IRS Still Working To Complete Computer Upgrade From XP to 7

[OvenMaster]

October 16, 2015

"Like many other entities (both singular and conglomerate), the IRS was reluctant to sever ties with Windows XP. Microsoft forced the issue, however, and gave everyone plenty of time to migrate to an operating system released sometime in the last ten years. Even with this head start, the IRS has yet to meet this target.

An Inspector General's report notes that the IRS is almost finishing upgrading its workstations to an operating system that's only eight years old (Windows 7). Almost."

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/2...omputer-upgrade-windows-xp-to-windows-7.shtml

With any luck, Uncle Sam's IT department will have Automatic Updates turned on.

 

[ThrashZone]

October 16, 2015

With any luck, Uncle Sam's IT department will have Automatic Updates turned on.

:roflmao:

 

[FerchogtX]

With any luck, Uncle Sam's IT department will have Automatic Updates turned on.

Hooohoho...

That would be like... poetical justce or something?
For them, the APOCALIYPSE!

 

[Hellriser]

Oh, the irony...

 

[RommoR]

He he he he he

 

[fireberd]

Having worked as a Network Manager for a federal agency, this is typical of many. The convoluted government contracting has a lot to do with this. Along with the large software costs, training costs is another huge expenditure. Unless Congress, who holds the purse strings, allocates the funds (the first step of many) nothing can be done.

I'm not saying this the right way to do it, just that its what has to happen.

Many private companies are also still using old/outdated Operating Systems and applications software. Many of these, especially small businesses, cannot afford the major upgrade or must do it piecemeal.

 

[OvenMaster]

Many private companies are also still using old/outdated Operating Systems and applications software. Many of these, especially small businesses, cannot afford the major upgrade or must do it piecemeal.

Ah, you mean like my mortgage bank which still uses XP, or one of my supermarkets and my public library that just changed to Win 7 this year? I am not surprised. I know we as home or small office users complain about what we have (had) to pay for a copy of Win 7, but I've often wondered how much big businesses or government agencies have to pay per license when they have thousands of workstations.

 

[fireberd]

I read one time (years ago) that PC manufacturers only pay around $30 for Windows OS.

I don't know what our agency paid, per copy, but we had a site license for Windows, which brought down the per copy price significantly. Same way with the server OS. However, that was only one part of an overall contract that supplied the workstations (PC's) and servers. When the agency I worked for upgraded from "dumb terminals" to LAN's and PC's it was a major contract that included 55,000 workstations (PC's). With that many there can be "significant" reductions in the per copy price.

 

[OvenMaster]

$30?! ARGGHH!!

 

[Layback Bear]

Okay folks I'm not a Server person is the reason I asks these questions.

Is 15 work station per server sound proper?

How long would it take to update 6000 applications?

From the article.

The IRS has agreed to a majority of the Inspector General's recommendations which means… well, it probably doesn't mean much of anything. Chances are the IG will revisit this in a few years and still see the agency struggling to stay current with its operating system software. It's eight years behind on system software and seven years behind on server software, with the latter's migration less than 50% complete. The IRS doesn't have it easy, not with 110,000 workstations, 7,000 servers and -- for god knows what reason -- 6,000 applications, but unless it's willing to give this the priority it deserves, it will always be in danger of making a flawed, bulky system even more insecure.

Maybe this is a new type of security method.

**Make the complete network such a mismatch scramble POS mess no hacker would want to fool with such a mess.**

 

[fireberd]

Is 15 work station per server sound proper?

Depends on the system. The old Novell servers we had were running up to 32 workstations per server. The replacements for the entire agency was 55,000 workstations and 1800 Microsoft client server servers. That averages out to 30+ workstations per server. That was 1997 after I retired and was still IBM Token Ring LANs. Later in the mid 2000's everything was converted to Ethernet and by now everything has been upgraded again.