Migrating an entire estate out of a Data-Center or Co-Location facility is difficult. The most cited reasons are usually:
~Projects exceed time, budget, migration windows
~End user disruption
~Planning phase usually induces a delay, once the complexity and inter-dependency is properly scoped
~Planning around downtime mitigation can entail a long delay in the migration
~Lack of resources
~Stakeholder conflicts or inattention
~Target operating model and platform not built, not properly understood
Process in Migrating a Data Center:
1. Project Plan, IT Business Drivers, Budget
- Define Project Objectives
- Define Success Criteria
- Infrastructure Assessment
- Budget Requirements
2. Discovery by SMEs (subject matter experts)
· Set up Agile teams with Apps, Infra, Security working on the same team
· Specific Application team with Infra and Security on board
· Deep dive into Application Infrastructure
· Databases, Apps, documented, understood
· Compute, Network, Storage, documented, understood
· Ranking of Applications, documented, rationale
· Mapping out inter-dependencies, documented, agreed upon
· AD, Domains, LDAP, Security, documented, understood
· Testing and Validation plans by SMEs (based on discovery)
· High Availability, Backup, DR plans made by SMEs
3. Development
· Target Model build for networking, security using Agile
· Target Model, apps, databases, compute, storage using Agile
· Migration ranking, planning, using Agile, deliberate ranking/assessment model
· Migration Planning by SMEs, RACI, Approach, Tools, Techniques by App, by Database
· Decision on VMs, vs Containers using a deliberate assessment model
· Design Patterns to provide consistency in migration, deployment inside the migration planning
· High Availability, Backup, DR plans tested and models are built inside the migration planning and target operational model
· Testing and Validation plans for the Target Model
· ITSM, Trouble Ticketing, Support Plan, Systems, Flows, RACI
· Operational Support Plan by SMEs and RACI
· Proof of Concept
· End to End Design made based on Proof of Concept
· Test, Review, Assess the End to End Model with a 2nd POC
4. Validation
· Extend the Proof of concept
· Ensure limited end user impact
· Assess networking, security
· Assess Compute, Storage
· Test, Re-assess application-infra dependencies
· Test, Re-assess application, database functionality, availability
· Test HA, DR
5. Migration
· Begin migrations tranche by tranche
· Constantly review, assess
· Have integrated ‘Agile’ teams infra, apps, security
· Ops involved with the migration
· Ops documented
· Test, confirm HA, DR, Access, Usability
6. Management
· Project Board to monitor, assess, confirm
· Agile updates, everything done in short sprints, assessed
· Monitoring and reporting is transparent, done with Jira/Confluence or similar
7. Operational support
· Steady state support by App, Infra and Operational SMEs
· Limit End User impact
· ITSM and trouble-ticket systems in place, operational beforehand
· Proactive alerts, monitoring, reporting
· Ensure operational excellence and functionality
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