At some point, almost every business must upgrade its network infrastructure. While this process can be a significant undertaking, there are ways to reduce the burden on your IT team while keeping operations running as normal.
Below, I have outlined the best approach for a network infrastructure upgrade, from taking stock of current equipment to post-update maintenance recommendations. With the proper preparation, you’ll save time and money without disrupting your company’s productivity.
Audit your current equipment
Before diving into a network infrastructure upgrade, an organization needs to take stock of its current network equipment. Look for three main things: the equipment’s age, its health, and if it can still do its intended job effectively.
By identifying these three characteristics, you’ll know what truly needs to be replaced and what hasn’t yet reached the end of its useful life, even if it’s past the vendor’s published end of service life.
Some companies fall into the trap of rushing to replace everything immediately. Yet there are often ways to extend the service life of current equipment, such as using a maintenance provider that works with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Some vendors also include guides or updates on scheduled upgrades, even if some equipment is outside its warranty window. It’s important to do your research to ensure you don’t have unnecessary cost to upgrade equipment that is still delivering value to the business.
Determine your goals and build your plan
Remember the purpose of a network. It’s designed to ensure data will flow through the organization unhindered while keeping the highest levels of availability and security. If you don’t stay on track with that goal, the entire upgrade can be counterproductive to the overall organization.
You’ll also likely be dealing with stakeholders across the business. They’ll each bring different costs, performance, and return on investment expectations. Whether you handle an upgrade internally or through a multi-vendor service provider, get input from everyone involved before making any significant changes. By including stakeholders in this process, you’re not only letting their voices be heard, but you can also prepare them for the maintenance needed to keep all equipment healthy throughout its lifecycle.
Don’t forget to factor in post-upgrade support and maintenance and include network users in the planning process. The network must meet the particular needs of these users, so gathering their input is critical.
Keep your operations running
Upgrading your network infrastructure isn’t just a “set it and forget it” type of situation. To increase your return on investment, your team should conduct routine maintenance and seek network support services after upgrading. Doing so will extend the life of the infrastructure beyond the vendor-defined end-of-service life date, reduce downtime, and lead to better operational efficiency.
The Uptime Institute reports that 60% of operators experienced an outage within the past three years, with one in every four outages costing companies at least $1 million. While upgrades are potentially disruptive to network performance, they don’t have to be. Chances are your organization has a continuity of operations plan that details the people, processes, and technology necessary to maintain performance and availability during and after an upgrade. But when was the last time you actually took a look at that plan?
It’s worth revisiting-or creating one if you don’t have it-to make sure you’re gracefully introducing upgrades into your network. Additionally, ensure you have an effective fall-back plan should any obstacles arise.
IT teams must pay close attention to support requests and incident management during an upgrade window. This timeframe is a transitionary period with many shifting parts, and it could open the network up to vulnerabilities due to human error. A multi-vendor service provider can be invaluable during this stage. They can focus on the steady-state monitoring and management of the legacy estate while internal teams point their attention to the updates of the new systems.
Don’t reinvent the wheel
One of the most common mistakes organizations make is thinking that they must replace everything with new equipment. In extreme situations, a complete overhaul is the only solution. But in most cases, you can extend the life of at least some of your current equipment through routine maintenance.
If you’re unsure where to start, a multi-vendor service provider can offer guidance and handle the more complicated “behind-the-scenes” maintenance while company stakeholders develop a thorough plan for the equipment that needs upgrading. An MVS provider also helps keep the network secure and reliable while saving organizations money – companies can save 50% or more on systems that are five years or older.
Integrating a third party into the networking team’s operating rhythm adds critical scale, skills, and time to an otherwise fully-burdened operation. That addition aids Tier 2 and Tier 3 support issues, provides essential reporting and analysis, and assists during high-impact events like upgrades, migrations, system sunsets, and more. Your organization gains a wealth of experience and skills to complement the network team, all while saving time and money on overall network operations and maintenance.
##
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fred Newton is the Senior Network Engineer at CDS, the leading provider of multi-vendor services (MVS) for data centers worldwide.
