Infrastructure on the Move: Key Considerations for Physical Data Center Migration

Physical data center migration is a complex and challenging undertaking that requires careful planning, precise execution, and constant communication. Whether you are moving your data center to a new location or consolidating multiple sites into a single facility, the physical aspects of the migration can be daunting. From packing and shipping hardware to installing and configuring equipment in the new location, physical data center migration involves a range of tasks that must be managed with great care to avoid downtime, data loss, and other negative impacts. In this article, we'll explore the key considerations and best practices for physical data center migration, drawing on real-world examples and expert insights to help you plan and execute a successful move.

Let's clarify what a data center migration is so that everyone is on the same page before we move on. A data center migration is the transfer of one or more applications, and the infrastructure they require, from one place to another. Most of the old server rooms look like the left-hand side image, which consists of messy networking cabling, comfort air cooling units, poor lighting and power distribution, and a lack of redundancy in major power and cooling components. Most of the server rooms are not purposely built for server room operations and IT staff use the available IT spaces for new coming servers by adding temporary power and cooling options. Companies having data centers that are 10 years old or older may find that they can no longer meet the electrical, cooling, and structural requirements of evolving technology. Further, in case of an emergency, it's very hard to find the root cause of any problem by investigating the existing infrastructure.

They have a few choices available to them, including building a new data center, moving applications to the public cloud to free up space, renting out space at a colocation facility off-site, or updating their current data center into a new modernized data center. Here, we are discussing moving the existing server applications into a newly modified data center.

A successful data center migration can be broken down into seven steps.

Discovery

Why are you migrating? What do you want to accomplish? Objectives need to be clearly defined.

Infrastructure assessment is the most time-consuming element. An infrastructure assessment delivers a complete picture of your environment on a cabinet-by-cabinet and a U-by-U basis.

What’s in each cabinet?

• What’s in each U?

• How is the network connected to everything?

• What are the technical and operational dependencies and relationships between each application and infrastructure component?

• Will email continue to function if a collaborative server is turned down?

[The U measurement is commonly used in the IT industry to describe the height of equipment that can be mounted in a rack, including servers, switches, and other networking gear. It is important to consider the U size when selecting equipment and planning the layout of a server room or data center]

Planning

Planning is primarily focused on the physical infrastructure, including systems like civil layouts, electrical system designs, cooling system designs, fire detection and protection systems, earthing, surveillance systems, and network layouts. Once the design is set, authorized persons must be involved in the process of having the design finalized so they can review it. Revisions are required to consider and resolve any goals and success standards found during the review process. After the confirmation is received from authorized personnel, the design can be sent for the certification process at Uptime Institute, or TIA-942. 

 [Uptime’s Tier Standard is the IT industry’s most trusted and adopted global standard for the design, construction, and operation of data centers. / Specifies requirements for telecommunications infrastructure of data centers and computer rooms, covering all aspects, including infrastructure, site location, architectural, electrical, mechanical, safety, and security]

Development

You create the physical infrastructure needed to support the application and business procedures that were found during discovery and improved during planning. Each system should be commissioned by experienced engineers, and authorized persons should witness the testing. Some systems can be migrated during the migration process. Hence, backup and temporary solutions need to be arranged before starting the individual system testing. 

 [For example, if the customer needs to migrate their existing cooling units to a new data center, then temporary cooling solutions need to be implemented before starting the electrical testing such as UPS, Batteries, and power panels at a new data center]

Commissioning

Data center commissioning refers to the process of testing and verifying that the systems and infrastructure within a data center are designed, installed, and functioning properly. This includes testing the electrical systems, mechanical systems (such as cooling and ventilation), and IT infrastructure (such as servers and network equipment) to ensure they meet the requirements and specifications of the data center.

The commissioning process typically involves a series of tests and inspections, starting with the design and construction phase and continuing through the final acceptance of the data center. The goal of commissioning is to ensure that the data center is operating efficiently and reliably and that it can meet the needs of its users both now and in the future.

Certification

Certification is the critical step to achieve in a data center migration. Authorized personnel can use this certification as third-party validation. It ensures that your data center can operate as per the design guidelines and operational aspects. Generally, integrated system testing needs to be done before facility testing to identify any loopholes in the system. Facility certification will take at least 3 to 4 days, and authorized personnel can witness the entire testing for validation. 

Validation

This is the safeguard to ensure that everything you intended will go into place. This is the last step to ensure that all the specifics specified in Discovery and Planning made it through Development before you start shifting anything to the new data center location or new infrastructure. You will save hours, numerous headaches, and hundreds of dollars by taking this quick test.

Migration

We are finally here—Migration. Everything you've worked for is going to pay off. Some procedures must be followed when migrating to each application. The most important components of this checklist are the dependencies that were discovered during the discovery phase. Moving backup infrastructure rather than production infrastructure is a fantastic method to approach a test migration. Once the test migration has been performed and everything checks out, it’s time to move! Be sure to assign realistic data transfer times to your migration windows. Use the Test Migration process to validate the applications and data that can be moved as well as the actual time required for the move to occur. A "smooth" and "successful" move will benefit greatly from minimizing surprises in this area.

Management

The majority of data center migration strategies end after the migration. Once the migration is complete, there must be a clear postmigration transition back to day-to-day operations, including support. It will also be well worth your time to set up proactive monitoring and response to keep an eye on the migration and make sure everything goes according to plan.

Upgrading an old server room to a certified server room can provide numerous advantages for customers. In this response, we will provide a more detailed explanation of these advantages.

So, there you have it – the key steps for a flawless data center migration. While this process may seem daunting, it's important to remember that success comes from careful planning, communication, and execution. By following these steps and staying organized throughout the process, you can ensure that your data center migration is a success. And with a well-executed migration, you can set your business up for growth, scalability, and continued success in the years to come.