal tool for getting feedback on its products. Unofficial cooperation began only in June 2008. Canonical does not currently provide end-user support. The company will work closely with a small group of 10-20 people - this is mainly the IT team of the gendarmerie. At the moment, contact is limited to Pascal Danek and several of his colleagues. ”

    Lessons learned


    “For Ubuntu spokesman Nick Barcet, this project is very important as a source of feedback. [...] As an example, Barset recalls a problem that the gendarmerie had with the Ubuntu Update Manager, which required administrative rights that not all users had. The gendarmerie turned to Canonical and a solution was found. This is especially important for large organizations, as similar problems can be avoided in the future. ”

    Future plans


    “For the future, according to Pascal Darek, the team will try to solve a few remaining issues related to migration, for example, problems with the Samba file server.”

    PS Thanks to the BmW habra-man for pointing out inaccuracies in the translation!

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