Data migration is a sizable task. There’s plenty that could go wrong as you move your data from one server to another solution. As you transfer your data, it helps to keep a few considerations in mind to ensure the process goes smoothly while getting the biggest benefit from the time it takes you.

Why You May Need to Migrate Your Server
There are plenty of reasons that you may find yourself in the position where a server migration is necessary. If, for instance, your current server to be inadequate for your needs, or it is no longer working reliably, it is probably time to replace it. The same can be said if you’ve managed to fill it to capacity, or if the manufacturer is ending support.

Regardless of the reason, any server migration can be a hassle. However, approaching this task after properly preparing for it can help to simplify the migration process considerably.

Preparations for Server Migration
There are an assortment of practices that will generally benefit your success as you go about migrating your server.

Cleaning Out the Old
Your server migration process is an excellent opportunity to run an audit of the contents of your server and weed out anything outdated or redundant that is taking up more space than necessary.

Testing a Backup
With your server migration, safe is much better than sorry. There is the potential for an issue to pop up during your migration, potentially destroying or damaging your data. Testing your most recent backup before beginning the migration gives you the security of knowing that - even if something goes wrong - you haven’t lost your critical resources.

Establishing Security
Before you migrate anything to your new server, you need to make sure it will be protected once the migration is complete. To accomplish this, you’ll need to incorporate security measures into your new server, including firewalls, protections against Distributed Denial of Service attacks, and others. This will keep your data protected at all times, instead of leaving it vulnerable as these security measures are implemented after the migration is complete.

Leaving the Old Server Running
Once the migration process is complete, you don’t need to be too quick to take your old server out of rotation. Ensuring that your migration was completely successful will help you to avoid potential data loss, and if your new server isn’t properly functioning, not having the old server to fall back on could lead to downtime.

For more assistance with your data migration, reach out to 415 IT at (415) 295-4898.