Term Paper Website Migration Project Due Week 10 And 990460

Term Paper Website Migration Projectdue Week 10 And Worth 200 Points

Tony’s Chips has recently been sold to a new independent company. The new company has hired you to manage a project that will move the old Website from an externally hosted solution to an internal one. The company’s leadership is very concerned about redundancy for their site, insisting that a back-up site be available as a failover in case the main site goes down. In addition, they want the site redesigned to allow customers to order products online. As part of your job, you must complete a 15-page paper that follows this project through the system development life cycle (SDLC).

This assignment will require you to do the following: · Discuss what it will take to build a Web architecture, move an existing Website with minimal downtime, and provide a disaster recovery solution to ensure the site is always available. · The Web architecture should describe and justify operating system choices (i.e., Linux, Apache, MYSQL, PHP, Windows, IIS, SQL, etc.). · Evaluate alternatives to the company self-hosting the site. · Build a Gantt chart using Microsoft Project or equivalent software, showing all tasks associated with implementing the Website. · The chart should include a minimum of five (5) tasks, each with three (3) sub-tasks. · Explain and justify the system architecture you have selected. · Illustrate the system architecture using Visio or equivalent software. · Create a use case that documents the event of a customer ordering a bag of chips from the new Website. · The use case should include a graphical representation using Visio or equivalent software and a text description of the events. · Discuss the support operations that the internally hosted Website will require after implementation. · Explain how you will evaluate the performance of the new site and the success of your project.

Paper For Above instruction

The process of migrating a website from an external hosting provider to an internal infrastructure requires meticulous planning, technologically sound decisions, and comprehensive understanding of system architectures. This paper explores these elements within the context of Tony’s Chips’ website migration project, highlighting the steps necessary for a successful transition while ensuring high availability, minimal downtime, and future scalability.

Building Web Architecture and Ensuring Minimal Downtime

The foundation of a successful website migration lies in designing a robust web architecture tailored to the company's operational needs. For Tony’s Chips, deploying a dual-server environment with load balancing capabilities offers a scalable solution. Load balancers distribute incoming traffic evenly across multiple web servers, which prevents overload and ensures high availability. Implementing clustering technologies, such as Microsoft Failover Clustering or Linux Virtual Server, further enhances redundancy by providing automatic failover support in case one server fails.

Choosing the appropriate operating systems is critical. Linux-based solutions with Apache, MySQL, and PHP (LAMP stack) are widely favored for their stability, security, and cost-effectiveness. Alternatively, Windows Server with IIS and SQL Server may be considered if existing enterprise infrastructure favors Windows environments. A hybrid approach can also be adopted to leverage the strengths of both platforms, especially when legacy systems are involved. Justifying these choices depends on factors such as existing infrastructure, developer expertise, security requirements, and scalability potential.

Disaster Recovery and Redundancy Strategies

A comprehensive disaster recovery plan (DRP) is integral to maintaining site availability. For Tony’s Chips, establishing geographically dispersed data centers ensures data redundancy and failover capabilities. Regular backups—both incremental and full—should be scheduled and stored in secure off-site locations. Implementing automated failover mechanisms that switch traffic to the backup site in case of primary site failure minimizes downtime. Additionally, monitoring tools such as Nagios or Zabbix can provide real-time alerts about system health, dictating proactive responses.

Evaluating Alternatives to Self-Hosting

While self-hosting offers control over infrastructure, alternative solutions can provide cost savings, scalability, and reduced maintenance burden. Cloud-based options such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP) provide Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), enabling rapid deployment and elastic scalability. These services typically incorporate integrated disaster recovery, backup, and security features, reducing infrastructure management overhead. Managed hosting providers also offer tailored solutions with SLA guarantees, which can be advantageous for small- to medium-sized enterprises like Tony’s Chips.

Gantt Chart for Website Migration

Developing a detailed Gantt chart using Microsoft Project delineates key tasks, such as infrastructure setup, system configuration, data migration, testing, and deployment. Each task includes subtasks like server provisioning, domain configuration, data backup, testing scenarios, and go-live activities. The timeline ensures proper sequencing, resource allocation, and risk management, ultimately facilitating smooth implementation with minimal disruption.

System Architecture and Justification

The proposed system architecture adopts a multi-tier web application model. The presentation layer consists of web servers, either Linux-based with Apache or Windows IIS, serving front-end content to users. The application layer processes business logic through PHP or ASP.NET, depending on selected OS. The data layer utilizes MySQL or SQL Server, depending on platform choice, for database management. This architecture supports scalability, fault tolerance, and ease of maintenance. For security, firewalls, SSL encryption, and intrusion detection systems will be integrated.

Illustrating System Architecture

Utilizing Visio, a detailed diagram illustrating the multi-tier architecture is created. It depicts web servers connected to load balancers, clustered data storage solutions, firewalls, and off-site disaster recovery sites. The connections between layers and security points are clearly labeled, demonstrating how data flows and how redundancy measures are incorporated.

Use Case: Customer Ordering Chips

The customer ordering process begins with a user browsing the website’s product catalog. They select a bag of chips and add it to the shopping cart. Upon checkout, the customer enters shipping and payment information, which is processed securely through SSL. The system verifies the payment, updates the order database, and sends confirmation to the customer. Visio diagrams illustrate this event flow, complemented by text descriptions detailing each step, success criteria, and exception handling (e.g., payment failure).

Post-Implementation Support

Post-implementation operations include routine server maintenance, security updates, backup schedules, and monitoring system performance. Support staff should be trained on troubleshooting procedures, backup restoration, and security protocols. Implementing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with vendors ensures timely incident response. Regular audits of system logs and performance metrics facilitate proactive issue resolution.

Performance Evaluation and Project Success

The effectiveness of the website migration will be assessed through performance metrics such as server uptime, page load speed, transaction processing times, and customer feedback. These metrics should be monitored continuously, and analytics tools like Google Analytics or New Relic can assist in tracking user engagement and errors. Success criteria include achieving minimal downtime during migration, improving site performance, customer satisfaction, and meeting project deadlines and budget constraints.

Conclusion

In conclusion, migrating Tony’s Chips’ website involves detailed architectural design, strategic planning, and thorough testing. Selecting appropriate operating systems, evaluating hosting alternatives, and establishing robust disaster recovery solutions are essential for ensuring high availability and scalability. Using project management tools like Gantt charts and system modeling with Visio enhances clarity and preparedness. Finally, ongoing support and performance evaluation post-migration will foster sustained success and customer satisfaction.

References

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