How to Migrate from On-Prem to Colocation?

When migrating to a third-party data center, you must unplug your equipment, pack it carefully, ship it to the colocation facility, and then reassemble and reconnect everything.

It sounds simple, but each step must be thoroughly planned to minimize downtime, ensure data integrity, and keep track of the hardware.

This guide explains how to prepare for and execute an on-premises to colocation migration with minimal risk and disruption.

On-Prem to Colocation Migration: How to Prepare

Moving IT equipment from an on-premises server room to a colocation data center is a full-scale project. Documentation, testing, and contingency planning are equally as important as the physical relocation itself.

To complete the migration, businesses need to complete the steps listed in the sections below.

Step 1: Create a Migration Plan

A migration plan should include the following elements:

• Timelines for key stages. Hold planning meetings with your internal team and relevant stakeholders, including the colocation facility and shipping providers. Define realistic deadlines for each migration phase and include a safety margin to mitigate unexpected delays.
• Milestones for tracking progress. Set checkpoints throughout the migration process to track if tasks are completed on schedule. Milestones should align with phases in the migration timeline. For example, each step in this guide, such as taking a hardware inventory or post-migration testing, can serve as a milestone.
• Risk assessments. Identify potential bottlenecks, like shipment delays, damaged hardware, or compromised data. Based on the assessment, develop contingency plans, like preparing spare equipment or provisioning alternative communication methods in advance.
• Communication strategy. Develop a communication plan to control information flows both internally and towards end-users. It is a good idea to assign designated points of contact for each task. Also, communicate clear timelines, expected disruptions, and potential changes to end-users promptly to avoid confusion.

• Uptime during workload migration. Develop a plan to maintain business continuity throughout the migration process. For example, consider using temporary cloud hosting to support critical web services during migration or equipment upgrades.
• Rollback plan. A migration is a complex set of actions; not everything will always go according to plan. Prepare a rollback plan to revert to a previous stable environment in case of unexpected events. For example, this can include plans for restoring backups or reverting DNS changes.

Step 2: Take an Inventory

Before starting the migration, make an inventory of all hardware, software, and dependencies. During the process, you need to:

• Check hardware condition. Migration is a good opportunity to replace outdated or underperforming devices, such as cables, network switches, routers, and other ancillary equipment.

• Identify mission-critical systems and dependencies. Analyze workloads, data flows, and system dependencies to determine the optimal shutdown and startup sequence for your equipment. This way, essential services get shut down last and come back online first.
• Review software dependencies. The software environment needs the same level of attention as the hardware during migration planning. Check which software solutions will be impacted by the migration and if they are compatible with the new environment.
• Document network configuration. To replicate your network layout at the new site, you must document your current DNS settings, firewall rules, IP address configurations, and VLAN setups.
• Determine power and cooling requirements. Calculate your equipment's power consumption and cooling requirements.

Step 3: New Site Preparation

To ensure the new colocation environment is ready to receive your equipment:

• Determine space, power, and cooling needs. Use the information collected during the inventory process to ensure the colocation facility has the cooling systems, power capacity and redundancy, and rack space to support your environment.
• Plan rack layout and cable management. Try to design a layout that minimizes cable clutter, improves airflow, and ensures easy access for maintenance tasks.
• Check network connectivity options. If the colocation facility is carrier-neutral, choose an ISP provider that can meet your bandwidth and redundancy requirements.

Step 4: Set Migration Window

Set a firm migration date and coordinate the move with staff and third-party providers. To ensure everyone is prepared:

• Pick the optimal migration window. Schedule the migration during off-peak hours when system usage is low. The ideal window varies depending on your business operations and can include weekends or public holidays. Affected teams should already be aware of the migration timeline, potential downtime, and contingency measures.
• Coordinate with the colocation facility. Confirm the colocation provider is ready to receive the equipment on the agreed date and that your staff is present. Also, ensure the staff has all the credentials, access permissions, and tools available on site.

• Arrange safe and reliable transportation. Ideally, choose a shipping company with experience in transporting IT equipment. Look for companies with established procedures for handling sensitive hardware, such as chain of custody documentation to track handlers at each transport stage. Consider additional safeguards like tamper-proof packaging and remote tracking in real-time for fragile or mission-critical hardware.
• Prepare your staff. Ensure your internal team knows their roles and responsibilities during the migration. Technicians should know all access protocols, equipment handling procedures, and site-specific requirements at the colocation facility. Double-check that the contact information for key internal staff, vendors, and colocation personnel is correct and up-to-date. The rollback plan created in Step 1 must be accessible to everyone involved.

Step 5: Turn Off and Disassemble Equipment

On the day of the physical migration, all the planning and preparation from previous steps come into action. During this phase, it is vital to document every action with detailed paperwork and photographs.

You should:

• Label everything. Clearly label all cables, servers, and devices with durable tags that are hard to detach. Use special labels to mark priority equipment to prioritize tasks during the reinstallation. Descriptive labels that indicate both endpoints are especially important if third-party staff are handling the equipment.
• Take detailed photos. If you are relocating multiple racks, visual aids such as rack layouts and photographs are invaluable. Technicians can refer to photos and labels to confirm server positioning, cable layouts, and power connections to recreate the original setup.

• Do a Final backup and migration check. Confirm all critical data has been backed up, configuration files are saved, and workload migrations have been completed. Perform a full backup of critical data and systems. Ensure you have both onsite and offsite copies before starting the migration. The rollback procedures should be ready, and relevant staff should be prepared to act if any issues occur.
• Power down equipment. Power down the equipment following the proper manufacturer-recommended procedures and the sequence outlined during the hardware and software dependency assessment.

Step 6: Package and Ship Equipment

Physically handling hardware is always a risk. In-house technicians and moving company staff must be well-trained and experienced in handling sensitive equipment.

Pay special attention to the following:

• Packing process. Always follow best practices and manufacturer guidelines when handling electronic equipment. Use anti-static, padded cases or crates designed for electronic equipment and label them with Fragile warnings and This Side Up indicators. Secure loose equipment to avoid movement during transport and use proper lifting techniques to prevent drops.
• Transport insurance. Invest in an insurance policy that covers in-transport damage and shipment delays with full replacement value protection.
• Real-time tracking. Use the shipping provider's real-time tracking service to monitor the status of your equipment and confirm its expected arrival time and date.

On-Prem to Colocation: Post-Migration Steps

The shipping process was completed successfully, and the equipment arrived on site. Follow the steps below to ensure a smooth installation process.

Step 1: Arrival and Setup at the Colo

This step will reveal how well the migration was prepared. On-site staff should:

• Unpack the equipment and rack servers. Unpack all hardware and place the servers in their designated rack spaces according to the rack layout plan.
• Use labels and photos to streamline hardware setup. Technicians can refer to rack diagrams, labels, and photos to confirm each server and device is correctly positioned and connected.
• Power on each device following the defined startup sequence. Monitor boot logs and system status lights to confirm the hardware initializes correctly and that all components work.

• Verify colocation services meet SLA standards. Connect to the network and configure IP addresses to confirm connectivity. Check if the colocation provider has met the agreed power, cooling, and redundancy requirements.

Step 2: Testing and Validation

Perform the following checks to confirm everything is working as expected:

• Check equipment status. Confirm that the routers, switches, storage arrays, and RAID configurations all work and successfully communicate with the servers.
• Configure network security settings. Define firewall rules based on the documented configuration plan, test VPN tunnels to secure remote access, and confirm routing protocols are in place.
• Verify DNS resolution. Confirm that critical systems are assigned static IP addresses and that internal and external DNS resolution correctly maps domains to their respective IP addresses.

• Secure remote access. Ensure that remote access tools are configured and work as expected. Implement additional security controls, such as multi-factor authentication.
• Confirm services and applications are operational. Test mission-critical applications and conduct end-to-end transaction testing to ensure web servers, databases, and business systems operate and communicate without issues.
• Test infrastructure performance. Simulate real-world traffic conditions to assess system performance under stress. Try to identify potential performance issues by measuring response times, throughput, and resource utilization.
• Trigger failover systems. Deliberately disconnect power cables, network links, and load balancers to verify that redundancy mechanisms activate automatically. This will also confirm whether monitoring alerts are triggered and events are reported.
• Migrate workload to a colocation facility. If all systems are functional and security and redundancy checks have been passed, migrate your workloads to the new facility. Check if all settings match the settings on the original system and restore data from backups if any discrepancies are found.

Step 3: Update Documentation

If your IT infrastructure is now running in a third-party facility, the documentation, procedures, and business workflow must reflect the new environment:

• Create new IT infrastructure documentation. Update records to include new rack locations, IP addresses, cable mappings, and system configurations. Revise network diagrams and rack layouts and document new access controls and backup procedures.
• Keep track of warranties. Keep track of hardware serial numbers and confirm all relevant warranties and service contracts remain valid for the new location.
• Implement remote monitoring tools. Explore new server monitoring tools to track system health, performance, and network activity remotely. Also, look into alerting systems to notify your staff about potential hardware failures, connectivity issues, or security threats.

Step 4: User Access and Training

The realities of managing server infrastructure in a remote colocation facility are going to have a profound impact on in-house staff.

To ensure a smooth transition, companies need to:

• Write new procedures. Update plans and procedures for day-to-day operations and for handling incidents. Access control and identity management policies must be strictly enforced to ensure only authorized staff can access the remote system.
• Organize employee training. Employees need to have access to relevant training courses, and the materials should reflect the latest procedures and colocation facility rules. Conduct simulated exercises to prepare staff for potential issues and assess their response. Use these assessments to refine and improve procedures.

• Do a post-mortem review. Assess to what extent the established timeline was followed and whether plans and procedures were carried out effectively. The analysis may offer insight into how to improve business processes.

Conclusion

Migrating your infrastructure to a colocation facility can be challenging and temporarily disrupt business operations. You can streamline the process by following the steps outlined in this guide, thoroughly documenting each step in advance, and leveraging support from your staff and colocation provider.

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