IT Modernization for a Northeast Ohio Manufacturer
A Cyber Shift case study on Active Directory, DNS and infrastructure changes for Plas-Mac, a Northeast Ohio manufacturer.
· Last updated
From our archive: Originally published March 28, 2025. Product features, pricing and availability mentioned in this article may have changed.
Case Study: Restoring Stability & Modernizing IT for a Northeast Ohio Manufacturer
Client: Plas-Mac Corporation
Industry: Manufacturing
Services Provided: Active Directory Cleanup, Server Upgrades, DNS/DHCP Repair, SQL Service Restoration
The Challenge: Legacy Issues Causing Network Instability
When Plas-Mac Corporation’s new internal IT administrator stepped into their role, they inherited more than just login credentials. The company’s server infrastructure was unstable, with broken Active Directory replication, legacy domain controllers, group policy failures, incorrect DNS configurations, and SQL services that refused to start.
Previous internal IT employees had left several unfinished or partially implemented projects, resulting in frequent downtime, authentication issues, and a lack of confidence in the IT environment. The internal IT team knew they needed expert help to bring everything back under control.
We specialize in Managed IT Services to prevent these issues from occurring in the first place.
Our Approach: A Phased Plan to Restore Stability
Cyber Shift Technologies partnered with Plas-Mac to assess the environment, prioritize critical failures, and build a phased roadmap for resolution - all while working alongside their internal IT administrator to minimize disruptions and preserve what’s already working.
Our IT Consulting & Strategy services helped Plas-Mac build a phased roadmap to stability.
Step 1: Cleaning Up Active Directory and DNS
- Performed a thorough health check on Active Directory and DNS
- Cleaned up outdated and incorrect DNS entries to restore name resolution
- Fixed broken replication between domain controllers
Step 2: Promoting New Domain Controllers
- Configured and promoted new Domain Controllers
- Planned for legacy server decommissioning
- Migrated FSMO roles away from legacy servers
Step 3: Fixing SQL Service Issues
- Investigated and resolved SQL services failing to start under the system account
- Verified correct permissions and ensured SQL services were operational
The Results: A Modern, Reliable IT Environment
With the project complete, Plas-Mac Corporation now has a stable and modern infrastructure:
- Redundant and replicating Active Directory environment
- Group Policy functioning reliably across all workstations
- DNS and DHCP configured according to best practices
- Modern server OS deployment and legacy cleanup underway
- SQL services running smoothly with proper permissions
- A renewed foundation their internal IT team can confidently support
Plas-Mac Corporation is also excited to continue working on the next few projects we’ve already outlined to further enhance their IT environment. These upcoming projects include SQL Server upgrades, migration projects, Azure AD Sync, and implementing Hyper-V replication for high availability.
Through our IT Consulting & Strategy, Plas-Mac Corporation now has a stable, well-maintained infrastructure.
What Plas-Mac Corporation Had to Say
“Cyber Shift Technologies restored stability to our IT environment. Their expertise gave us confidence in our infrastructure moving forward.”
Get Your IT Infrastructure Back Under Control
If you're managing IT in-house or picking up after unfinished projects, Cyber Shift Technologies is ready to help.
Learn what our IT Consulting & Strategy services cover.
📞 (330) 353-8420
✉️ info@cybershift.com
🌐 cybershifttech.com