Data Center Decommissioning Checklist

Data Center Decommissioning Checklist Reduce risk and protect your brand Author: Jeremy Schaller

1: First Dialogue Identify, engage, and set up channels for communication with all relevant stakeholders (make a contact list early)

2: Planning Then, assign a project manager, develop a budget, write out a detailed scope of work, and create a timetable estimate

3. Network Discovery As inventory logs easily become out of date, map your network with a quality network discovery tool

4. Physical Discovery Automated tools can easily miss important network assets, so it's important to do a thorough physical audit

5. Double Verify Many times, physical audits miss assets; have every audit item double verified by someone else

6. Cross Reference Now reconcile your physical audit against your network audit to validate your inventory list

7: Compile Map Make your tangible hardware map: location device name, IP address, vendor name, model, hardware technicals, software assets, etc.

8. Expert Review Review the map with all CMDBs, discovery outputs, and physical audits with experts

9. Finalize Map Final meeting of the minds to finalize all dependencies with hardware, VMs, infrastructure, software etc.

10: Action Steps Put together the implementation plan. Who will do what? What needs to be avoided? Final asset destinations?

11: Commission Equipment Commission tools like fork lifts, pallets, packing foam, hoists, tip guards, etc.

12: Asset Tagging Tag everything for future location, processes, and responsibilities

13: Cancel Contracts Cancel maintenance contracts for anything you won't be keeping

14: Backups Create, test, and run simulations on your backups to validate your disaster recovery plan (optionally erase drives at this point)

15: Disconnect Equipment Pull equipment from subnets, firewalls, ACLs, etc., and cut power to everything being decom'd

16: Pull From Racks Using tip guards and other safety equipment, remove all relevant racked hardware

17: Verify Documentation Ensure all security policies, data erasure, etc., have all been fulfilled with a comprehensive paper trail

18: Pack/Palletize Crate with cut-to-fit polyethylene and don't use standard freight shipping, as it is insufficient

19: Asset Disposition Choose an ITAD company to help repurpose, recycle, or resell any equipment that isn't needed

Congratulations! Your Decommission project is complete! exIT Author: Jeremy Schaller For more details, download the below checklist! exIT exIT Technologies Inc.