With proper planning and execution, you can avoid the pitfalls of a data center relocation and ensure continuity of operations
Data center relocation is the process of moving the physical assets of your data center to a new location, whether it is an entirely new one, another floor in your same building, or a colocation facility.
“Data center migration” involves moving data, applications, and infrastructure from one data center to another and includes both physical relocation and system transition activities. It is often used interchangeably with “data center relocation,” which specifically refers to the physical movement of hardware and infrastructure between locations
If mishandled, a data center relocation can cause costly downtime, data loss, and business disruption.
From planning and risk assessment to execution and post-move evaluation, this guide to call center relocation covers all aspects of the move to help you avoid common pitfalls and ensure continuity of operations.
And for more valuable information, check out the Core BTS webinar “Datacenter Relocation: Modernize for the Future.”
Planning and Preparation
Proper planning is essential when moving a data center to identify potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. Although a move may seem as easy as packing up your current infrastructure and then taking it to its new location, the process usually poses unexpected challenges that may harm your business.
To help plan and prepare for any bumps in the process, it’s a good idea to create a simple checklist. All data centers are different and have different requirements, but typical items on a data center relocation checklist might include:
- An inventory of existing assets
- Documentation of data center relocation plans
- Planning for downtime during move and setup
- Backing up systems and data
- Needed infrastructure replacement or upgrades
- Migrating workloads
- Reconfiguring networking, storage, power systems, and other resources
- Testing
- Recommencing operations
- Do a post-move analysis
Using this checklist as a basis, you can expand it into a detailed data center relocation plan, expanding every item. For example, under the complete asset inventory, you might include:
- Who owns each asset
- A network connectivity inventory
- Documentation of all applications used
- A description of any undocumented equipment
- An inventory of which equipment will be moved and which will stay behind
- A decommissioning plan for any technology left behind
Risk Assessment and Management
If you fail to identify and manage risks, the success of the data center relocation is jeopardized, leading perhaps to data breaches, equipment damage, and extended downtime.
So, a risk assessment identifies potential problems with a relocation and examines ways to avoid or mitigate them.
Some of the possible problems include:
- Servers that don’t power on
- Moving trucks that break down or experience delays because of weather or heavy traffic
- Equipment damaged in transit
- Racks that don’t work or fit in the new data center
- Heavy equipment that may damage floor tiles
- And the list goes on
You usually begin by identifying the functional risks of the move. What pieces of equipment damaged in transit will prevent the new data center from functioning immediately?
Next, you need to identify non-functional risks of the move, such as a cargo elevator that breaks down and delays the delivery of equipment to the new data center.
The impacts of these different types of problems must be laid out, along with mitigation or prevention strategies in case anything occurs.
Choosing the Right Relocation Partner
On the one hand, you risk cost overruns, project delays, and operational disruptions if you select a relocation partner who isn’t well-experienced in the process or can’t handle it effectively.
On the other hand, an experienced digital transformation partner with a track record of success can ensure a smooth transition and handle any unforeseen problems as they arise.
The partner should have the flexibility and experience to take care of the nuances of your particular data relocation so the migration is simple, fast, and effective.
The right relocation partner will also help you to maintain your data integrity. They can, for example, document the chain of custody for files moving between two different systems. The relocation partner should also be able to provide regular reports on the integrity of file data to the IT team, legal professionals, compliance officers, and executives.
Ensuring Data Security and Integrity
Protecting data integrity during a relocation is crucial. Data loss and breaches can have severe legal and financial implications for a business.
So, it is important to have a relocation partner that is a proven security expert. Their services may include encrypting all communications between the source and the target if data is being buffered in a third-party location. They will also ensure that data will be protected during the move with strong authentication protocols, network security, and monitoring of logs to prevent a cybercriminal from getting unauthorized access.
Relocation partners will also address compliance obligations during the migration, including all relevant laws and regulations.
Testing and Validation
After a move is complete but before the operations go live, it is a good idea to validate data integrity by looking for discrepancies with different testing tools.
Before the migration, you might hire appropriate staff to measure the performance of specific sets of end-to-end transactions on specific applications so that they can be used for post-move testing and validation.
Data and systems should be continuously monitored after a move, looking for security breaches and other irregularities.
Post-Move Evaluation and Optimization
After completing a data center move and getting up and operating, your work is not done yet. You should do a thorough post-move evaluation, examining what could be done better in future relocations.
The review should also help optimize the new data center environment and processes. The review could encompass the IT infrastructure, whether or not latency is minimized, and ensuring that all applications and services are working as they should.
Your system configurations should be regularly reviewed after this so that you can effectively address any issues that threaten to hurt your operations.
Ensure a Smooth Transition for Your Business
By following this guide to data center relocation, you can ensure a smooth transition and minimal disruption to your operations.
Having a partner who can help you with everything from relocating your data center to migrating your data to the cloud or a hybrid setup is extremely helpful. Core BTS has a proud track record of guiding companies through successful digital transformations using cutting-edge solutions.
Contact us to find out how we can move your business to a better place.