I contributed to a major accelerated datacenter exit engagement for one of the world's most recognized internet technology companies. The engagement covered the assessment and migration planning for a massive on-premises infrastructure estate, with a central services inventory exceeding 9,000 rows representing the company's core technology platform. The client's primary US datacenter was a focal point of the physical assessment work.
Two strategic workstreams drove the technical analysis: a deep dive into the Mail platform (hundreds of servers running the company's consumer email product) and a parallel workstream covering Search infrastructure. I was involved in infrastructure discovery, technical deep dives with engineering teams, migration cost estimation, and the preparation of commercial proposals including a private cloud option analysis and requests for AWS and GCP cloud commitment packages.
Mail Platform Assessment
Technical deep dives with the Mail engineering team covering infrastructure topology, capacity, dependencies, and migration constraints. Node analysis produced across Mail and Search. Legal-approved session notes and follow-up trackers maintained throughout.
Search Infrastructure Assessment
Parallel assessment of the Search platform — technical questions documented across multiple sessions, infrastructure inventory reviewed, and migration path analysis produced with engineering team inputs and legal approvals.
Primary Datacenter Physical Assessment
On-site assessment of the client's primary US datacenter facility — capturing D&A data, asset detail, and full infrastructure inventory. Assessment findings report produced as a standalone deliverable for the DC exit program team.
Hadoop Big Data Platform
Hadoop platform analysis for the July 2024 environment — covering cluster sizing, AWS EMR / GCP Dataproc migration options, and dedicated host configuration. SMC dedicated hosts bulk upload template prepared for AWS.
AWS Commitment Package
- AWS and GCP commitment request document drafted and reviewed — summarizing scale of migration and expected cloud spend
- SMC Dedicated Hosts bulk upload template prepared for Hadoop and high-memory workload placement
- Migration cost estimation for DC exit using RXT PS migration estimate tool
- Mail and Search-specific migration estimates produced (v1 through v4)
- AWS private cloud proposal evaluated as a potential option for latency-sensitive workloads
GCP Commitment Package
- GCP included alongside AWS in the commitment request — parallel hyperscaler evaluation
- GCP Data Analytics (Dataproc, BigQuery) assessed as Hadoop migration target alternatives
- Private cloud option analyzed as a third path — Rackspace Private Cloud Draft Proposal prepared
- Digital transformation roadmap deck referenced for GCP-aligned modernization track
- Cloud costs and financials workbook maintained for ongoing commercial analysis
Central Services Inventory
- ~10,000 row central services inventory — machine specifications, OS, vCPU, memory, and quantity per configuration
- High-memory, high-core configurations (32 vCPU / 100 GB+ memory) prominent in the estate, reflecting hyperscale infrastructure
- Inventory processed across multiple revisions with technical and legal approvals obtained per release
- Node analysis workbook produced for Mail and Search platforms
Application & Platform Deep Dives
- Technical Questions deep dive sessions with engineering teams — documented and legally reviewed before use
- Database server inventory — SQL Servers catalogued with core counts for licensing analysis
- Primary datacenter asset and D&A detail inventory captured on-site
- OpsDB inventory review — legal approved version used as authoritative infrastructure source
- Financial deeper look workbook — cloud economics and cost breakdown analysis
DC Exit Assessment
Contributed to the accelerated DC exit assessment — processing the central services inventory, producing assessment findings reports, and framing the migration strategy for Mail and Search workstreams.
Primary Datacenter Assessment
Led the on-site physical assessment of the client's primary US datacenter — cataloguing assets, capturing D&A data, and producing the assessment findings report that fed the DC exit program.
Mail & Search Deep Dives
Facilitated and documented the Mail and Search technical deep dive sessions — tracking follow-up items, managing legal approval workflows for session notes, and building the node analysis workbooks.
Migration Cost Estimation
Produced migration PS cost estimates for the DC exit (v1–v4) — covering Mail, Search, and Hadoop workloads with labor, tooling, and wave-level cost breakdowns for AWS and GCP scenarios.
Commercial Proposals
Drafted the AWS and GCP commitment request document, prepared the Private Cloud draft proposal, and built the financial workbook for the cloud economics analysis underpinning the commercial recommendation.
| Deliverable | Description | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Accelerated DC Exit Assessment Findings | Primary assessment deliverable — DC exit strategy, workstream findings, and cloud migration recommendations | PPTX |
| Accelerated DC Exit Assessment Findings Report | Detailed assessment report for project leadership — infrastructure scope, complexity, and migration approach | PPTX |
| Primary Datacenter Assessment | On-site physical datacenter assessment — asset inventory, D&A data, and infrastructure findings | XLSX + PPTX |
| Migration Cost Estimates (v1–v4) | PS migration cost estimates for Mail, Search, and Hadoop workstreams — AWS and GCP scenarios | XLSX + PPTX |
| AWS & GCP Commitment Request | Commitment package request summarizing migration scale, expected cloud spend, and program timeline | DOCX |
| Node Analysis — Mail & Search | Infrastructure node analysis for Mail and Search platforms — capacity, configuration, and migration sizing | XLSX |
| Hadoop Platform Analysis | Hadoop cluster analysis with AWS EMR / GCP Dataproc migration options and dedicated host sizing | XLSX |
| Private Cloud Draft Proposal | Rackspace Private Cloud option analysis as an alternative to public cloud for latency-sensitive workloads | PPTX |