Insights · Migration
Moving your servers in 30 days
Moving servers out of an office feels risky because it usually happens in a rush after a failure. Done on a plan, it is a quiet weekend. Here is the plan we give customers.
01Migration
Week one: list and measure
Write down every box: make, model, height in units, number of power supplies and what it does. Photograph the back of each one. If you can, read the real power draw from the power strip or the server's own tools.
Use the rack calculator to turn that list into a plan, then ask us for a survey so an engineer can check it on site.
02Migration
Week two: decide what moves
Not everything needs to move. Printers, Wi-Fi controllers and the phone system often stay in the office. Core systems, databases and anything customers depend on should move.
Order your cross-connects and any office link now. Carriers usually need ten working days.
03Migration
Week three: rehearse
Label both ends of every cable. Agree a shutdown order and a start-up order. Make sure you have current backups and that you have tested a restore.
Tell your users about the weekend window. Two hours of planned downtime on a Saturday is better than two days of unplanned downtime later.
04Migration
Week four: move
Shut down in order, pack in crates, drive to Enugu, rack and cable using your labels, then start up in order. Our engineers can do the lifting and racking with you.
Check every service from outside, not just from the server. Then go home and sleep.
05Takeaways
If you remember three things.
- 01
Plan four weeks
Most of the work happens before move day.
- 02
Label everything
Photos and labels turn a stressful day into a checklist.
- 03
Test restores first
A backup you have not restored is a hope, not a backup.
06Keep reading
Related pages.
Want to see it for yourself?
Book a tour and ask our engineers anything in this article.