In our last blog post, we talked about the importance of a strong, proven methodology when undertaking a data center relocation. At ASG, we’ve developed the Structured Data Collection Methodology to effectively relocate data centers without endangering business-critical data and applications. There are four phases involved in our approach, and in this blog we’ll discuss the first two – discovery and data collection and analysis and design.
Because your data center is essential to the success of your enterprise, we begin with a comprehensive review and survey of your data center. This preliminary survey includes an exhaustive inventory of your software and hardware, servers, and storage and networking equipment. We also schedule kick-off meetings and interview key personnel in your company to fully identify both your technical and business requirements. Once our technical experts determine the key services your data center provides, they establish and analyze the business priorities, planning, and budgeting constraints of your data center relocation.
To complete this phase, our technical experts compile their findings into a comprehensive source of your data center information, thoroughly documented and archived for future analysis and reference.
- Startup servers and apply new system information (e.g., IP addresses, name etc)
- Assist in verification of properly working systems and applications
- Track, document, and scale data to be replicated
- Track and document changes to replicated data
Every data center move presents risks, and any interruption to your business could ultimately affect your bottom line. Accordingly, our methodology always includes thorough analysis and documentation of the impact on your business. At this stage, our technical experts analyze the information they collected to prioritize business services, establish downtime if necessary—and determine the hardware, application, and technology requirements for a non-disruptive move. Our technical experts also define and analyze potential risks and prepare contingency plans to mitigate possible problems.
Then our technical experts architect several migration options, and you select the comprehensive solution that best address your particular business and technical requirements.
- Recommend an appropriate amount of bandwidth to maintain replication of applications
- Ensure equivalent amount of storage is available at new site
- Establish IP connection between the two sites
- Document the external facing IP addresses at old and new sites
Our next blog post will explore the final two phases of our Structured Data Collection Methodology – planning and risk management and the complete implementation. Again, we’d love to hear about your data center success stories and nightmares so please leave a comment.
