Before you begin checklist

Before you begin an
VMware Smart Assurance
deployment, you must meet the requirements described in Before you begin checklist. Each chapter in this guide includes a checklist. Appendix A, “Design and Deployment Checklists,” contains all available checklists.
Before you begin checklist
Complete
Requirement
Description
Possess an understanding of the architecture and capabilities.
At a minimum, you must understand the concepts and architecture described in the following documents:
  • Smarts Service Assurance Manager Introduction.
  • Smarts Service Assurance Manager Configuration Guide.
  • Smarts Service Assurance Manager Adapter Platform User Guide.
  • Smarts System Administration Guide.
  • Smarts Installation Guide for SAM, IP, ESM, MPLS, and NPM Managers that accompanied your product.
  • Smarts user guides related to the underlying domains in your deployment.
To improve your understanding, attend training courses offered by
VMware online support website
Education Services and Development. Typically, deployment requires the knowledge equivalent to what is provided in the training courses on:
  • lobal Manager
  • Smarts Service Assurance Manager Adapter Platform.
  • Any underlying Smarts domain that will be part of your deployment.
Obtain contact information for the deployment team.
The contact list should include titles, responsibilities, and contact methods for all team members.
Get non-disclosure requirements and negotiate an agreement.
Be aware of the requirements of the non-disclosure agreements that are in place for the deployment.
Develop schedules and set milestones for early deliverable.
Scheduling a software deployment varies based on the size and scope of the deployment and the organization’s requirements. Typical milestones might include:
  • Initial project meeting to define the deployment scope
  • Purchase of
    VMware Smart Assurance
    software
  • Project development begins
  • Installation in test environment complete
  • Testing complete
  • Installation in production environment complete
  • VMware Smart Assurance
    goes live
Additional information on scheduling is beyond the scope of this guide.