Moving a computer room. Things to think about
ArrivalTech is a company that specializes in moving computer rooms and datacenters. This article is a put together based on the experiences that we and our customers have experienced. We hope that it assists you with your relocation project.
Establish a moving committee. Get one person from each major department and head the group with a project manager. While IT is a key department for any move, and the focus of this document, planning and communication must be between all stake holders.
Time is against you. Understand that almost all construction activities take longer than expected and the planning required for a move is going to be a significant undertaking. You need to allocate more time than expected and also start the project as soon as possible as this will minimize the load coming up to move day.
You need a full inventory and understanding of the relationship of the various components in your IT systems. You need to know what you are moving if you are to have a hope putting it back together. Not only do you need to document all servers, network devices, desktops etc but you also need to document WAN connections and phone circuits. Sometimes this is preferably done by an external company as internal resources sometimes can’t see the forest through the trees.
Make a project folder. You need a common place to store information on the move and is best to be a physical folder that you can carry to the new site and to meetings. Start this day one. It should include sections for Vendors, Computer infrastructure, Phone Systems, Building work and Moving day info.
Outsource where possible. Your staff have their normal jobs to do, so adding a move will increase their load and make their lives hell. If you can get in assistance it is advisable. Ideally choose a partner immediately that specializes in IT relocations as most resellers have very little exposure to this type of work and really its not worth the risk. These specialists will help drive the project and organize vendors
Meet with Vendors, Telecommunication companies and builders next. One of the biggest problems is making sure everything happens in time and in the correct order. Key issues are likely to include timelines of builders, changes to phone systems, WAN links and even power and air-conditioning requirements.
If you have time consider a virtualization strategy in combination with your move. If you have considerable time before the move then consider implementing a server virtualization project. Not only will this simplify the move, it will reduce the legacy technology that moves to the new location. Considerable costs can be saved long term by reducing the foot print of your infrastructure and increasing its manageability through products like VMware vSphere.
Plan everything. Planning should include the network, the physical layout, the power consumption, UPS, airconditioning and servers. Ideally you should start by brainstorming what will be required. The inventory process will flesh this out.
Organize a schedule. You need to document the dependencies in the project and make sure that the schedule takes these into account. It’s also advisable to organize penalties in any contracts to ensure that dates are strictly enforced.
There are going to be problems. Good planning, outsourcing where possible, having your IT staff relatively rested and having vendors on call allows you to deal with problems as they arise. If you staff are doing everything then by the Sunday of a weekend move they are tired and not at their best. This is the time that they need to be on their game when something invariably goes wrong.
Test what you can before the move. Essential things to have in place include phone lines and WAN links.
E-mail: info@arrivaltech.com