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June 11th, 2009 14:00
Relocating a server room...
This may just be common sense, but I'm curious to hear other's thoughts on it. We're set to move our rack and other equipment to another building in the very near future, hopefully as efficiently as possible. It seems to be a somewhat daunting task as its got over a half ton of hardware on it and there's a couple elevators it'll have to take and a truck to be loaded on to. Not to mention, right now there's cables and cable arms sticking out everywhere I'll probably want to do something with... I'm hoping those little wheels can handle a little stress of maybe some tilt or bumps... Does anyone have any nuggets of wisdom to share in doing this? Any good or bad experiences you'd like to share?
So, leave the doors on or off? Remove any hardware? Any special kind of protection in the moving vehicle?
Thanks a bunch!
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gbrot
24 Posts
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June 11th, 2009 14:00
I should mention it's about a 5 year old Dell 4210 rack
Dev Mgr
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9.3K Posts
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June 18th, 2009 11:00
I would recommend to make a cabling guide and mark exactly which cable goes where. You'll probably also want to mark the cables to help your cabling guide.
Then shut everything down in the best possible method (usually servers first, then storage solutions (tape libraries, DAS enclosures, SAN arrays, etc), then the switches).
Then disconnect everything (running over a loose cable when moving the rack could become very painful), and then decide if you want to de-rack everything and move the server in individual pieces, or figure out a way to lift the rack enough to put it on a pallet, or maybe put it directly on a palletjack. I'd suggest a good, solid pallet and secure it with straps. If you put a strap around the whole thing it'll keep the doors closed, which helps stability of the rack as a whole and means less bending and torque on the rails and such.
Once the rack is at the new location, sort out your cabling. I'd suggest to use this opportunity to make the cabling neat and easier to trace if you ever have to.
pcmeiners
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1.8K Posts
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June 25th, 2009 17:00
Here in N.Y.C, it is safer to hire a truck and move computer hardware yourself. Here the movers do not care if the servers work on Monday...insurance means little if the networks is not up on Monday; secondly, theft is an issue, especially Laptops by moving personnel. The last move I was involved in, the company hired a U-Haul, and purchased plenty of thick 2x8 foam boards to cushion equipment on figuring the foam was more cushioning then moving pads . Luckily the racks/enclosures were heavy duty so we could lay them down on the foam without an issues. Teflon pads were great for jockeying non-wheeled item on elevators and into tight spaces, believe Home Depot has them.
InvalidServiceT
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July 10th, 2009 12:00
The only cabling you should have to drag on the ground is 1 or 2 large power cables. The rest should be all zip tied down... As far am moving goes, just raise up the feet on the bottom, remove the heel and roll it around. I like the pallet jack idea, but you cant get a pallet jack small enough to get in there. You will need a dock plate for getting over large thresholds, small halfsteps and the gap in the elevator. Dock plates aren't excatly in everyones closet so a large piece of ply wood can help.