Office moves
Moving house is meant to be one of the most stressful things anyone can do. The business equivalent is moving office. Added to the pressures of moving house is the need to be working and servicing customers as soon as possible.
As with most other things in IT planning is the key to success. Suppliers like phone companies, Internet service providers, electricians and structured wiring contractors all need plenty of time so planning has to allow for this.
Planning for the efficient location of equipment needs care. Putting the server under the stairs with the mops and buckets might get it out of the way but it won’t lead to a reliable system. Issues like ventilation and air conditioning are important and the business that does not make allowance for them will have problems.
Network wiring is an area that is often “got wrong”. The cost of the cable and fittings are very low compared to the costs of contractors coming back to a working office to add cables. The whole point of fitting structured wiring is that however the network evolves the wiring can be re-patched to accommodate the change. Fitting exactly what is needed usually ends up being a mistake as extra equipment is nearly always added or something like a network printer is over looked.
When the move happens the existing system needs to be dismantled and packed for secure transportation, so that everything will work once reinstalled in the new location.
Plenty of time is required to install everything at the new location and as far as possible test it. On live day users will need some support and having someone on site rather than relying on remote support is required on all but the smallest move.
A skilled consultant will also plan to make changes to the email system so that mail will flow to the new location with the minimum of down time.
For the technically inclined that means changing the MX record for the domain to send email to the new IP address. Changing the TTL to a low value is sometimes useful to ensure the change takes effect quickly. It is important not to forget to change the TTL back afterwards.
All the changes will need to be documented for ongoing support.