Pictured on left: TCEC's Infrastructure Team. Top row from left: Doug Letz, Douglas Rowlett, Zack Sieck. Bottom row from left: Josh Tipton, John Wheeler.
One of the final, significant steps of Tri-County Electric Cooperative’s move to Azle was completed last month, some of it while members were sleeping.
Part of the relocation out of the Cooperative’s former Aledo headquarters included a full relocation, or migration, of its data center, to a new, purpose-built facility in Azle. It was a massive task that took a 24-7 effort from TCEC’s Infrastructure Team, all while keeping interruptions to a minimum.
The IT Infrastructure Manager served as the strategic planner and technical lead for the project, which also included a critical update to the Cooperative’s Disaster Recovery site in Keller, ensuring that operations can continue, even if a catastrophic event were to take place.
“At its core, the project aimed to create a more resilient, secure, and scalable IT foundation—one capable of supporting current operations while preparing us for future growth,” he said.
The team worked non-stop from 3 P.M. Friday through the early hours of Monday, catching what sleep they could on cots, all to reinforce TCEC’s commitment to providing safe, and reliable power at the lowest possible cost for years to come.
“By moving to a data center with improved infrastructure, we’ve increased system stability, boosted performance, and enhanced the security of the platforms that support everything from billing to outage management. This ensures that members enjoy faster services, fewer disruptions, and greater confidence in the continuity of their utilities,” he said.
By the numbers, the migration included:
- About 100 virtual machine servers migrated to the new environment
- 1 new rack installed in Keller
- 1 new rack installed in Azle
- More than 35 new firewall policy rules created to support secure data paths for systems, employees, and members
TCEC recognizes that some members experienced brief interruptions in access to online services and account tools during the migration window. The Cooperative appreciates members' patience during this time and understands that even a short disruption can be an inconvenience. Every decision made throughout the process was centered on restoring full access as quickly as possible — and on building a stronger, more reliable foundation for the services members count on every day.