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	Issue TOC Print full article Print this page Download as PDF E-Mail this URL Flame the author     In this article Introduction Electric Slide On Servers and Storage Network Infrastructure Lessons Learned

• Avoid vendor up-sell. Settle on a network architecture that meets your business needs for the next two years and try to forgo the extra bells and whistles until you really need them.

• Servers with preconfigured OSs save no time. You'll reinstall anyway.

• Default cable management isn't acceptable.

• Measure elevators and doorways before ordering equipment. You might still need to remove elevator roofs, but at least you won't be surprised.

• Don't forget maintenance. Things break, so make sure to figure out what your business exposure is. If you're a 9-to-5 business, maybe 24x7x365 coverage is overkill.

• If it appears complex, it will be easy. If it appears simple, it will take forever.

• To install or not to install? Installation by the vendor costs $$$; decide up front if you have the chops to do it yourself--it could save you major moola.

• Detailed and exhaustive planning from the onset is a pain in the butt, but you'll benefit from it down the road. The corollary is also true: Failure to plan will cost you down the road.

• Write it down; if you don't, you'll forget. There are just too many details to track during such an extensive project.