MBnation

Awell-knownstandard-bearerofqualityinautomobiles,ToyotaseekstoachievethesamelevelofreliabilityinitsdealerITnetworkasithasinitsvehicles.
Thechallengeismagnifiedbyafloodofinfor-mationtodisseminatetothisfieldforcespanning1,300dealershipsand90,000employees.
ToyotaMotorSalesUSAisdeployingamarqueeimple-mentationofRedHatLinuxtoachievemultipleandsometimesconflictinggoalsofspeed,flexibility,andsimplicityforasystemtodeliverinformationacrosstheredTag"style="COLOR:#000000;BACKGROUND-COLOR:#ffff00">nation.
BackgroundToyotaMotorSales(TMS)USA,Toyota'sUSsalesandmarketingarm,overseessalesandotherToyotaoperationsin49states.
Thereare1,199ToyotadealerslocatedthroughouttheUnitedStates,aswellas175Lexusdealers.
Accordingtothecompany'smissionstatement,"OurvisionistobethemostsuccessfulandrespectedcarcompanyinAmerica.
Toattainthatgoal,ourmissionistoattractandretaincustomerswithhigh-valueproductsandservicesandthemostsatisfyingownershipexperienceinAmerica.
"IndustryAutomotiveEmployeesaffectedby10,000thisimplementationLocationsunderimplementation1,300USdealershipsplusheadquartersScoperedTag"style="COLOR:#000000;BACKGROUND-COLOR:#ffff00">NationwideVitalStatisticsToyotaMotorSalesUSA:RedHatLinuxAcrosstheEnterpriseToyotaMotorSalesUSA:RedHatLinuxAcrosstheEnterprise-2-199619971998199920002001200220032004EarlyadoptersServiceprovidersSmallbusinesses"Hidden"useinmedium-sizedandlargeorganizationsResearchersScientistsAcademiciansEnterpriseearlyadoptersRetailFinanceInsuranceEnterprisedeploymentAdditionalindustryadoptionMajorenterpriseadoptionMainstreamLinuxEnterstheMainstreamSource:IDC,2001ToyotaMotorSalesUSA:RedHatLinuxAcrosstheEnterprise-3-Giventhecompany'smission,it'snotsurprisingthatToyotahas,amongotherdevelopments,builtanetworkconnectingits1,300dealershipstotheU.
S.
headquarters.
Withvehiclesalesexceeding1.
6millionintheUnitedStatesand5millionworldwide,theautomakerhasoneoftheworld'slargestdeploymentsofRedHatLinux.
Connecting10,000usersatdealer-ships,Toyotaisalsooneoftheworld'smostimpressiveRedHatimplemen-tations.
TheITChallengeThechallengeishowbesttoprovideinformation-richcontenttothedealersoverawideareanetworkusinglimitedbandwidth.
Toyotaneededawaytostoreandforwardcachedcontent.
Thecarmakersoughtanoff-the-shelfcachingapplicationthatwouldallowspecificcustomizedmodifica-tionstooptimizethecache'sbehavior.
ToyotausesRedHatLinux6.
1runningonDellPowerAppservers.
Toyotaapproachedthesetwolargenetworkoperatingsystemscompaniestotacklethisproblem.
BecauseofthenumberofserversinvolvedandthenamerecognitionofToyota,developmentprojectsensuedtomeetthisrequire-ment.
BothofthesevendorswereabletomeetToyota'srequirementswithvaryingdegreesofsuccess;however,gettingToyota'schangesintotherespectiveproductioncodewouldbevirtuallyimpossible,creatingconsid-erablesupportissues.
Theactualspecsonsystemsdeployedaresurprisinglylow,withIntelPentiumsrunningat700MHz,128MBRAM,and20–30GBofdrivespace.
Thecostpersiteisestimatedataround$1,500.
RedHatandDellcombinedtoprovidearelativelysimplesystem.
RedHatImplementationandDeploymentDevelopmentontheLinuxplatformwasextremelyfast.
Toyotadevelopedaprototypeintwoweeksandcompletedabuildoutwithfulltestinginabouttwomonths.
Itovercameanumberofissuesplaguingvendorstryingtomodifyshrink-wrappedproduct.
Ratherthantryingtoworkaroundamonolithicapplication,Toyotahadaccesstothesourcecode(inthiscaseApache).
FieldimplementationisongoingbecauseitrequiressettingupDellPCsat1,300locations.
TheconfigurationoftheRedHatLinuxpackagewasdonewithApache,andwithmodificationsbyToyota.
ThecompanyalteredkeycomponentsoftheApachecode;addedSNMPmanagementutilities,DNS,networktimeprotocol(NTP)andSecureShellintotheserver;andthenfinallyoptimizedthenetworksettings.
DellinstallsaconfigurationintheboxesbasedonToyota'srollout,withunitsshippeddirectlytodealers.
DellcanacceptandupdateanychangestotheconfigurationandmakesureexistingCopyright2001IDC.
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ToyotaMotorSalesUSA:RedHatLinuxAcrosstheEnterprise-4-boxeshavethelatestcode.
Toyotaalsohasimplementedanopensourcesolutionfordistributingupdatesinthecodetothoseunitsalreadyinthefield.
Cacheupdatesareperformeddependingonthelevelofurgency.
Theshort-estdurationisabout30minutesandthelongestis30daysformonthlyaudits.
Therehavebeenscoresoflogisticalhurdlesinrollingoutthedealernetwork,thoughvirtuallynonewithRedHatLinuxorDell.
Eachofthe1,300installationshassomeuniquecomponents,suchasthedealers'namesandlog-indata.
Themostdifficultpiecewasmakingsurethatinstallationteamhadtheproperinformationtoconfiguretheboxtoshipittothedealers.
Whentheypluggeditin,itworked,andtheteamcouldcommunicatewithit.
ToyotachoseRedHatLinuxforthefollowingreasons:ToyotahadsomeexistingRedHatimplementations.
RedHatistheLinuxleaderwith52.
4%marketshare.
RedHathasarobustsupportmechanisminplace.
Today,ToyotaandRedHatareworkingoutthedetailsofalong-rangesupportproject.
BeforeLinux,platformswereshrink-wrappedandposedashortcomingbecauseanychangeshadtobeincorporatedintothevendor'sproductdevelopmentcycletobefullysupported.
Thisyieldedaprecipitouslylonglead-timewithnoguaranteeofcompletion.
Withopensourcecode,Linuxholdsnosuchproblem.
Modificationshavenotbeenlarge,andToyotahasbeenabletoaccomplishthemwithitsownstaff,settingitsownschedule,andcostinglessthanoutsourcing.
WithRedHatLinuxWithLinux,Toyotawasabletokeepasmallfootprint,allowingtheunitsinthefieldtorunasfastaspossiblewithaminimumofresources.
ToyotaarguablysavedmoneyonRAMbecauseinstalledPCsrequiredlessRAMthantheywouldotherwise.
Anotherkeybenefitisthatremoteaccessandremotemanagementarefundamentalpiecesoftheoperatingsystem.
"TheonlythingITcan'tdoremotelyishitthepowerswitch,"accordingtothesystem'sarchitectinchargeofdesignanddevelopment.
Toyotautilizesremotediagnostics,whichwerenotavailableonotherplatforms,tomonitorandupdatefieldinstallations.
Thecarmakergainsinitsspeedanduniformityoffieldupdates,andkeepstravelexpenses(ofITstafftothedealerships)toaminimum.
Lastly,RedHatincludedaplethoraofutilitiesandtoolsthatareavailableintheopensourcecommunity,allowingcapabilitiessuchascodeupdatingandremotenetworkdiagnosticswithouthavingtoincurincreasesinlicensingfeesandapplications.
ToyotaMotorSalesUSA:RedHatLinuxAcrosstheEnterprise-5-Opensourceturnsthefunctionalityintosmallerpieces,moreofajigsawpuzzleasopposedtoablock.
Youmightneedtodosomethingassimpleasqueryinformationoffanetworkinterfacecard.
InallotherplatformsToyotatested,thiswouldnotbecommerciallyviable.
LookingaroundtheLinuxcommunity,youcanusuallyfindatoolthatdoesexactlywhatyouneedorgetwhatyouneed,pareoffthepartsyoudon'twant,andrebuildit.
Thisapproachkeepsthingselegant,simple,andclean.
Toyota'simplementationteamexceededmanygoalsbecauseofutilitiessuchasremotediagnostics.
IthasbeenabletohelpotherdivisionsofToyotawiththeirconfigurationsandtroubleshootingandhasopenedtheeyesofmanypeoplewhoarenewtoRedHatLinux.
BenefitsofLinuxManagementshowedimmediatesavingsof$650,000viaLinux.
Toyotarealizesimmediatesavingsbynotrequiringserveroperatingsystemsin1,300boxesat$500each.
Supportcostsareslightly,thoughnotmaterially,lowerthantheywouldbewithanyothersystem.
Toyotagainssomeadvan-tagesbybeingabletoseeintothedealers'networkforsometroubleshoot-ing.
"It'sawonderfulthingtobeabletogotouppermanagementandtellthemwedownloadedeverythingforfree;allyouneedtodoispayformaintenance,andit'sdone.
Whenyouhavethousandsoflicenses,youcansavealotofmoneyveryquickly,"accordingtoToyota'smanagerinchargeofimplementingRedHat.
However,thebestattributesofRedHathavebeenreliabilityandmanagea-bility.
Typicallywhenfiledsystemscrash,theITdepartmenthastophysi-callyvisitthedealership.
Todaythedepartmenthasreducedtravelbyprovidingasystemthatcanbeeasilyadministeredremotelyand,throughanarrangementwithDell,replacedifremotediagnosticsareunsuccessful.
RedHatLinuxhasenabledToyotatomeetitsCIO'sdirectivetouseWeb-basedcontentforcommunicationswithdealers.
Thosebusinessunitsthathavebeguntoleveragethisarchitecturerealizesignificantimprovementsinhowinformationisdeliveredtothefield.
Thebestexampletodateisjust-in-timetraining.
Toyota'sserviceorganizationhasdevisedamethodtoimprovethedissemiredTag"style="COLOR:#000000;BACKGROUND-COLOR:#ffff00">nationofinformationtoservicepeopleinthefield.
Composedprimarilyofinformation-richmaterial,just-in-timetrainingallowsarepairtechniciansmalltrainingvideos(typicallybetween1and6minutesinlength)thatdemonstratetheworkingsofvariouscomponentsandprocesses.
Thisisprovingtobemoreeffectivethanrequiringthatatechniciansearchforandreadseveralpagesoftext.
SupportRequiredToyotahassomeconcernsregardingsupport,althoughitiscurrentlynegotiatingacontractwithRedHat.
Toyota'sProductionServicesGrouphasbeenabletosupporttheimplementationwithonepersonper300dealersandisfacilitatingthecurrentrolloutinconjunctionwithDell.
IDC5SpeenStreetFramingham,MA01701(508)872-8200Fax(508)935-4015www.
idc.
comEachdealershiphasfrom1–40users.
IDCresearchshowsthatthisisaverylowratioforsupportpersonneltoend-users.
LessonsLearnedandFuturePlansThehighestlevelsofourISexecutivestafflookatLinuxasanopportunitytoimplementcutting-edgetechnology.
RedHatLinux,ingeneral,isstillviewedas"outthere"intermsoftechnologyeventhoughjustabouteveryinfrastructureseemstoberunningsomeLinux.
ThatwasthecasewithToyota.
ThesuccessofthisprojecthaslentmorecredibilitytoRedHatandtoLinuxandhasallowedtheArchitectureGrouptolookatotherproblemsthatcouldbesolvedwithopensourcesoftware.
Inthefuture,Toyotawillinstallallremainingdealershipsandlooksforwardtoastableandquietenvironment.
UntiltheDellboxesreachtheendoftheirlifeormulti-megabitnetworkingbecomescommonplace,bothpossiblyfiveyears,ToyotawillreapbenefitsfromitsdealerITnetwork.
Evenatthatpoint,ToyotaislikelytocontinuewithRedHatLinuxandaverysimilar,albeitupdated,implementation.
Meanwhile,TheArchitectureGroupislookingatotherareaswhereitmightbeabletoleverageLinux'sreliabilityandlowcosts.
Itiscurrentlyinuseforcoreapplications,suchasemailandDNS.
EverydaythatpasseswithnomajorproblemisanotherdaythatbuildsthereputationofLinuxasanenterprise-readyoperatingsystem.
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