When performing a migration, where the migration workstation is located has a drastic impact on ease of delivery.
When to Use an On-Premise Migration Workstation
If the client is using an application that stores document on a server, then you should use an on-premise migration workstation. This means that the customer should have their IT provider set up a brand new computer for you to work from that is in the same physical location as the server and connected to the same network. If their server is located in their office, then the migration workstation should be in their office. If it is in their data center, then the migration workstation should be in their data center.
When the Location Does Not Matter
If documents are not being backed up from a server (perhaps coming from a cloud system), then the location generally does not matter. We recommend using a high-end migration workstation located within your office.
Bad Practices to Avoid
Avoid Shipping Migration Workstations
Some consultants believe they should purchase migration workstations and then ship them around the country to each customer as part of the migration. This is a bad practice because of a few reasons:
- It increases operational complexity. You and your customer now have to orchestrate shipping devices back and forth.
- It increases time and cost. You have to buy the computers. Plus, you and your customer now have to absorb shipping fees and the back-and-forth transportation of the devices.
- It has increased risk. The device might get lost, damaged, or your customer might not ship your device back to you.
- It is less secure. Often times people forget to encrypt or wipe the hard drives. If the device is lost or stolen, sensitive data may be floating around insecurely.
- It limits your migration business. If you are shipping devices to each customer, you are limited by the number of devices you have. We personally work with consultants who have averaged 3-5 migrations every weekend for over a year. That volume is not achievable if you are shipping devices around the country.
Avoid Cloud-Hosted VM Migration Workstations
You should absolutely avoid setting up a migration workstation that is hosted on Amazon or Azure. Here is why:
Cloud VMs Share Resources with Other Customers
If you are using a cloud VM, unless you have a fully dedicated VMHost, you are sharing resources with someone else. Even if you have dedicated RAM and CPU cores, the connectors (the system bus) between those components are shared. This means that if someone else on the VMHost is using an app that is constantly talking to the RAM or CPU, your RAM and CPU will operate slower because they are sharing the same set of wires as everyone else.
Cloud VMs are Expensive
After a few months, you will have spent more money renting the VM than if you had just purchased a dedicated machine.
Cloud VMs use Old Hardware
Cloud providers make money by buying servers and renting the same equipment out to customers for years. If you take a look at the hardware release dates on your VM, you'll likely see equipment that is at least 3 years old.
Server Hardware isn't as Fast
A lot of people do not realize this, but server hardware is actually not as fast as desktop hardware.
A typical server may have 128-256 CPU cores that are designed to run at maximum capacity in operating temperatures of 104°F and sometimes higher. Because the conditions are so extreme, each core is designed to run slower. Servers like this are beneficial if you have a lot of work to do and you can chunk the work into 256 buckets so that each core can stay busy. If you can do that, while each individual unit of work will take more time, total time to complete all the work is less.
This advantage breaks down when you don't have a giant job can that be subdivided or you only have access to a small portion of all those processor cores.
A high-end desktop is designed to sit idle most of the time and then burst to ultra-fast speeds which is much better for a migration.
Some Software Doesn't Work Right
Cloud-based VMs have special networking software/drivers that are installed by the cloud provider. These often have challenges working with software like Fiddler, Proxifier, and NordVpn which are necessary apps when extracting from certain applications.