Use these strategies to make your next data center move a cinch

Data center migration is made easy through proper planning.

By Max Burkhalter
January 15, 2015
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IT teams at small and medium businesses are forced to undergo data center migrations for all sorts of reasons - growing companies often move their headquarters to a new city or decide to expand their data center. Regardless of the reason, sufficient planning and preparation is necessary for a smooth transition from one location to another. The more complex a data facility's current infrastructure is, the more time must be put into planning your data center move. The following tips can be used as a framework to follow when organizing your transition plans.

Prioritize pieces of your infrastructure
Start by making an inventory of all of the critical systems running as part of your current infrastructure, making special note of hardware that must be up and running to meet the daily needs of your company and clients. The greatest proportion of time and care should be put into transitioning this hardware, as loss of operational capacity could put your business in big trouble. Data Center Knowledge also recommended that you look at this challenge as an opportunity to consider modular infrastructure. Replacing critical infrastructure with custom, pre-built equipment at your new facility eliminates the need to transfer legacy hardware and helps make your data center more flexible and scalable in the long term.

Consider moving in stages
If your lease allows time to move in stages, you should consider transitioning piece-by-piece. Attempting to move rooms full of delinquent equipment all at once is fraught with hazards, and even a small accident could lead to downtime for your data center. Technology like remote console servers make it simple to run your company's business critical infrastructure from multiple locations. Organizing your data center transition into stages also gives your IT staff more time to test new infrastructure configurations, and TechTarget warned that sufficient load and failure tests are important for a successful move.

Keep detailed records every step of the way
Don't neglect to keep up detailed records after the transition has begun. You'll need a master list or inventory to make sure every piece of equipment safely makes it to its new location. Even if your company has the resources to transition the data center on an extended schedule, any delays can hamper your company's ability to meet customer demands. Paying close attention to logistical details ensures that important components don't slip through the cracks.

Perle's wide range of 1 to 48 port Perle Console Servers provide data center managers and network administrators with secure remote management of any device with a serial console port. Plus, they are the only truly fault tolerant Console Servers on the market with the advanced security functionality needed to easily perform secure remote data center management and out-of-band management of IT assets from anywhere in the world.

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