Data Center migrations are inevitable as businesses and applications outgrow their existing infrastructure. Companies may require migration to increase capacity or unveil new features and services.

Your infrastructure requirements may change over time, and you may consider options from a colocation provider, moving from a private cloud to other cloud solutions, data center consolidations, and even moving to an on-premise setup. Whatever the case, it is vital that a robust plan is implemented to ensure that the migration goes smoothly.

11 Steps to a Successful Data Center Migration

An audit of the current data center performance is an excellent place to start the decision-making process. The audit will indicate any infrastructure bottlenecks and areas for improvement. Organizations can then decide on the criteria for the proposed data center based on these findings.

Each migration is unique and requires careful planning and monitoring to ensure success. The following eleven best practices will prove useful in every case.

1. Create a Plan

A good plan can ensure the success of any activity. A data center migration is no different, and planning is where we start our list. Deciding on the type of migration and identifying the process’s tasks is of the utmost importance.

The organization should start by appointing a Project Manager and a project team to manage the migration project. The team must consist of technical staff who are familiar with the current data center setup. Being knowledgeable about the proposed data center is also essential as it will enable you to plan the migration in an accurate manner.

It may be wise to employ a consultant with knowledge and experience in data center migrations. Such an expert can ensure that the migration goes smoothly. The cost of hiring such a consultant can be negligible compared to the costs and downtime of a failed migration.

2. Evaluate Destination Options

The next steps are for the team to identify the destination data center’s options and assess their suitability. They will need to ensure that the potential data center meet data security and compliance requirements.

Once the team identifies a group of complying data centers, they will need to assess each one regarding specifications and resources. It is essential to consider data center equipment, connectivity, backup electrical power, redundant networking capabilities, disaster recovery measures, and physical security.

The project team should also visit the data center to ensure that it is just as specified on paper. Test application compatibility and network latency so that there are no surprises after the organization’s workloads are migrated to the new data center.

3. Identify Scope, Time, and Cost

Software migrations are generally more straightforward than one that involves relocating hardware and other infrastructure. Each organization will need to assess Colocation and Cloud services and identify the best-suited solution for their use case, budget, and requirements.

The project team will then need to create a data center migration plan with a detailed work breakdown structure and assign the tasks to responsible personnel. Even a single missed task can cause a chain effect that can lead to the entire data center migration process’s failure. It is essential to identify the estimates, dependencies, and risks associated with each task.

The team will then need to create a budget for the project plan by identifying the cost associated with each task and each human resource involved. A detailed budget will also provide the organization with a clear picture of the migration costs.

4. Determine Resource Requirements

The technical team should estimate and determine the organization’s short-term and long-term resource requirements. They should consider the solution the organization opted for, their use case, and consider whether they expect frequent bursts of resource-intensive workloads.

Depending on the platform’s scalability, extending the environment’s infrastructure can range from extremely difficult to easy. For example, scaling up and down in Bare Metal Cloud is easy compared to colocating. The more scalable a platform is, the easier it is to adapt to fluctuating workloads.

5. Build a Data Center Migration Checklist

The data center migration checklist consists of all the critical aspects of the migration. Following it will help the team complete all tasks and perform a successful migration. The checklist should contain a list of tasks along with information such as their responsible officer, overlooking officer, success criteria, and mitigation actions.

The project team can use the data center migration checklist as part of the post-migration tests. Executing it and ensuring a successful data center migration will be the Project Manager’s responsibility.

6. Planning Data and Application Migration

Migrating data and applications to the proposed data center is a vital part of the process. Applications may require refactoring before migration, and such migrations can be complicated. The team must create a detailed test plan to ensure that the refactored application functions as expected.

It is crucial to plan more than one method of transferring existing data to the new data center. Potential options include backup drives, network-based data transfer, and portable media. Large data loads will require network-based data transfer, and it is crucial to ensure bandwidth availability and network stability.

In cloud migration, consider the possibility of migrating application workloads gradually using technologies like containerization. Such migrations minimize downtime. However, they have to be well-planned and executed with a DevOps team in place.

7. Planning Hardware Migration

Datacenter relocation that involves colocation and switching data centers require extensive movement of hardware. This type of data center move can include migrating servers and other storage and network infrastructure.

Taking inventory of the existing hardware should be the first task on the list. The team can use this report to account for all data center infrastructure.

If the migration requires transporting fragile hardware, it is advisable to employ an experienced external team. The team can dismantle, transport, and safely reinstall data center equipment. Servers require extra care during transport as they are sensitive to electrostatic discharge and other environmental conditions such as temperature, magnetic fields, and shock.

8. Verify Target Data Center

The proposed data center may promise generic hardware on paper. However, when deploying applications and databases, even a minor mismatch can be fatal. Doing a pre-production assessment of the proposed infrastructure ensures the successful functioning after the migration.

Take into account additional infrastructure needs and other required services which can affect the cost of the data center move and subsequent recurring expenses. It is crucial to identify these in advance and factor them into the decision-making process when selecting a data center. Provisioning of hardware and networking resources, among other things, can take a considerable period. The team will need to factor these lead times into the project plan.

It will also be essential to pay attention to the recommendations of the proposed vendor as they are the most knowledgeable regarding their offerings. Vendors will also be able to offer advice based on their experience with previous migrations.

9. Pre-Production Tests

The project team should execute a pre-production test to ensure the compatibility and suitability of data center equipment. Even if they do not perform a pre-production test at full scale, it can help to identify any issues before a single piece of equipment is moved.

The data center migration checklist can be used for pre-migration and post-migration checks to identify any failing success factors based on the data center migration project plan. A pre-production test can also eliminate any risks associated with the migration process that occurred due to assumptions.

The project team can use a pre-production test to ensure that they can migrate the data and applications correctly with the planned process. Tentative plans are based on assumptions and can fail for many reasons like network instability and mismatches in data center infrastructure.

10. Assume that All Assumptions Fail

Assumptions are the downfall of many good plans. As such, it is necessary to be careful when making assumptions about the essential aspects of your data center relocation. The lesser the number of assumptions, the better.

However, given how volatile the internal and external environments of a business can be, avoiding assumptions altogether is impossible. The team needs to carefully assess such assumptions so that they can plan to prevent or mitigate the risks involved. The project team mustn’t take any part of the migration for granted.

If your assumptions about the proposed data center fail, it can be fatal to the migration. Always verify assumptions during pre-production tests.

11. Post-Migration Testing

Post-migration testing will mainly consist of executing the post-migration checklist. It will ensure the successful completion of all data center migration steps. You should assess all aspects of the data center relocation, such as hardware, network, data, and applications, as part of the test.

The team must also perform functional testing, performance testing, and other types of tests based on the type of workload(s). The project team will have to plan for additional testing if they are migrating refactored applications.

Conclusion

Consider using these best practices as a template for creating a customized action plan that suits the specific needs of your organization. No two migrations are the same and will require specialized attention to ensure success.

PhoenixNAP offers automated workload migration to all clients moving to its Infrastructure-as-a-Service platform and dedicated hosted service offerings.

Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) is one of the most used acronyms in server management. IPMI became popular due to its acceptance as a standard monitoring interface by hardware vendors and developers.

So what is IPMI?

The short answer is that it is a hardware-based solution used for securing, controlling, and managing servers. The comprehensive answer is what this post provides.

What is IPMI Used For?

IPMI refers to a set of computer interface specifications used for out-of-band management. Out-of-band refers to accessing computer systems without having to be in the same room as the system’s physical assets. IPMI supports remote monitoring and does not need permission from the computer’s operating system.

IPMI runs on separate hardware attached to a motherboard or server. This separate hardware is the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC). The BMC acts like an intelligent middleman. BMC manages the interface between platform hardware and system management software. The BMC receives reports from sensors within a system and acts on these reports. With these reports, IPMI ensures the system functions at its optimal capacity.

IPMI collaborates with standard specification sets such as the Intelligent Platform Management Bus (IPMB) and the Intelligent Chassis Management Bus (ICMB). These specifications work hand-in-hand to handle system monitoring tasks.

Alongside these standard specification sets, IPMI monitors vital parameters that define the working status of a server’s hardware. IPMI monitors power supply, fan speed, server health, security details, and the state of operating systems.

You can compare the services IPMI provides to the automobile on-board diagnostic tool your vehicle technician uses. With an on-board diagnostic tool, a vehicle’s computer system can be monitored even with its engine switched off.

Features and Components of Intelligent Platform Management Interface

IPMI is a vendor-neutral standard specification for server monitoring. It comes with the following features which help with server monitoring:

• A Baseboard Management Controller – This is the micro-controller component central to the functions of an IPMI.
• Intelligent Chassis Management Bus – An interface protocol that supports communication across chasses.
• Intelligent Platform Management Bus – A communication protocol that facilitates communication between controllers.
• IPMI Memory – The memory is a repository for an IPMI sensor’s data records and system event logs.
• Authentication Features – This supports the process of authenticating users and establishing sessions.
• Communications Interfaces – These interfaces define how IPMI messages send. IPMI send messages via a direct-out-of-band local-area Networks or a sideband local-area network. IPMI communicate through virtual local-area networks.

Comparing IPMI Versions 1.5 & 2.0

The three major versions of IPMI include the first version released in 1998, v1.0, v1.5, and v2.0. Today, both v1.5 and v2.0 are still in use, and they come with different features that define their capabilities.

Starting with v1.5, its features include:

• Alert policies
• Serial messaging and alerting
• LAN messaging and alerting
• Platform event filtering
• Updated sensors and event types not available in v1. 0
• Extended BMC messaging in channel mode.

The updated version, v2.0, comes with added updates which include:

• Firmware Firewall
• Serial over LAN
• VLAN support
• Encryption support
• Enhanced authentication
• SMBus system interface

Analyzing the Benefits of IPMI

IPMI’s ability to manage many machines in different physical locations is its primary value proposition. The option of monitoring and managing systems independent of a machine’s operating system is one significant benefit other monitoring tools lack. Other important benefits include:

Predictive Monitoring – Unexpected server failures lead to downtime. Downtime stalls an enterprise’s operations and could cost $250,000 per hour. IPMI tracks the status of a server and provides advanced warnings about possible system failures. IPMI monitors predefined thresholds and provides alerts when exceeded. Thus, actionable intelligence IPMI provides help with reducing downtime.

Independent, Intelligent Recovery – When system failures occur, IPMI recovers operations to get them back on track. Unlike other server monitoring tools and software, IPMI is always accessible and facilitates server recoveries. IPMI can help with recovery in situations where the server is off.

Vendor-neutral Universal Support – IPMI does not rely on any proprietary hardware. Most hardware vendors integrate support for IPMI, which eliminates compatibility issues. IPMI delivers its server monitoring capabilities in ecosystems with hardware from different vendors.

Agent-less Management – IPMI does not rely on an agent to manage a server’s operating system. With it, making adjustments to settings such as BIOS without having to log in or seek permission from the server’s OS is possible.

The Risks and Disadvantages of IPMI

Using IPMI comes with its risks and a few disadvantages. These disadvantages center on security and usability. User experiences have shown the weaknesses include:

Cybersecurity Challenges – IPMI communication protocols sometimes leave loopholes that can be exploited by cyber-attacks, and successful breaches are expensive as statistics show. The IPMI installation and configuration procedures used can also leave a dedicated server vulnerable and open to exploitation. These security challenges led to the addition of encryption and firmware firewall features in IPMI version 2.0.

Configuration Challenges – The task of configuring IPMI may be challenging in situations where older network settings are skewed. In cases like this, clearing network configuration through a system’s BIOS is capable of solving the configuration challenges encountered.

Updating Challenges – The installation of update patches may sometimes lead to network failure. Switching ports on the motherboard may cause malfunctions to occur. In these situations, rebooting the system is capable of solving the issue that caused the network to fail.

Server Monitoring & Management Made Easy

Intelligent Platform Management brings ease and versatility to the task of server monitoring and management. By 2022, experts expect the IPMI market to hit the $3 billion mark. PheonixNAP bare metal servers come with IPMI, and it gives you access to the IPMI of every server you use. Get started by signing up today.

After years of design stability, we will look into how businesses should adapt to an IT infrastructure that is continuously changing.

Corporate-wide area networks (WANs) used to be so predictable. Users sat at their desks—servers at company data centers, stored information, and software applications. And WAN design was a straightforward process of connecting offices to network hubs. This underlying architecture served companies well for decades.

Today, growth in cloud and mobile usage is forcing information technology (IT) professionals to rethink network design. Experts expect Public cloud infrastructure to grow by 17% in 2020 to total $266.4 billion, up from $227.8 billion in 2019, according to Gartner. Meanwhile, the enterprise mobility market should double from 2016 to 2021. This rapid growth presents a challenge for network architects.

Traditional WANs cannot handle this type of expansion. Services like Multiprotocol Label Switch (MPLS) excel at providing fixed connections from edge sites to hubs. But MPLS isn’t well-suited to changing traffic patterns. Route adjustments are costly, and provisioning intervals can take months.

A migration to the cloud would require a fundamental shift in network design. We have listed five recommendations for building an enterprise WAN that is flexible, easy to deploy and manage, and supports the high speed of digital change.

5 Steps to Build a Cloud-Ready Enterprise WAN

1. Build Regional Aggregation Nodes in Carrier-Neutral Data Centers

The market is catching on that these sites serve as more than just interconnection hubs for networks and cloud providers. Colocation centers are ideal locations for companies to aggregate local traffic into regional hubs. The benefits are cost savings, performance, and flexibility. With so many carriers to choose from, there’s more competition.

In one report, Forrester Research estimated 60% to 70% cloud connectivity and network traffic cost reduction when buying services at Equinix, one of the largest colocation companies. There’s also faster provisioning and greater flexibility to change networks if needed.

2. Optimize the Core Network

Once aggregation sites are selected, they need to be connected. Many factors should weigh into this design, including estimated bandwidth requirements, traffic flows, and growth. It’s particularly important to consider the performance demands of real-time applications.

For example, voice and video aren’t well-suited to packet-switched networks such as MPLS and Internet, where variable paths can inject jitter and impairments. Thus, networks carrying large volumes of VoIP and video conferencing may be better suited to private leased capacity or fixed-route low-latency networks such as Apcela. The advantage of the carrier-neutral model is that there will be a wide range of choices available to ensure the best solution.

3. Setup Direct Connections to Cloud Platforms

As companies migrate more data to the cloud, the Internet’s “best-effort” service level becomes less suitable. Direct connections to cloud providers offer higher speed, reliability, and security. Many cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google, provide direct access in the same carrier-neutral data centers described in step One.

There is a caveat: It’s essential to know where information is stored in the cloud. If hundreds of miles separate the cloud provider’s servers from their direct connect location, it’s better to route traffic over the core network to an Internet gateway that’s in closer proximity.

4. Implement SD-WAN to Improve Agility, Performance, and Cost

Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) is a disruptive technology for telecom. It is the glue that binds the architecture into a simple, more flexible network that evolves and is entirely “cloud-ready.” With an intuitive graphical interface, SD-WAN administrators can adjust network parameters for individual applications with only a few clicks. This setup means performance across a network can be fine-tuned in minutes, with no command-line interface entries required.

Thanks to automated provisioning and a range of connection options that include LTE and the Internet, new sites can be added to the network in mere days. Route optimization and application-level controls are especially useful as new cloud projects emerge and demand on the network change.

5. Distribute Security and Internet Gateways

The percentage of corporate traffic destined for the Internet is growing significantly due to the adoption of cloud services. Many corporate WANs manage Internet traffic today by funneling traffic through a small number of secure firewalls located in company data centers. This “hairpinning” often degrades internet performance for users who are not in the corporate data center.

Some organizations instead choose to deploy firewalls at edge sites to improve Internet performance, but at considerable expense in hardware, software, and security management. The more efficient solution is to deploy regional Internet security gateways inside aggregation nodes. This places secure Internet connectivity at the core of the corporate WAN, and adjacent to the regional hubs of the Internet itself. It results in lowered costs and improved performance.

Save Money with a Cloud-Ready Enterprise WAN

The shortest path between two points is a straight line. And the shorter we can make the line between users and information, the quicker and better their network performance will be.

By following these five steps, your cloud-ready WAN will become an asset, not an obstacle. Let us help you find out more today.

Every year, the telecom industry invests hundreds of billions on network expansion, which will rise by 2%-4% in 2020. Not surprisingly, the outcome is predictable: bandwidth prices keep falling.

As Telegeography reported, several factors accelerated this phenomenon in recent years. Major cloud providers like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook have altered the industry by building their own massive global fiber capacity while scaling back their purchases from telecom carriers. These companies have simultaneously driven global fiber supply up and demand down. Technology advances, like 100 Gbps bit rates, have also contributed to the persistent erosion of costs.

The result is bandwidth prices that have never been lower. And the advent of Software-Defined Networking (SD-WAN) makes it simpler than ever to prioritize traffic between costly private networks and cheaper Internet bandwidth.

This period should be the best of times for enterprise network architects, but not necessarily.

Many factors conspire against buyers who seek to lower costs for the corporate WAN, including:

• Telecom contracts that are typically long-term and inflexible
• Competition that is often limited to a handful of major carriers
• Few choices for local access and Internet at corporate locations
• The tremendous effort required to change providers, meaning incumbents, have all the leverage

The largest telcos, companies like AT&T and Verizon, become trapped by their high prices. Protecting their revenue base makes these companies reluctant adopters of SD-WAN and Internet-based solutions.

So how can organizations drive down spending on the corporate WAN, while boosting performance?

As in most markets, the essential answer is: Competition.

The most competitive marketplaces for telecom services in the world are Carrier-Neutral Data Centers (CNDCs). Think about all the choices: long-haul networks; local access; Internet providers, storage, compute, SaaS, etc. CDNCs offer a wide array of networking options, and the carriers realize that competitors are just a cross-connect away.

How much savings are available? Enough to make it worthwhile for many large regional, national, and global companies. In one report, Forrester interviewed customers of Equinix, the largest retail colocation company, and found that they saved an average of 40% on bandwidth costs, and 60%-70% cloud connectivity and network traffic cost reduction.

The key is to leverage CNDCs as regional network hubs, rather than the traditional model of hubbing connectivity out of internal corporate data centers.

CNDCs like to remind the market that they offer much more than racks and power as these sites can offer performance benefits as well. Internet connectivity is often superior, and many CNDCs offer private cloud gateways that improve latency and security.

But lower costs and the savings alone should be enough to justify most deployments. To see how you can benefit, contact one of our experts today.

As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to grow exponentially, more devices connect online daily. There has been fear that, at some point, addresses would just run out. This conjecture is starting to come true.

Have no fear; the Internet is not coming to an end. There is a solution to the problem of diminishing IPv4 addresses. We will provide information on how more addresses can be created, and outline the main issues that need to be tackled to keep up with the growth of IoT by adopting IPv6.

We also examine how Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) vs. Internet Protocol 4 (IPv4) plays an important role in the Internet’s future and evolution, and how the newer version of the IP is superior to older IPv4.

How an IP Address Works

IP stands for “Internet Protocol,” referring to a set of rules which govern how data packets are transmitted across the Internet.

Information online or traffic flows across networks using unique addresses. Every device connected to the Internet or computer network gets a numerical label assigned to it, an IP address that is used to identify it as a destination for communication.

Your IP identifies your device on a particular network. It’s I.D. in a technical format for networks that combine IP with a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and enables virtual connections between a source and destination. Without a unique IP address, your device couldn’t attempt communication.

IP addresses standardize the way different machines interact with each other. They trade data packets, which refer to encapsulated bits of data that play a crucial part in loading webpages, emails, instant messaging, and other applications which involve data transfer.

Several components allow traffic to flow across the Internet. At the point of origin, data is packaged into an envelope when the traffic starts. This process is referred to as a “datagram.” It is a packet of data and part of the Internet Protocol or IP.

A full network stack is required to transport data across the Internet. The IP is just one part of that stack. The stack can be broken down into four layers, with the Application component at the top and the Datalink at the bottom.

Stack:

• Application – HTTP, FTP, POP3, SMTP
• Transport – TCP, UDP
• Networking – IP, ICMP
• Datalink – Ethernet, ARP

As a user of the Internet, you’re probably quite familiar with the application layer. It’s one that you interact with daily. Anytime you want to visit a website; you type in http://[web address], which is the Application.

Are you using an email application? At some point then, you would have set up an email account in that application, and likely came across POP3 or SMTP during the configuration process. POP3 stands for Post Office Protocol 3 and is a standard method of receiving an email. It collects and retains email for you until picked up.

From the above stack, you can see that the IP is part of the networking layer. IPs came into existence back in 1982 as part of ARPANET. IPv1 through IPv3 were experimental versions. IPv4 is the first version of IP used publicly, the world over.

IPv4 Explained

IPv4 or Internet Protocol Version 4 is a widely used protocol in data communication over several kinds of networks. It is the fourth revision of the Internet protocol. It was developed as a connectionless protocol for using in packet-switched layer networks like Ethernet. Its primary responsibility is to provide logical connections between network devices, which includes providing identification for every device.

IPv4 is based on the best-effort model, which guarantees neither delivery nor avoidance of a duplicate delivery and is hired by the upper layer transport protocol, such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). IPv4 is flexible and can automatically or manually be configured with a range of different devices depending on the type of network.

Technology behind IPv4

IPv4 is both specified and defined in the Internet Engineering Task Force’s (IETF) publication RFC 791, used in the packet-switched link layer in OSI models. It uses a total of five classes of 32-bit addresses for Ethernet communication: A, B, C, D, and E. Of these, classes A, B, and C have a different bit length for dealing with network hosts, while Class D is used for multi-casting. The remaining Class E is reserved for future use.

Subnet Mask of Class A – 255.0.0.0 or /8

Subnet Mask of Class B – 255.255.0.0 or /16

Subnet Mask of Class C – 255.255.255.0 or /24

Example: The Network 192.168.0.0 with a /16 subnet mask can use addresses ranging from 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255. It’s important to note that the address 192.168.255.255 is reserved only for broadcasting within the users. Here, the IPv4 can assign host addresses to a maximum of 232 end users.

IP addresses follow a standard, decimal notation format:

171.30.2.5

The above number is a unique 32-bit logical address. This setup means there can be up to 4.3 billion unique addresses. Each of the four groups of numbers are 8 bits. Every 8 bits are called an octet. Each number can range from 0 to 255. At 0, all bits are set to 0. At 255, all bits are set to 1. The binary form of the above IP address is 10101011.00011110.00000010.00000101.

Even with 4.3 billion possible addresses, that’s not nearly enough to accommodate all of the currently connected devices. Device types are far more than just desktops. Now there are smartphones, hotspots, IoT, smart speakers, cameras, etc. The list keeps proliferating as technology progresses, and in turn, so do the number of devices.

Future of IPv4

IPv4 addresses are set to finally run out, making IPv6 deployment the only viable solution left for the long-term growth of the Internet. I

n October 2019, RIPE NCC, one of five Regional Internet Registries, which is responsible for assigning IP addresses to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in over 80 nations, announced that only one million IPv4 addresses were left. Due to these limitations, IPv6 has been introduced as a standardized solution offering a 128-bit address length that can define up to 2128 nodes.

Recovered addresses will only be assigned via a waiting list. And that means only a couple hundred thousand addresses can be allotted per year, which is not nearly enough to cover the several million that global networks require today. The consequences are that network tools will be forced to rely on expensive and complicated solutions to work around the problem of fewer available addresses. The countdown to zero addresses means enterprises world-wide have to take stock of IP resources, find interim solutions, and prepare for IPv6 deployment, to overcome the inevitable outage.

In the interim, one popular solution to bridge over to IPv6 deployment is Carrier Grade Network Address Translation (CGNAT). This technology allows for the prolongated use of IPv4 addresses. It does so by allowing a single IP address to be distributed across thousands of devices. It only plugs the hole in the meantime as CGNAT cannot scale indefinitely. Every added device creates another layer on NAT, that increases its workload and complexity, and thereby raises the chances of a CGNAT failing. When this happens, thousands of users are impacted and cannot be quickly put back online.

One more commonly-used workaround is IPv4 address trading. This is a market for selling and buying IPv4 addresses that are no longer needed or used. It’s a risky play since prices are dictated by supply and demand, and it can become a complicated and expensive process to maintain the status quo.

IPv4 scarcity remains a massive concern for network operators. The Internet won’t break, but it is at a breaking point since networks will only find it harder and harder to scale infrastructure for growth. IPv4 exhaustion goes back to 2012 when the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) allotted the last IPv4 addresses to RIPE NCC. The long-anticipated run-out has been planned for by the technical community, and that’s where IPv6 comes in.

How is IPv6 different?

Internet Protocol Version 6 or IPv6 is the newest version of Internet Protocol used for carrying data in packets from one source to a destination via various networks. IPv6 is considered as an enhanced version of the older IPv4 protocol, as it supports a significantly larger number of nodes than the latter.

IPv6 allows up to 2128 possible combinations of nodes or addresses. It is also referred to as the Internet Protocol Next Generation or IPng. It was first developed in the hexadecimal format, containing eight octets to provide more substantial scalability. Released on June 6, 2012, it was also designed to deal with address broadcasting without including broadcast addresses in any class, the same as its predecessor.

Comparing Difference Between IPv4 and IPv6

Now that you know more about IPv4 and IPv6 in detail, we can summarize the differences between these two protocols in a table. Each has its deficits and benefits to offer.

Pros and Cons of using IPv6

IPv6 addresses have all the technical shortcomings present in IPv4. The difference is that it offers a 128 bit or 16-byte address, making the address pool around 340 trillion trillion trillion (undecillion).

It’s significantly larger than the address size provided by IPv4 since it’s made up of eight groups of characters, which are 16 bits long. The sheer size underlines why networks should adopt IPv6 sooner rather than later. Yet making a move so far has been a tough sell. Network operators find working with IPv4 familiar and are probably using a ‘wait and see’ approach to decide how to handle their IP situation. They might think they have enough IPv4 addresses for the near future. But sticking with IPv4 will get progressively harder to do so.

An example of the advantage of IPv6 over IPv4 is not having to share an IP and getting a dedicated address for your devices. Using IPv4 means a group of computers that want to share a single public IP will need to use a NAT. Then to access one of these computers directly, you will need to set up complex configurations such as port forwarding and firewall alterations. In comparison to IPv6, which has plenty of addresses to go around, IPv6 computers can be accessed publicly without additional configurations, saving resources.

Future of IPv6 adoption

The future adoption of IPv6 largely depends on the number of ISPs and mobile carriers, along with large enterprises, cloud providers, and data centers willing to migrate, and how they will migrate their data. IPv4 and IPv6 can coexist on parallel networks. So, there are no significant incentives for entities such as ISPs to vigorously pursue IPv6 options instead of IPv4, especially since it costs a considerable amount of time and money to upgrade.

Despite the price tag, the digital world is slowly moving away from the older IPv4 model into the more efficient IPv6. The long-term benefits outlined in this article that IPv6 provides are worth the investment.

Adoption still has a long way to go, but only it allows for new possibilities for network configurations on a massive scale. It’s efficient and innovative, not to forget it reduces dependency on the increasingly challenging and expensive IPv4 market.

Not preparing for the move is short-sighted and risky for networks. Smart businesses are embracing the efficiency, innovation, and flexibility of IPv6 right now. Be ready for exponential Internet growth and next-generation technologies as they come online and enhance your business.

IPv4 exhaustion will spur IPv6 adoption forward, so what are you waiting for? To find out how to adopt IPv6 for your business, give us a call today.

Embracing the cloud may be a cost-effective business solution, but moving data from one platform to another can be an intimidating step for technology leaders.

Ensuring smooth integration between the cloud and traditional infrastructure is one of the top challenges for CIOs. Data migrations do involve a certain degree of risk. Downtime and data loss are two critical scenarios to be aware of before starting the process.

Given the possible consequences, it is worth having a practical plan in place. We have created a useful strategy checklist for cloud migration.

1. Create a Cloud Migration Checklist

Before you start reaping the benefits of cloud computing, you first need to understand the potential migration challenges that may arise.

Only then can you develop a checklist or plan that will ensure minimal downtime and ensure a smooth transition.

There are many challenges involved with the decision to move from on-premise architecture to the cloud. Finding a cloud technology provider that can meet your needs is the first one. After that, everything comes down to planning each step.

The very migration is the tricky part since some of your company’s data might be unavailable during the move. You may also have to take your in-house servers temporarily offline. To minimize any negative consequences, every step should be determined ahead of time.

With that said, you need to remain willing to change the plan or rewrite it as necessary in case something brings your applications and data to risk.

2. Which Cloud Solution To Choose, Public, Hybrid, Private?

Public Cloud

A public cloud provides service and infrastructure off-site through the internet. While public clouds offer the best opportunity for efficiency by sharing resources, it comes with a higher risk of vulnerability and security breaches.

Public clouds make the most sense when you need to develop and test application code, collaboratively working on projects, or you need incremental capacity. Be sure to address security concerns in advance so that they don’t turn into expensive issues in the future.

Private Cloud

A private cloud provides services and infrastructure on a private network. The allure of a private cloud is the complete control over security and your system.

Private clouds are ideal when your security is of the utmost importance.  Especially if the information stored contains sensitive data. They are also the best cloud choice if your company is in an industry that must adhere to stringent compliance or security measures.

Hybrid Cloud

A hybrid cloud is a combination of both public and private options.

Separating your data throughout a hybrid cloud allows you to operate in the environment which best suits each need. The drawback, of course, is the challenge of managing different platforms and tracking multiple security infrastructures.

A hybrid cloud is the best option for you if your business is using a SaaS application but wants to have the comfort of upgraded security.

3. Communication and Planning Are Key

Of course, you should not forget your employees when coming up with a cloud migration project plan. There are psychological barriers that employees must work through.

Some employees, especially older ones who do not entirely trust this mysterious “cloud” might be tough to convince. Be prepared to spend some time teaching them about how the new infrastructure will work and assure them they will not notice much of a difference.

Not everyone trusts the cloud, particularly those who are used to physical storage drives and everything that they entail. They – not the actual cloud service that you use – might be one of your most substantial migration challenges.

Other factors that go into a successful cloud migration roadmap are testing, runtime environments, and integration points. Some issues can occur if the cloud-based information does not adequately populate your company’s operating software. Such scenarios can have a severe impact on your business and are a crucial reason to test everything.

A good cloud migration plan considers all of these things. From cost management and employee productivity to operating system stability and database security. Yes, your stored data has some security needs, especially when its administration is partly trusted to an outside company

When coming up with and implementing your cloud migration system, remember to take all of these things into account. Otherwise, you may come across some additional hurdles that will make things tougher or even slow down the entire process.

4. Establish Security Policies When Migrating To The Cloud

Before you begin your migration to the cloud, you need to be aware of the related security and regulatory requirements.

There are numerous regulations that you must follow when moving to the cloud. These are particularly important if your business is in healthcare or payment processing. In this case, one of the challenges is working with your provider on ensuring your architecture complies with government regulations.

Another security issue includes identity and access management to cloud data. Only a designated group in your company needs to have access to that information to minimize the risks of a breach.

Whether your company needs to follow HIPAA Compliance laws, protect financial information or even keep your proprietary systems private, security is one of the main points your cloud migration checklist needs to address.

Not only does the data in the cloud need to be stored securely, but the application migration strategy should keep it safe as well. No one – hackers included – who are not supposed to have it should be able to access that information during the migration process. Plus, once the business data is in the cloud, it needs to be kept safe when it is not in use.

It needs to be encrypted according to the highest standards to be able to resist breaches. Whether it resides in a private or public cloud environment, encrypting your data and applications is essential to keeping your business data safe.

Many third-party cloud server companies have their security measures in place and can make additional changes to meet your needs. The continued investments in security by both providers and business users have a positive impact on how the cloud is perceived.

According to recent reports, security concerns fell from 29% to 25% last year. While this is a positive trend in both business and cloud industries, security is still a sensitive issue that needs to be in focus.

5. Plan for Efficient Resource Management

Most businesses find it hard to realize that the cloud often requires them to introduce new IT management roles.

With a set configuration and cloud monitoring tools,  tasks switch to a cloud provider.  A number of roles stay in-house. That often involves hiring an entirely new set of talents.

Employees who previously managed physical servers may not be the best ones to deal with the cloud.

There might be migration challenges that are over their heads. In fact, you will probably find that the third-party company that you contracted to handle your migration needs is the one who should be handling that segment of your IT needs.

This situation is something else that your employees may have to get used to – calling when something happens, and they cannot get the information that they need.

While you should not get rid of your IT department altogether, you will have to change some of their functions over to adjust to the new architecture.

However, there is another type of cloud migration resource management that you might have overlooked – physical resource management.

When you have a company server, you have to have enough electricity to power it securely. You need a cold room to keep the computers in, and even some precautionary measures in place to ensure that sudden power surges will not harm the system. These measures cost quite a bit of money in upkeep.

When you use a third-party data center, you no longer have to worry about these things. The provider manages the servers and is in place to help with your cloud migration. Moreover, it can assist you with any further business needs you may have. It can provide you with additional hardware, remote technical assistance, or even set up a disaster recovery site for you.

These possibilities often make the cloud pay for itself.

According to a survey of 1,037 IT professionals by TechTarget, companies spend around 31% of their dedicated cloud spending budgets on cloud services. This figure continues to increase as businesses continue discovering the potential of the cloud

6. Calculate your ROI

Cloud migration is not inexpensive. You need to pay for the cloud server space and the engineering involved in moving and storing your data.

However, although this appears to be one of the many migration challenges, it is not. As cloud storage has become popular, its costs are falling. The Return on Investment or ROI, for cloud storage also makes the price worthwhile.

According to a survey conducted in September 2017, 82% of organizations realized that the prices of their cloud migration met or exceeded their ROI expectations. Another study showed that the costs are still slightly higher than planned.

In this study, 58% of the people responding spent more on cloud migration than planned. The ROI is not affected as they still may have saved money in the long run, even if the original migration challenges sent them over budget.

One of the reasons why people receive a positive ROI is because they will no longer have to store their current server farm. Keeping a physical server system running uses up quite a few physical utilities, due to the need to keep it powered and cool.

You will also need employees to keep the system architecture up to date and troubleshoot any problems. With a cloud server, these expenses go away. There are other advantages to using a third party server company, including the fact that these businesses help you with cloud migration and all of the other details.

The survey included some additional data, including the fact that most people who responded – 68% of them – accepted the help of their contracted cloud storage company to handle the migration. An overwhelming majority also used the service to help them come up with and implement a cloud migration plan.

Companies are not afraid to turn to the experts when it comes to this type of IT service. Not everyone knows everything, so it is essential to know when to reach out with questions or when implementing a new service.

Final Thoughts on Cloud Migration Planning

If you’re still considering the next steps for your cloud migration, the tactics outlined above should help you move forward. A migration checklist is the foundation for your success and should be your first step.

Cloud migration is not a simple task. However, understanding and preparing for challenges, you can migrate successfully.

Remember to evaluate what is best for your company and move forward with a trusted provider.