CASE STUDY: RELOCATE THE DATA CENTER OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. Alan Stuart, Managing Director System Infrastructure Innovators, LLC

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1 CASE STUDY: RELOCATE THE DATA CENTER OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Alan Stuart, Managing Director

2 National Science Foundation s New Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia 1. Introduction to the National Science Foundation: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense..." NSF is vital because they support basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future. This type of support: Is a primary driver of the U.S. economy Enhances the nation's security Advances knowledge to sustain global leadership With an annual budget of $7.5 billion (FY 2016), they are the funding source for approximately 24 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing. 2. Project Objectives: System Infrastructure Innovators was contracted by the National Science Foundation to relocate their existing production data center which was located in their headquarters building in Arlington, Virginia to their new headquarters building in Alexandria, Virginia. There were the typical requirements: No disruption to business processes 2

3 No production outage to end users Minimize risks in all phases of the plan However, there was one requirement that called for planning on a scale that was very unique. NSF required the new data center to be up and running in full production, six months prior to the completion of construction of the building. We had to have an operational production data center running in a building that was still under construction. We accomplished that goal, and every other goal the agency called upon us to perform. In addition, we were asked to help define the pre-commissioning tests for the data center and monitor/report on the commissioning process. As a result, were able to identify a number of problems that were able to be corrected in advance of the operational date of the data center. The data center relocation project was structured in three phases: 3. Phase 1 Analysis of Alternatives: SII performed the preliminary analysis to help NSF determine where their new data center should be located and how the relocation should be accomplished. Developed a baseline Hardware, Software, and Application inventory. We then kept the inventory up to date using our own CMDB. This was a continuous process. Since having a CMDB is a critical resource for a data center move, and NSF did not have one of their own, we assisted in bringing the NSF inventory up to 100% accuracy by using our own DBA and CMDB. Developed a detail understanding of the application architecture and the specific data flow relationships between the applications. We also gathered future growth plans, and validated server usage across all environments with the application teams to validate the CMDB. This was accomplished via interviews with the application teams. Developed an inventory of alternative locations (colocation, cloud, new NSF building), and also developed the necessary quantitative and qualitative evaluation criteria. Based upon the inventory, we designed a future state configuration which was used to determine net acquisition costs offset by refresh costs. We then developed specific migration methods including full electronic, full fork lift, and hybrid relocation approaches. This included schedules, staffing, and costs. As a result of our efforts, NSF management was able to choose from the Alternatives presented and directed us to proceed to build the detailed implementation plan. 4. Phase 2 Develop the Detailed Implementation Plan: Once the relocation method was selected by NSF, a detailed Implementation Plan which included cost, schedule, and staffing estimates was to be developed. NSF had a number of vendor agreements in place for the technical skills needed to operate and manage the data center. However, the staff, as it is with most data center relocations, did not have the experience with a data center move. SII provided skills and experience to fill that knowledge 3

4 gap to build a solid implementation plan and subsequently provided oversight of the execution through our PMO role. There were three key deliverables for the implementation planning phase: 1. A detailed and actionable MS Project Plan (Work Breakdown Structure) that enabled the acquisition, installation, relocation, testing, and deployment of the Data Center assets. 2. A detailed financial analysis (budget) for the project 3. A decommissioning and exit strategy for Arlington All deliverables were completed and accepted by NSF and were successfully executed in the next phase, on time and under budget. 5. Phase 3 Implementation Phase PMO: One of the critical success factors of implementing a Data Center Relocation is the close coordination and communication between all of the relocating organizations, especially during execution. That was our responsibility as the Program Management Office (PMO). We provided those seasoned eyes to identify potential risks and suggest ways to mitigate those risks in advance of them becoming problems that could interfere with the execution of the Implementation Plan. As the overall PMO for the NSF Data Center relocation we were responsible for the following: Prepared materials for weekly project meetings with all project constituents, reporting on progress metrics, project issues and risks. In addition, tracked and reported on: o Punch List of open issues with respect to the construction of the new Data Center and infrastructure readiness o Electronic migration progress o Planned hardware inventory for the fork lift o Decommissioning progress Assisted in identifying and developing mitigations for project risks Developed a detailed integrated timeline with all involved internal and external vendors and NSF departments for the final 90 days prior to the move. On the weekend of the move provided: o 24 hour coverage o Built all distribution lists and contact lists for move weekend o Built a Real-Time Relocation Status Dashboard enabling all areas to check on status and issues without the need to call the Command Center o Developed materials for and participated in all scheduled management calls over the weekend. 4

5 6. Summary: The detailed implementation project plan was approved by NSF management in October, It specified the following key milestones: March, 2017 New computer room fully operational and production ready March/April 2017 through June 2017 Begin electronic relocation of 50% of NSF s IT assets. July 4 th Weekend (4 day weekend) Fork lift the remaining 50% of NSF s IT assets. Even though the plan was put in place 17 months before the first milestone, we successfully accomplished each milestone on time. NSF put out a flyer announcing the successful completion of the project. You can find a copy of that flyer on our website. 7. What Can We Do for Your Company? Remember, it s the little things that your team might never think of that our team learned over numerous (200+) migration projects. We can help your company Develop a Strategy, Consider Alternatives, Develop Your Detail Implementation Plan, Manage/PMO Your Implementation, and we have well developed tools and processes to make your Data Center move a success. In our years of experience we have learned a lot. We will bring our lessons learned to your team every day. 5

6 System Infrastructure Innovators We provide innovative methodologies in Data Center Migration, Consolidation, Relocation, Business Resilience, and Cybersecurity. These methodologies, and the tools we have created and honed over hundreds of successful projects, are designed to help our clients reduce the risk of implementing complex projects and enable the achievement of the project objectives within their project s budget and timeframe. We work with our clients to select the most efficient and effective components of our methodologies for each project. Our approach is collaborative: We bring our expertise and empower your team to deliver a successful project. Contact Us Alan Stuart, Managing Director (914) info@si-innovators.com