Successful Move: A Result Of Strategic Planning And Careful Handling

Moving a corporate datacenter is an intricate process which needs great planning. There are many aspects to be contemplated for making a successful move. The first question to be addressed is for how long you can afford to be off line. It should not be ignored that in large enterprises no equitant of downtime is acceptable. Normally they would be having a backup datacenter that can handle the operation in the meanwhile. If the small company is without a backup datacenter, then important is to allow the customers know you will be offline for a settled period of time.

Your primary goal will be to complete the move and have the datacenter back online as early as possible. Hence you should try to gain access to the new facility a few weeks prior to the move. By preparing the new facility well in advance all you have to do on the moving day is to plug the servers in and bring everything back online. It is good to initiate by measuring the server room and creating a floor plan that shows where each piece of furniture or equipment will be placed. You should also make sure that sufficient electric supply is there.

For a successful move it would be favorable to take an inventory of the hardware in your datacenter. It is easier to replace the machines that fall down during the move, if you possess an up-to-date inventory. It should be remembered to meet the insurance agent before you make the existing move and retrospect the coverage on your servers. Also it is better to formalize a deal with the hardware vendor so that he is at your arm’s length in case of an emergency.

You should perform a full, system state backup of each machine before shutting it down. Since the servers would be in an unstable position during the move, the backups are very important. While moving the backups should not be kept on the same truck as your servers.

Once you have reached in the new location plan the order in which the servers are to be brought back online. That will assure you to minimize the downtime for your mission critical applications along with locating critical problems quickly. By following all these you can ensure a successful move before the deadlines go up.