Trend Micro recommends conducting a pilot deployment before performing a full-scale deployment. A pilot deployment provides an opportunity for feedback to determine how features work and the level of support likely needed after full deployment.
Piloting Control Manager at one location allows you to accomplish the following:
Gain familiarity with Control Manager and managed products
Develop or refinement of the company's network policies
A pilot deployment is useful to determine which configurations need improvements. It gives the IT department or installation team a chance to rehearse and refine the deployment process and test if your deployment plan meets your organization�s business requirements.
A Control Manager test deployment consists of the following tasks:
Preparing for the test deployment
Complete the following activities during the preparation stage:
Decide the Control Manager server and agent configuration for the test environment.
Establish TCP/IP connectivity among all systems in a heterogeneous trial configuration.
Verify bidirectional TCP/IP communications by sending a ping command to each agent system from the manager system and vice versa.
Evaluate the different deployment methods to see which ones are suitable for your particular environment.
Complete a System Checklist used for the pilot deployment.
Selecting a test site
Select a pilot site that best matches your production environment. Try to simulate, as closely as possible, the type of topology that would serve as an adequate representation of your production environment.
Creating a rollback plan
Create a disaster recovery or rollback plan (for example, how to rollback to Control Manager 2,x/3.0 or Trend VCS 1.8x server) in case there are some difficulties with the installation or upgrade. This process should take into account local corporate policies, as well as IT resources.
Beginning the test deployment
After completing the preparation steps and System Checklist, begin the pilot deployment by installing Control Manager server and agents.
Evaluating the test deployment
Create a list of successes and failures encountered throughout the pilot process. Identify potential "pitfalls" and plan accordingly for a successful deployment.
You can implement the pilot evaluation plan into the overall production installation and deployment plan.