Starting point
Decommissioned analysers would no longer be bootable after hardware removal without an image. Authorities expect historic systems to remain explainable during the retention period.
Production, test and archive environments must be separated; DI requirements demand machine-readable, reproducible system states for the full retention period.
Approach
cube one implemented two interlocking virtualisation tracks: Proxmox for ongoing operations and VMware for long-term archiving.
Proxmox for applications and test environments
- Dedicated Proxmox host as central virtualisation platform.
- Production applications in isolated VMs; test environments fully isolated.
- Rapid provisioning through VM templates and snapshots.
VMware archiving for DI retention
- Full virtualisation of production systems as archivable VM images.
- Long-term archive including OS, application and data in the state at the time.
- Regular restore tests; documentation for audits and authority requests.
Complements data readability and data archiving. Operations: IT administration.
Outcome
Proxmox infrastructure
- Stable, scalable infrastructure on a single hardware platform.
- Test environments reproducible and available at all times.
- High resource efficiency; production and test operation decoupled.
DI retention met
- DI retention requirements fully met; data demonstrably readable and runnable.
- Restore tests prove integrity of archived systems.
- Audit-ready documentation of all archiving and test activities.
The original OS stays bootable without floor space in the lab. Related: change control 70 lab PCs.