Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the ECi Data Center Migration
Are you transferring operations from other locations?
Why is ECi moving the servers that host our e-commerce services?
What's the schedule and status for migrating my service?
How do I prepare for the move?
DNS Host Preparation
Firewall Preparation
Firewall Preparation for services integrated with DDMS back-end systems
How do I know whether I have to change my DNS host (A) record?
How can I determine who hosts my domain name?
How do I know whether I have to prepare my firewall?
Who can I contact for help in preparing for the migration?
Where are the new ECi headquarters located? When will you be there?
Mailing Address
Local Phone and Fax Numbers
Sales Contact Information
What's the status of the ECiSolutions.com email servers?
What is moving?
The ECi corporate headquarters has moved from Vienna, Virginia, to Reston, Virginia, effective Thursday, October 30, 2003. As of Saturday, Nov. 15, we have also completed the process of relocating the data center to a nearby co-location facility.
Are you transferring operations from other locations?
No other locations are affected by this move, nor are we transferring support operations from other locations.
Support for your ECi products will continue to be provided by the same support technicians as in the past, and those technicians will continue working from their current locations.
The only impact on support operations was that email addresses ending in "@eci2.com" were temporarily unavailable from the evening of Wednesday October 29, 2003 to the morning of Thursday October 30, 2003 while our servers were moved to the new facility.
(This applies to all email addresses ending in “@eci2.com,” even those directed to recipients at other ECi divisions – DDMS, Maytech, etc.) See What's the status of the ECiSolutions.com email servers?
Why is ECi moving the servers that host our e-commerce services?
Rather than recreate another data center within our new office, we have contracted for co-location services in a nearby facility. By contracting with a new hosting provider, ECi will be able to focus more intensely on developing products and services, rather than managing hosting facilities.
Who manages the new facility?
Our new facility is maintained by AboveNet, a company that provides co-location services at several locations throughout the country.
AboveNet's hosting facility provides the following advantages over
the Vienna Data Center:
• Comprehensive facility security systems with 24x7 onsite
security
• State-of-the-art continuous power protection
• Advanced fire detection and suppression systems
• Extensive environmental controls and building monitoring
• Fault-tolerant, redundant integration of all IP network
connectivity, security, electrical, fire and environmental control
systems.
The reliability of AboveNet's redundant systems for power, cooling, bandwidth, and physical security were proven during the recent hurricane and the major power outage that affected much of the Midwestern and Northeastern United States. All abovenet facilities remained fully operable, even when commercial power was unavailable for over 24 hours.
What's the schedule and status for migrating my service?
The migration is complete as of Nov. 15, 2003. Moving servers took place on weekends outside of business hours, beginning Friday evening and finishing by Sunday evening. The schedule below allowed us to give the most lead time to the largest customer base.
| Product |
Begin |
End |
Oct 21 |
Oct 24 – 26 |
Oct 31 – Nov 2 |
Nov 7 – 9 |
Nov 14 – 16 |
Base Station™ Canada |
10/21 |
10/22 |
Successful |
|
|
|
|
Base Station™ USA |
10/24 |
10/26 |
|
Successful |
|
|
|
WB Mason |
10/31 |
11/2 |
|
|
Successful |
|
|
Dealer Station xTended® |
11/7 |
11/9 |
|
|
|
Successful |
|
123Web!™ |
11/7 |
11/9 |
|
|
|
Successful |
|
Dealer Station® |
11/14 |
11/16 |
|
|
|
|
Successful |
is.D-Force® |
11/14 |
11/16 |
|
|
|
|
Successful |
Private Supply Network |
11/14 |
11/16 |
|
|
|
|
Successful |
How do I prepare for the move?
Because we have a new IP address, some dealers must have changes made to their DNS Host (A) record and/or their firewall settings. The best timing for making these changes would have coincided with the time we began moving the servers. Successful coordination would minimize or even eliminate any downtime for your service.
DNS Host Record Preparation
If you have a domain name that is NOT hosted by ECi , and your domain name server (DNS) host (A) record points to any 63.103.231.x IP address, the company that hosts your domain must change the DNS record to reflect our new IP address. For example, if the domain name currently points to 63.103.231.x, it must be changed to 207.126.108.x. (Keep the LAST digits of your IP address the same as before the migration). If your host (A) record does not point to any 63.103.231.x IP address, you do not need to take any action.
Timing is crucial when changing the IP address in your DNS host (A) record. The IP address should have been changed at the beginning of our move (Friday evening; see Schedule). If you changed your IP address prior to the server migration, your Dealer Station service would have been down until we finished the migration. If you had not changed the IP address by the time we completed the migration (Sunday evening; see Schedule), your Dealer Station service will be down until you change the IP address and it has time to propagate throughout the Internet.
See How do I know whether I have to change my DNS host (A) record?
See also How can I determine who hosts my domain name?
Firewall Preparation
If your network currently has a firewall open to our products, you must add an entry to your firewall to reflect our new IP address range. For example, if your firewall has the range 63.103.231.1 – 63.103.231.255 open, you must now open 207.126.108.1 – 207.126.108.255 in order to communicate with the server after the move. Firewall additions can be done at any time prior to the time we begin migrating the server.
After the move is complete, you can have the old 63.103.231 range removed.
(Important: do not remove the old range prior to the migration, or you risk down time.)
See also Firewall Preparation for services integrated with DDMS back-end systems and How do I know whether I have to prepare my firewall?
Firewall Preparation for services integrated with DDMS back-end systems
Dealer Station DDMS Edition, is.D-Force, and PSN Customers: If you currently have an additional rule set up so that 65.208.30.254 is open in your firewall, do NOT remove it or block it. This rule is critical for Customer Service to be able to troubleshoot any problems for which you may call us. If you do not have this rule, please open 65.208.30.254, at least for pcAnywhere (ports 5631 TCP and 5632 UDP) and eGate Test (port 8765). (For more information about pcAnywhere, see Tech Note #231, Setting Up and Using Symantec pcAnywhere™.)
How do I know whether I have to change my DNS host (A) record?
PSN customers will not have to do this unless they also have another service that requires it.
Base Station, Dealer Station xTended, 123Web!, Dealer Station DDMS Edition, and is.D-Force customers may have to take action, depending on whether they have a Web site address hosted by someone other than ECi .
Dealers who do not have a domain name (a Web site address such as www.myOfficeProducts.com) will not require any changes. Dealers who have a domain name that is hosted by ECi will not require any changes.
If you have a domain name that is NOT hosted by ECi , and your domain name server (DNS) host (A) record points to any 63.103.231.x IP address, the company that hosts your domain must change the DNS record to reflect our new IP address.
For example, if the domain name currently points to 63.103.231.x, it must be changed to 207.126.108.x. (Keep the LAST digits of your IP address the same as before the migration). If your host (A) record does not point to any 63.103.231.x IP address, you do not need to take any action.
Timing is crucial when changing the IP address in your DNS host (A) record. The IP address should have been changed at the beginning of our move (see Schedule). If you changed your IP address prior to the server migration, your service will be down until we finish the migration. If you have not changed the IP address by the time we completed the migration (see Schedule), your service will be down until you change the IP address and it has time to propagate throughout the Internet.
See also DNS Host Preparation and How can I determine who hosts my domain name?
How can I determine who hosts my domain name?
If you are not sure whether ECi hosts your domain name, you can check the Network Solutions Web site. Use the site’s WHOIS search feature to look up your domain server. Network Solutions is a leading provider of domain name registrations, and WHOIS is its tool for looking up domain registration data. To perform a WHOIS search, follow these steps:
1. Go to www.networksolutions.com
2. Click the WHOIS link at the top of the page.
3. Enter your domain name (such as yourdomainname.com -- no www
is required)
4. Make sure the radio button for Domain Name is selected.
5. Click Search.
6. Verify that you’re not an automated electronic process
by entering the code you see on the screen (uppercase or lowercase
- it’s not case sensitive) and clicking Verify Code.
7. If the record exists, go to step 8.
If Network Solutions does not have the record, check with your network personnel or Internet service personnel to see where your domain name was registered. Then go to step 8.
8. At the bottom of the record, look for Domain Servers, and make a decision based on the IP address:
8a. If the IP address begins with 63.103.231 or 207.126.108, ECi is hosting your domain name. You do NOT have to change your DNS host (A) record.
8b. If the IP address does not begin with 63.103.231 or 207.126.108, someone other than ECi is hosting your domain name.
Call the administrative or technical contact listed on the WHOIS screen. Ask if your DNS host (A) record points to any 63.103.231.x IP address. If so, have them schedule the change of your DNS host (A) record to reflect our new IP address, 207.126.108.x. Again, to minimize downtime, this IP address must be changed when we begin moving your server — see the schedule. Keep the LAST digits of your IP address the same as before the migration.
See also DNS Host Preparation and How do I know whether I have to change my DNS host (A) record?
How do I know whether I have to prepare my firewall?
Base Station customers do not have to make any changes to any firewall, because their services do not require a backend connection.
Dealer Station xTended, 123Web!, Dealer Station DDMS Edition, is.D-Force, and PSN customers may have to take action, depending on whether they have a firewall.
If you are not sure whether firewall preparation applies to you, please check with your network personnel, Internet service provider (ISP), or hire an outside consultant. Only your network personnel can verify whether adding the new IP address is necessary and make the required change. ECi technicians do not have access to your firewall configuration.
See also Firewall Preparation and Firewall Preparation for services integrated with DDMS back-end system.
Who Can I Contact for Help in Preparing for the Migration?
First, please communicate with your network personnel, ISP, or hire an outside consultant. Only your network personnel can verify whether action is necessary and make the required change.
If you or your network/ISP technician have additional questions, there are several ways to contact Support:
- Log a call online, selecting the subject of "Dealer Station, D-Force, other E-Commerce"
- Email ddmssupport@ecisolutions.com
- Fax 682.831.9909
- Toll-Free 800.366.4778
Where are the new ECi headquarters located? When will you be there?
ECi headquarters moved from Vienna, Va., to new corporate offices in Reston, Va., as of Thursday, Oct. 30, 2003.
Mailing Address
ECi 's corporate headquarters has a new mailing address:
2100 Reston Parkway
Suite 203
Reston, VA 20191Local Phone and Fax Numbers
The local telephone and fax numbers have also changed:
New local number: 571.262.2200
New main fax number: 571.262.2241
New sales fax number: 571-262-2275
New accounting fax number: 571-262-2237
Individual extensions for ECi employees located at the corporate headquarters will also change. You can access a company directory by dialing the main number.
Sales Contact Information
DDMS Aftermarket
Toll-Free 800-959-3367
ECi Sales ext. 3236DDMS New Business - Office Supply
Toll-Free 866-374-3219
DDMS New Business - Furniture
Toll-Free 866-374-3219
Dominic Graziano ext.2223Maytech - Jan/San
Toll-Free 866-374-3221
Raazi Zain ext. 2247
What hasn't changed?
Toll-free Phone Numbers
ECi 's toll-free numbers will remain the same; the main number for ECi corporate offices is still 888.499.ECI2(3242).
All toll-free support numbers are also unchanged. Please continue calling the same numbers for technical assistance with ECi products.
Remittance Address
Remittance addresses for payments have not changed. Continue sending payments to the same addresses as in the past:
PO Box 200164
Pittsburgh, PA 15251-0164
What's the status of the ECiSolutions.com email servers?
We notified you on Tuesday, Oct. 28, and Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2003, that messages to ECiSolutions.com addresses might be delayed while the email server was being moved.
We are pleased to report that as of 10:00 PM ET Wednesday, Oct. 29, the ECiSolutions.com email server has been relocated to our new ECi headquarters in Reston, Va. All email addresses with the ECiSolutions.com extension should now be available.
We began moving the server after 3:00 PM ET Wednesday, October 29th. During that time, if you sent a message to (or replied to a message from) an address with the ECiSolutions.com extension, such as ddmssupport@ecisolutions.com, we may not have received it. You may wish to confirm receipt or resend your message.
To contact Customer Service:
• Fill out the online form
to log a call
• Email us at ddmssupport@ecisolutions.com
• Call us at 800.366.4778
• Fax us at 682.831.9909
This outage does not affect any products or services hosted by ECi . The migration of the data center to the new co-location facilities is progressing successfully and on schedule.