Welcome to part two of our data center migration series! If you missed our first installment, we explored physical relocations and when the traditional lift-and-shift approach makes the most sense. Click here to read Part 1.
Today, we're diving into virtual migrations.
Virtual Migrations
A virtual migration is the process of moving application workloads virtually between existing or new hardware, virtual machines or platforms, or to the cloud. Instead of shipping your existing hardware, you move your workloads and data over the network to a preconfigured target environment. Once migrated and tested, you seamlessly go live in your new environment. After everything has been running smoothly in the new environment for a few days, the old site can begin decommissioning. By frontloading the complexity, you can reduce the risk and complexity involved in the migration itself.
"Virtual migrations have transformed how we approach large-scale relocations. The ability to configure and test the target environment before migration significantly reduces risk." – Domingo Chen, Project Manager
Key Benefits
- Minimal downtime during transition
- Potential to sync your migration with your lifecycle refresh program
- Reduced risk due to simple rollback capabilities
- Longer distance moves are more feasible
- Ability to execute against strategic transformation goals
- Ability to make exact copies of your environment without any change to IP address or hostname
"In a recent project, we helped a client upgrade their entire infrastructure during the migration without any service interruption. They went from legacy systems to state-of-the-art hardware without their users even noticing the switch."
- Domingo Chen, Project Manager
Key Considerations
- Potentially higher capex
- Requires sufficient bandwidth for replication and configuration at the source and target
- Involves additional parties such as development teams, testers, and potentially the client
- Preparation takes a significantly greater number of man-hours
- Requires a detailed understanding of dependencies between applications, services, and the infrastructure they sit on
"Virtual migrations are like building a second house before moving out of your first one. The upfront investment is substantial–both in capex for hardware and distraction from other technology initiatives. We recently worked with a client who needed twice the hardware temporarily, plus three months of intensive preparation. It's a heavy lift at the start, but that investment is what enables a smooth, low-risk transition." – Frank Maniaci, Project Manager
Case Study: Oppenheimer
When Oppenheimer needed to migrate its data center to a new facility in New York, it chose a virtual migration approach. Our team successfully migrated over 1,000 virtual machines while simultaneously modernizing their infrastructure and properly decommissioning over 500 devices. Click here to read the case study.
