Welcome to our three-part series on the different types of data center migrations! Whether you're facing a lease expiration, planning a strategic consolidation, or simply need to relocate your infrastructure, choosing the right migration approach is critical to your success. Each method, be it physical, virtual, or hybrid, offers distinct advantages depending on your timeline, budget, and business objectives. This series will help you understand when to use each approach and how to execute them effectively.
In the first part of our migration series, we explore physical relocations. A physical relocation is exactly what it sounds like: moving existing devices from point A to point B. You pack up all your existing servers, networking equipment, and hardware from your old data center, load them onto trucks, and transport them to your new facility.
But in reality, it's not just about moving hardware. One must consider careful planning around application team requirements, migration of circuits, data center build timelines, and business requirements. Ensuring that you have the right team in place to manage these dependencies is key to a successful migration. These factors can have operational impacts if not planned for properly.
Physical Relocations
For organizations that have tight timelines, a desire for a like-for-like migration, or moving non-production equipment, a physical migration can still be the most practical and cost-effective approach. But it’s critical to factor in all moving parts.
Key Benefits:
- Fastest approach when time is of the essence
- Cost-effective methodology compared to a virtual migration
- Reduced capex and minimal changes to applications required
- Less complexity due to fewer changing variables
- More flexibility to move hardware that cannot be virtually migrated to the cloud or new physical infrastructure
- Opportunity to reduce footprint
In a majority of circumstances, physical relocations occur due to lease termination, legacy facilities and outdated infrastructure. Suddenly, speed and cost drive the project. Align’s process and tools allow us to quickly relocate physical devices while mitigating risk and providing a cost effective solution. Our history of data center lift and shift relocations dates back over 23 years of stellar reputation. Across the building, across the street, across town or across the country, Align’s experience will provide you with a trusted partner."
- Art Dooling, Managing Director, Align Assessments & Modernization
Key Considerations:
- Older hardware may fail when powered down
- Ensure chain of custody and physical security while in transit
- Doesn’t support modernization goals beyond cost efficiency
- Circuit cutovers can be delayed or disrupted
With appropriate planning and an adequate window to accomplish the lift-and-shift migration, companies find lift-and-shift to be a cost-effective, lower-risk solution, particularly when migrating front-of-house workloads or under tight timelines.
Case Study: Verizon's Time-Critical Migration
When Verizon needed to relocate its legacy data center to a new facility due to immediate real estate-driven requirements in a short period of time, it chose a physical migration approach. Our team successfully moved 1,000+ devices in 11 planned waves over a four-month timeline, including compute, storage, connectivity, security, and other critical data center infrastructure.
The project was completed on schedule with minimal business disruption. You can click here to read the full case study.
Making Your Migration a Success
Successful data center migration isn't just about moving servers from point A to point B—it's about understanding your organization's unique needs and constraints. Whether you choose a physical migration for its simplicity, a virtual migration for minimal disruption, or a hybrid approach for flexibility, the key lies in careful planning and expert execution.
Through hundreds of successful migrations across industries, we've learned that no two projects are exactly alike. But they all share one common thread: the need for a well-planned strategy backed by experienced teams who've navigated these waters before.
Ready to start planning your data center migration? Let our team of experts help you identify the appropriate migration strategy. Contact us for a consultation tailored to your organization's specific needs.
