You can prepare for a successful data center relocation by understanding the scope, creating a detailed project plan, communicating requirements and having the right resources in place.
Determine the following to help start planning an efficient data center relocation:
- Invest time and resources to create the data center relocation plan
- Use careful planning and methodical execution by determining prerequisites
- Test backups to minimize downtime and risk
- Plan for downtime of server, storage, and network equipment
- Account for all physical elements needed to move your data center
How do you start planning a data center relocation?
If you are leading your organization’s next data center move, you know you have a lot of moving parts, dates, resources and targets to coordinate. This checklist gives you a good starting point to begin creating a relocation plan that includes logistics, tasks and details.
A comprehensive relocation project plan is indispensable. Invest time and resources in creating a plan that includes:
✓ An assigned project manager/owner
✓ Environment prerequisites
✓ Hardware prerequisites
✓ Software prerequisites
✓ Task prerequisites
✓ Key team players (who will be involved in the data center relocation?)
✓ Key dates for each stage of your data center relocation project
✓ A back-out plan
Use careful planning and methodical execution to achieve a successful data center move. Add to your task prerequisites:
✓ Label cabling in both the existing and target data centers
✓ Backups completed
✓ DBAs and application administrators disable services
✓ Shut down and power off all data center equipment
✓ Network administrator checks cabling, switch configuration and firewall connectivity
✓ OS Administrator remotely connects to console access to reconfigure network settings for the service (if not done prior to shutdown)
✓ OS Administrator checks health of OS, network and storage connectivity
✓ DBAs and application administrators check services
✓ QA team tests all applications and certifies the data center environment
Minimize downtime and risk by testing backups in advance of your data center relocation. Identify and follow the proper steps for your environment.
✓ Be aware of possible relocation risks and test how you would restore the data in the new data center should things go awry
✓ Be ready with media and license keys for installing backup server client software if needed
✓ Ensure that your backup and build servers are ready to go in the new data center prior to the relocation date (Optional but recommended should you need to perform a server recovery)
Plan for the time and events you could encounter when shutting down your affected server, storage and/or network equipment.
✓ Are all applications shut down?
✓ Are all databases shut down?
✓ Test shutdown and start up
The day of your data center move is next month. Make sure to account for:
✓ Physical size of doors/elevators/stairwells and loading dock/truck ramp
✓ Moving tools: fork lift, dolly, flatbed cart
✓ Area for packaging and un-packaging in both data centers
✓ Identifying your development, staging and production equipment to avoid misplacement at new site
✓ Un-racking and racking at new site
✓ Time for cabling needs
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