Moving EVA6000 to new data center

[Paul Land]

We are facing the prospect of moving to a new colo, and the center of our network is an EVA6000 with 6 shelves and 92 disks. This contains absolutely priceless data, so obviously full verified backups will be taken and Vdisks will be replicated/cloned when possible.

I'm looking for advice on how to approach the physical relocation:

Should HP engineers be engaged?

The sheer size of the EVA seems to make a "forklift" move impractical, if not impossible (we may have to remove several disk enclosures to access the bolt points for the rack). What are the implications of a full disassembly? (I know the disks have to be removed before an enclosure can be pulled.) Do the disks have to go back into the shelves in *precisely* the order removed?

Will we need to have some kind of recertification done on the array so it will be "blessed" by HP? If so, how long would this take?

Assuming all goes well and the system is reassembled and connected exactly as it was before, how long will it take the system to power up and "find itself" for availability?

Any guesses as to how long a full disassemble/reassemble will take, given maximum human workhours assigned to the move?

Any comments, suggestions, anecdotes based on experience, etc, will be appreciated.

[Mark...]

Hi
Sounds like you should use HP engineers. They should have experiance on moving EVA's and be able to give you advice/answers to all of your questions and if anything does go wrong because you are using their services they should be able to sort things out quickly.
Mark...

[Marcus Schack]

Yes, Mark is correct. Get in touch with HP and the will arrange it for you and make sure everything is done as per HP's Best Practices and then they are on the hook if anything goes wrong.

I have moved EVAs before and it can be quite tricky for the "first timer". Go with the experts at HP.

[McCready]

In addition to the above, I would recommend doing a firmware upgrade and even a powercycle of the EVA before removing any hardware, and even a high-io test to shake out any possible errors before the move. That way, if you have any additional drive failures during the move, you hopefully will have eliminated some points of failure beforehand.

I would also do a full check of all paths of all HBA's before the move to insure that you uncover any other issues before you move hardware.

[Greybeard]

Hi, yes all precautions are a good idea but my team and I have moved lots of EVAs and my advice is to take pictures, label all connections and if you have a couple of strong helpers and and a trolly then leave the disks in the shelves. once the shelves and controllers are removed then depending on the rack either remove side panels and doors or just doors then it is movable by 4 people without too much effort. Assembly and restart should take a couple of hours max.

[Marcus Schack]

There is one other thing you need to be aware of. HP has a policy that if you move your own gear from one site to another, your warranty is void until the equipment is in its new location and has run error free for a period of time. So you see, if something goes wrong in the move, you may not be covered. Please check with your HP team and see if this applies to you also.

[RichardJ]

Hi Paul,

I work for HP Reseller who specializes in EVA. I have helped several customers perform EVA moves to new data centres - it seems to be an increasing trend!!

My advice to you would be to involve a reseller to help you move the kit, a decent reseller will have shipping crates, prefered hauliers, and (most importantly) a large checklist of tasks to complete before, during and after the move. HP may help you, but if only one EVA is to be moved the revenue from that job wont hit their radar.

The company I work for won UK Storage Reseller of the year. We also operate in the US.

http://h40059.www4.hp.com/partnerawards/index.html

If you dont choose us, you will doing yourself and your data a favour by using someone who has done this before.

[Marcus Schack]

Paul, I would still check with HP if moving the equipment, whether you do it or a VAR, would void your support/warranty on the equipment if HP does not do the move. Better to ask the question than find out when things go wrong that you are not covered.