Tips for making the move
- Tag every server with information about its IP address, old and new rack locations and server name. Place the tags near where the cable is connected on the back. When you cut the cables, you still have the tags to guide where to hook up the new wires.
- "Put staff at various remote locations during the move," says Eric Gorham, director of IT for the organization. That way, services can be tested as they are restored — without affecting the main data centre staff.
- Don't forget about cables and other consumable but necessary supplies, too. Order plenty of extras and see if you can negotiate a liberal return policy for the unused ones.
- During the actual move, make sure at least one person has a master contact list of every staffer's home, mobile phone and pager numbers, as well as contact information for key clients and vendors.
- Use triage to determine the most mission-critical machines to move first.
David Strom is the former editor-in-chief at both Tom's Hardware.com and Network Computing magazine, and is now a podcaster, blogger, public speaker and freelance writer for numerous IT pubs and The New York Times, among others. His blog is located at http://strominator.com and he can be reached at david@strom.com.
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.