4 Files 8:30PM FriFeb 23

< Files 8:30PM Fri Feb 23 < Module 3 Case Study Transcript Home Arial 520/0 0 Insert 28 Draw Layout Review View References Module 3 Case Study Transcript Charlie Parker, network administrator at Aviation Technology (AT), has been given the responsibility of relocating the large data center to the grounds of an international airport. Careful planning is needed because AT operates in the high-risk aviation airspace industry. AT is one of four national companies that provide an accounting and business management package for aviation airspace data center service locations and sales distributors. A few years ago, AT jumped into the "application service provider" world. Their large data center provides clients with remote access to AT's complete suite of application software systems, which is crucial to airspace operation. Traditionally, one of AT's primary competitive advantages has been the company's trademark systems reliability. Due to the complexity of this project, Charlie will have to use a parallel method of implementation. Although this will increase project costs, a parallel approach is essential if reliability is not to be compromised. Currently, AT's data center is located on the seventh floor of a renovated old bank building in downtown Dallas, TX. The company is moving to a new, one-level building located in the recently developed industrial complex at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. On April 15, Charlie is formally assigned the task by the Vice President of Operations, Ava Richardson, with the following guidelines: From start to finish, it is anticipated that the entire project will take three to four months to complete. It is essential that AT's 315 clients suffer no downtime. Ava advises Charlie to come back to the Executive Committee on May 1 with a presentation on the scope of the project that includes costs, a "first-cut" timeline, and proposed project team members. Charlie has some preliminary discussions with some of AT's subject matter experts, managers, and directors from each of the functional departments and then arranges for a full-day scope meeting on April 19 with a few of the managers and technical representatives from operations, systems, facilities, and applications. The scope team has determined the following: Four to five months is a feasible project timeline, and the first-cut cost estimate is (this includes the infrastructure upgrade of the new site). Critical to the "no-downtime" requirement is the need to completely rely on AT's remote disaster recovery "hot" site for full functionality. Charlie will serve as the project manager of a team consisting of one team member each from facilities, operations/systems, operations/telecommunications, systems and applications, and customer service. Ava is meeting with the Board this week and is confident the Board will approve the project. Once the Board meeting is conducted, Charlie can hire contractors to renovate the new data center. During this time, Charlie will figure out how to design the network. Charlie estimates that screening and hiring a contractor will take about one week and that the network design will take about two weeks. The new center requires a new ventilation system. The manufacturer's requirements include an ambient temperature of 67 OF to keep all the data servers running at optimal speeds. The ventilation system has a lead time of three weeks. Charlie will also need to order new racks to hold the servers, switches, and other network devices. The racks have a two-week delivery time.