IT Relocation & Installation

A fully populated 24u router coming out of a live rack is a different job from a shelf of switches, and it gets a different case. We have 19 inch shock mount flight cases, including a 24u rack case with twelve tuned anti-vibration mounts rated at 400kg that are there to block the common trucking vibration frequencies, off the shelf military spec SKB Roto shock mount racks in 6u, 8u, 10u and 14u, and bespoke MOD spec 4u cases with impact absorbing foam calculated to the load. We also build our own split trunks. Those break down to just the base so a chassis of up to 24u can be slid straight off the server lift into them, then the sides and lid are built back up around it.

No lift, no problem. We have taken a 300kg 47u rack to the tenth floor on our PowerMate M-1, which handles 682kg on the flat with two operators and 454kg up stairs with two, and for lighter chassis there is the red Stanley Handling SC620, 46kg in weight, 310kg capacity, nine steps a minute and around 300 steps on a full charge. For the rack work itself we designed our own Chassis Lift and Slide System, CLASS, which puts a server anywhere from about 2u to 36u with a lift capacity of 400kg, and the 2019 electric version reaches 40u. We used it to install two Juniper MX480s. An Innolift 600kg mobile fork truck travels with the vehicle so we can load and unload ourselves.

Office IT relocation runs on the same principles but with more people involved. Ten desks or a hundred, we plan it beforehand, pack into tote boxes and flight cases, label by desk position so seating plans survive the move, set the infrastructure up at the new location and reconnect. Screen upgrades and cabling we do as well. Everything is covered by a written risk assessment and method statement, which is usually what the building manager wants before he lets anyone near the goods lift, and we produce those ourselves rather than buying in a template. If the kit is going into or out of the EU our own in-house customs agent handles the entries, and if the old estate needs taking away we do that under our waste carrier licence.