The basic principles of data center migration, operation plan

Enterprises need to formulate an effective and adaptable plan for the operation of data center migration. We need to take specific principles to guide IT staff to comprehensively consider their operation objectives and how to achieve them. However, most of the planning and efforts of data centers in many enterprises are put on structural design and development. After initial goals are completed, they often forget what their ultimate goal is.

Nowadays, people are getting more and more concerned about the importance of data center operation. In order to improve the level of data center operation planning, people need to remember the following five basic principles:
Principle one: experience is the best teacher
Just like many important things in life, the staff need to recall what mistakes they have made in their career and how to avoid them, and let these experiences and lessons lay the foundation for future operation. In some cases, this may mean that the staff of the enterprise do not run the equipment effectively, or the service of the supplier does not meet the requirements of the enterprise. In any case, past experience of supporting key task environment has made people realize that the excellent operation of data center is a comprehensive and continuous process, which is reflected in the following aspects.
Efficient facility design.
Effective handover and ongoing training.
Use the appropriate tools.
Principle two: design from the point of view of the operator
An effective operation plan begins with the start of the operator's mind, or, more simply, "what is the success of the need? "Although this question seems to give a simple answer, it is usually found that this is usually a compilation of some matching answers.
Obviously, the data center facility itself needs to be optimized to strengthen effective maintenance and troubleshooting. In other words, it is essential that the concurrency maintainability of the Tier III data center is essential. The program itself should be simple and clear, from the point of view of the operating staff, not the engineer. A term Poka Yoke, a Japanese quality management expert, describes the ultimate goal of making processes and programs better. This is a way to prevent mistakes in operation or alarm by means of automatic action, alarm and reminder. It means that human errors can be reduced to the greatest extent. For such a case, when more than 70% of the interruptions can still be traced back to the operator's fault, there is still a long way to go in the whole process of simplification.
The continuity of action should be accepted and adapted. If there is no other reason, the average data center carries out a hardware update every 3-5 years, so the data center is a dynamic environment. "Always doing this" cannot achieve the goal of continuous improvement. The feedback loop proves the effective mechanism to eliminate the unnecessary steps and determines a more effective way to perform the operation.
Principle three: flexibility and control
Flexibility and control seem very broad, but the concept is really simple. In particular, the staffing arrangements of the suppliers must be consistent with the work rhythm of the enterprise. The operation requirements must be carried out around the specific needs of the enterprise. The same principle also applies to operators and safety staffing levels.
Principle four: training and certification
Cultivating talents is a goal of continuous improvement. The continuous improvement of professional knowledge can not only stimulate the staff, but also improve the overall skill level of the staff and ensure the reliability of the operation.
A more confident, more capable, and more effective way of operating and maintainer needs a role based training program, which includes:
A formal course.
An objective measure of understanding.
Continue to update and improve the continuous process.
The objective objective of this scheme should be based on the "subject experts" of increasing certification level:
Difficulties in the process
Importance
performance
Principle five: focus on the elimination of errors
In the past, technicians were holding flashlights in one hand and holding technical manuals in the other hand, trying to diagnose and repair equipment problems. Such a maintenance method is not conducive to solving problems quickly and effectively, but this represents many existing data center standards operation and maintenance mode. Obviously, in this case, there are countless opportunities to bring human errors.
There are many ways to achieve this goal. One way is to use a technical solution that converts all programs into a digital list. Access through a tablet computer and mobile phone, including the steps of risk warning, access to video, images and documents for reference site, technical staff after the execution of each step, and on to the next step must be confirmed before completion of the operation, greatly reducing the possibility of human error.
epilogue
Planning for the operation of a data center is a key and often overlooked factor in the data center process. Effective business processes and procedures are not the result of strict compliance with the past operations. An effective and adaptable plan for the successful operation of data centers is needed. Specific guidelines are needed to guide the IT department.