An outline of a moving checklist and timeline. Includes tasks for moving phone lines, phone numbers and cabling installation too.
netCorps Moving Checklist
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Move Date Minus 6 Weeks
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@ Old Location
– Order Internet service and phone service for new location and schedule disconnect and porting of phone numbers for Move Date. Porting is the term used in the telecom industry for moving a phone number from one telecom provider to another.
– Schedule moving of all non-portable/leased copier/printers
– Notify current telecom and Internet service provider that you will be cancelling service on the Cutover Date. Most vendors require 30 days notice or they charge a cancellation fee. Be certain they know that this cancellation will happen in the future and not right now!
– Notify your accounting department of any cancellation or early contract termination fees. Accountants loathe unexpected expenses.
@ New Location
– Inspect new location equipment room area and measure it. Take pictures too! Make physical space in the equipment room for Comcast (or whomever) to mount a cable, a cable splitter, an Internet modem and Telephony modem. Mark *clearly* where you want this equipment to go otherwise the installer will simply mount things where convenient for *them*.
– Inspect existing cabling and verify that it uses Cat5e for data (or Cat6). If you are planning on using Voice Over IP (VOIP) for phones in the future then plan on pulling Cat5e or Cat6 cable for phones.
– Create a physical map of office spaces and mark existing data port and phone port locations. Architect drawings, or existing floor plans, are great for this.
– Note where additional data and phone drops need to go. Prices range from $85-$120 per pull/drop (Note: Oregon prices!) for installing new data cabling. If this location is being constructed for you the best time to pull cable is when the partition walls are open (bare studs).
– Order all cabling equipment, cable and installation services, including cable management brackets and hangers.
– Is now a good time to upgrade network switches? If so, order them now. If ordering Cisco equipment through TechSoup this is crucial since Cisco takes a long time to fulfill these orders.
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Move Date Minus 4 Weeks
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@ Old Location
– Order all mounting supplies/equipment for servers and network equipment, including racks (free standing, wall-mount).
– Confirm Internet and phone service install date at new location and re-confirm phone number porting date. Internet install date and phone number porting date are TWO DIFFERENT DATES. This is recommended since once Internet service is up and running (before the phone cutover/porting) Comcast (or whomever) knows who you are and it makes troubleshooting phone problems easier.
@ New Location
– Pull all new cable, terminate, test.
– Mark all jacks and patch panel and punch down blocks.
– Update all floor plans with new data and phone locations.
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Move Date Minus 2 Weeks
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@ Old Location
– Confirm receipt of all equipment for mounting servers and network equipment
– For In-House Mail Servers: Order and implement backup mail service and verify that backup mail service is working for the Fully Qualified Domain name (FQDN) of mail server(s) and *NOT* for hardcoded IP addresses. If your backup mail service must monitor a mail server IP address you may wish to find a new service.
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Move Date Minus 1 Week
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@ Old Location
– Change any hardcoded e-mail link in website(s) to point to webmail server’s FQDN, (i.e. webmail.organization.org) instead of hardcoded IP address.
– Create a DNS record for VPN connections rather than using a hard coded IP address.
– Remotely connect to all laptops and remote workstations to change hardcoded IP addresses in Outlook and VPN software to use FQDN DNS records.
– Send out itinerary of Cutover and notice of service interruption to staff.
– Update network map for new location
– Label all workstations and monitors and keyboards and mice
@ New Location
– Update network map and documentation with new ISP and IP address information.
– Comcast (or whomever) installs Internet service at new location (WE ARE **NOT** PORTING PHONE NUMBERS TODAY! NO! NO!! NO!!! NO!!!! NO!!!!!)
– Verify VERIFY **VERIFY** that assigned static IP addresses work. Test the following:
* Can access outside IP addresses (i.e ping 4.2.2.4)
* Can access outside domains (i.e. ping yahoo.com)
* Run a speed test using one of the many speed test services (dslreports.com has a few)
– Be certain that you record the following:
* Static IP Addresses
* Subnet mask
* Default gateway
* DNS server(s) IPs
– Have Comcast (or whomever) setup any reverse DNS entries (*** IMPORTANT FOR IN-HOUSE MAIL SERVERS ***)
– Install rack backboards
– Install equipment room backboards
– Paint equipment room and rack backboards
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Move Date Minus Days 6,5,4,3,2 and 1
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@ Old Location
– Remotely connect to all laptops and remote workstations to change hardcoded IP addresses in Outlook and VPN software to FQDN DNS records.
– Label existing telephone 66-blocks and 110-blocks
– Map telephone extensions and CO lines to telephone punch down block locations (see “Phone System Mapping” Excel spreadsheet for this). Take pictures too!
@ New Location
– Daily checks on buildout progress at new location.
– Install all server room equipment
– Install rack shelves
– Install rack power-strips
– Install rack backboards
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Move Date
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–Phase 1–
@ Old Location
– Remove server(s) from wall or rack and remove mounting hardware
– Remove KVM and remove mounting hardware
– Remove Firewall/router and remove mounting hardware
– Remove network switch(es) and remove mounting hardware
– Remove cable brackets from backerboards (where feasible)
– Remove Wireless Access points and remove mounting hardware
– Remove discrete network switches and remove mounting hardware
– Remove telephone patch panel and remove mounting hardware
– Remove telephone system and 66-blocks and 110-blocks. Leave cables from phone system to 66-blocks and 110-blocks in place if possible. You are leaving demarcated 66-blocks and 110-blocks since this is where the telephone provider brings their lines to this room. Taking these 66-blocks and 110-blocks in order to save a few dollars is bad form.
– Remove voicemail system
– Transport all servers, networking equipment, and telephone equipment, and a few handsets to new location
@ New Location
– Install cable brackets
– Install network switch(es)
– Connect patch cables from networking patch panel to network switch(es) (blue 2′ patch cables)
– Install slider arms for server(s) in rack
– Install server(s) onto wall or rack
– Install KVM
– Install firewall/router
– Reprogram firewall/router to use new IP addresses
– Test connection from server(s) to outside world
– Change DNS entries for in-house server(s) to use new IP addresses at this location.
– Test connection(s) from outside world to internal server(s)
– Change IP Address(es) for backup mail service if backup mail service requires hardcoded IP addresses instead of FQDN for mail server(s)
– Install Wireless Access points
– Install discrete network switches
– Install Guest Wireless Access point
– Program Guest access point for connection to outside world. This usually involves setting a static IP address.
– Install telephone punch down 66-blocks and 110-blocks
– Install telephone patch panel
– Mount phone system and telephone 66-blocks and 110-blocks
– Install cable from patch panel 66-blocks and 110-blocks to telephone patch panel
– Cross connect telephone system 66-blocks and 110-blocks to patch panel 66-blocks and 110-blocks
– Mount voicemail
– Connect voicemail to telephone 66-blocks and 110-blocks
– Connect Comcast (or whomever) CO lines to telephone 66-blocks and 110-blocks
– Connect phone patch cables from Walljack Patch Panel to Phone Patch Panel (white 2′ patch cables)
– Install all handsets and test each extension number as each handset is installed
– Test outgoing phone lines
– Test incoming calling and autoattendant
– Test all telephone handsets for outside and internal service.
– Verify voicemail setup on primary Comcast phone number (in case phone system goes down)
–Phase 2–
@ Old Location
– Disconnect all workstations and prep for transport
– Remove all personal printers and label
– Remove all telephone handsets and label with extension number
– Remove any under-desk Keyboard Trays from desks that are NOT moving
– Transport all portable printers, telephone handsets, personal printers and workstations to new location
@ New Location
– Reconnect non-portable/leased network printer/copiers
– Setup all workstations and test
– Setup all personal printers and test
– Setup all telephone handsets and test for proper extension number
– Mount Keyboard Trays
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Move Date Plus 1
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@ Old Location
– Schedule old ISP equipment removal
– Change any WHOIS information for your domains to use the new office address (if applicable)