Data centre6 min read
What to check before you colocate your first rack
A working checklist for moving servers out of an office and into a data centre: power, space, network, access and the move itself.
Moving equipment into a data centre is straightforward when the questions are asked in the right order. Most problems come from discovering a requirement on installation day. This checklist covers what to settle beforehand.
Know your power draw
Colocation is priced largely on power. Add up the real draw of your equipment, not the rating printed on the power supplies, which is usually far higher than what a server consumes. If you can, measure it at the wall for a week. Then decide how much headroom you want for growth.
Check that your equipment has dual power supplies. A facility with two power feeds only protects you if each device is connected to both.
Count rack units, then add space
List every device and its height in rack units. Include switches, firewalls, patch panels and cable management. Leave room for the next server you have not bought yet. A quarter rack that is full on day one becomes a migration project within the year.
Plan the network
- How much bandwidth do you use now, at peak and on average?
- How many IP addresses do you need?
- Do you need a private link back to an office or to another site?
- Which carriers are available in the facility, and do you have a preference?
Ask about access and remote hands
Find out how you get into the building, who needs to be on the access list and how much notice a visit needs. Then ask what the on-site team can do for you: reboots, swapping a failed disk, moving a cable, checking a status light. For a rack in another city, remote hands is the difference between a five-minute fix and a day of travel.
Prepare the move
- Label every cable and port before you unplug anything, and photograph the back of the rack.
- Take a verified backup that is stored somewhere other than the equipment being moved.
- Check rail kits fit standard racks, and bring the rails.
- Agree a maintenance window with the people who use the systems.
- Lower DNS record lifetimes a few days ahead if IP addresses will change.
None of this is complicated. Written down in advance, it turns a risky weekend into a routine job.
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