Business Internet Cutover
Internet cutover, managed from order to sign-off.
IronSights manages business internet cutovers as part of office relocations. Carrier coordination, ISP provisioning, firewall configuration and the live cutover window run as a single coordinated process.
An internet cutover is more than connecting a new cable. The ISP circuit has to be provisioned before the move date — NBN Business circuits take two to four weeks; Ethernet and fibre can take longer. The firewall has to be reconfigured for the new subnet and default gateway. Conditional Access trusted locations have to be updated for the new public IP range. DNS TTLs need to come down before the cutover so propagation is fast. If any of these are left until move weekend, the outage window grows.
How it works
Order early, cut over with confidence.
ISP provisioning delays are the most common cause of extended internet outages during office moves. Ordering early and tracking the delivery date is what keeps the project on schedule.
The cutover itself is the final step of a prepared process, not the start of an improvised one.
Assess
Existing ISP contract, circuit type, IP addressing and failover configuration reviewed. Lead times for new-site provisioning confirmed with the carrier before the move date is locked.
Order
New-site circuit ordered with adequate lead time. Provisioning tracked against the move schedule so delays surface early, not the week before the move.
Prepare
Firewall configuration updated for the new subnet, routing table and ISP gateway. DNS TTLs reduced ahead of cutover. Old circuit kept live as fallback.
Cut over
Traffic migrated to the new circuit during the agreed maintenance window. Routing confirmed, firewall policy validated, remote access tested before the old circuit is released.
What we manage
Every part of the internet migration.
From ordering the new circuit to validating the last connectivity path, the internet workstream is managed as a single coordinated process.
Carrier coordination
New circuit ordered and provisioning tracked with Australian ISPs. Escalation paths engaged if the delivery date is at risk. The carrier timeline stays visible in the project plan.
IP addressing review
New IP range confirmed with the carrier. Firewall policy, NAT rules and Conditional Access configurations updated to match before the cutover window opens.
Firewall handover
Firewall routing table, default gateway, NAT and security policy updated for the new ISP circuit and IP range. Tested at bench before the cutover window.
DNS TTL reduction
External DNS TTLs reduced in the days before the move so any IP changes propagate quickly. Restored to normal values after the cutover is confirmed stable.
Remote access validation
VPN, split tunnel configuration and remote desktop connectivity tested on the new circuit before the maintenance window closes.
Conditional Access updates
Microsoft 365 trusted locations and named IPs updated for the new ISP address range. Staff can sign in from the new office on day one without location-based blocks.
Old circuit management
Old ISP circuit held open until the new circuit is confirmed stable. Termination notice submitted only after the cutover is validated.
Post-cutover validation
Inbound and outbound connectivity, DNS resolution, remote access and Conditional Access all confirmed before sign-off.
Circuit types we work with
An office move is sometimes the right time to reconsider the internet circuit. Bandwidth requirements change as the team grows. Resilience requirements increase as cloud dependency increases. New buildings sometimes have access to products that were not available at the old site.
We are carrier-agnostic and work with most Australian ISPs on NBN, Ethernet, fibre and SD-WAN products. Where the move is an opportunity to upgrade or add a secondary circuit for failover, we can advise and manage the transition alongside the relocation.
- NBN Business, Ethernet and fibre circuits across major Australian carriers
- nbn Co fibre upgrades where the move is an opportunity to improve bandwidth
- SD-WAN and dual-carrier configurations where resilience is needed
- SLA-backed circuits for regulated or uptime-critical environments
What goes wrong without planning
Internet cutover failures are almost always avoidable with lead time and preparation.
- ISP provisioning delayed past the move date
- Firewall policy broken by the new IP range
- Conditional Access blocking sign-in from the new office
- VPN broken for remote workers after the ISP change
- Old circuit terminated before the new one is confirmed working
- Internet outage running into the trading week
Outcomes
Internet working, before staff arrive.
The cutover window closes when every path is confirmed, not before.
Connectivity, VPN, Conditional Access and DNS all validated before sign-off.
Shortest possible outage
Pre-staged firewall configuration and confirmed circuit provisioning reduce the live cutover to a managed window. Not an open-ended outage while someone locates the ISP contact.
Connectivity on day one
Staff connect to the internet, VPN users reach internal resources, remote workers access the network. All tested before the maintenance window closes.
Firewall policy intact
Security policy reviewed and validated for the new ISP circuit. No temporary rule relaxations, no forgotten NAT entries, no gaps left open after the move.
Microsoft 365 ready
Conditional Access trusted locations and named IPs updated for the new address range before staff sign in. No sign-in failures from stale location rules.
Internet cutover process
From ISP order to confirmed connectivity.
ISP assessment and circuit order
Review existing ISP contract, confirm new-site circuit requirements and place the order with adequate lead time relative to the move date. NBN Business circuits typically need two to four weeks; Ethernet and fibre can need twice that.
Provisioning tracking
Monitor carrier provisioning against the move schedule. Escalate if the delivery date is at risk. Confirm physical circuit installation at the new site before move weekend.
Firewall and DNS preparation
New-site firewall configuration built and bench-tested. DNS TTLs reduced ahead of cutover. Conditional Access location rules updated for the new IP range.
Cutover execution
Traffic migrated to the new circuit during the maintenance window. Old circuit held live as fallback until the new one is confirmed stable and all services are tested.
Post-cutover validation
Inbound and outbound connectivity, VPN, Conditional Access and DNS resolution all confirmed. Old circuit termination notice submitted after sign-off.
Common questions
Questions about internet cutovers.
More questions? Email hello@ironsights.com.au or book a planning call.
How much lead time is needed for a new ISP circuit?
Lead times vary by carrier and circuit type. NBN Business circuits typically run two to four weeks from order to active. Ethernet and fibre circuits can run four to eight weeks or longer depending on the building. Some older commercial buildings need in-building cabling work before any circuit can be provisioned. We confirm lead times with the carrier early in the project so the circuit is active and tested before the move date, not on the day.
Can the old circuit stay active while the new one is being tested?
Yes, and it should. The old ISP circuit is kept live until the new circuit is confirmed working, routing is validated and all services are tested on it. We do not submit the termination notice for the old circuit until the cutover is confirmed stable. Running both in parallel for a short period has a cost, but it is the only safe way to do a cutover.
What happens to our Microsoft 365 conditional access when the IP changes?
Conditional Access trusted locations and named IPs are tied to your current public IP range. When the ISP circuit changes and your public addressing changes with it, those rules need to be updated before staff sign in from the new office. If they are not, users will be blocked or prompted for MFA from a location that no longer matches any trusted definition. We update them as part of the cutover.
Do you manage the ISP on our behalf or do we deal with them directly?
We manage the carrier relationship throughout the provisioning process, including placing the order, tracking progress and escalating if the delivery is at risk. You remain the account holder, but we handle the operational coordination so the ISP timeline stays visible in the project plan and does not get lost in someone's inbox.
What if we want to change ISP at the same time as the move?
An office move is often a practical time to change ISP, particularly if the current contract allows exit at relocation. We can manage the ISP selection, comparison and transition as part of the broader relocation engagement. The constraint is lead time: this decision needs to be made early in planning so there is enough runway to order, provision and test the new circuit before move weekend.
How does the internet cutover connect to the rest of the office move?
The internet cutover is sequenced within the broader network relocation workstream. The circuit is provisioned and tested before server relocation begins so infrastructure has a working upstream connection when it comes online at the new site. Conditional Access and Microsoft 365 configurations are updated in the same window. See our office network relocation page for the full network workstream.
Related services
Services that connect to the internet workstream.
Secure IT Office Relocation
The full relocation engagement with internet cutover as one workstream within the broader technology move.
Learn more →Office Network Relocation
Switching, firewall and VLAN cutover coordinated with the internet migration.
Learn more →Microsoft 365 Relocation
Conditional Access and named IP updates that connect directly to the internet cutover.
Learn more →Office Wi-Fi Relocation
Wi-Fi infrastructure that depends on the new ISP circuit being live and routing correctly.
Learn more →Business Continuity Planning
Downtime reduction planning for the move window, with internet continuity as a critical path item.
Learn more →Fortify Managed Security
Ongoing network monitoring once the new internet circuit is established at the new site.
Learn more →Plan the internet cutover
Start with a circuit assessment.
Tell us about the current ISP, the new site and the move date. We will confirm lead times with the carrier and come back with a cutover plan.