Decommissioning checklist: what to settle before anyone touches a rack
Most of what determines a project's outcome is settled internally, before any provider is contacted. This is that list.
Before consulting anyone
- Physical inventory. Walked, not exported. Serials where they matter.
- Dependency map. What still talks to what, observed rather than assumed.
- Data classification. Which devices hold data, and what each class requires.
- Access confirmation. Elevator, dock, hours, badging, insurance requirements, from facilities, in writing.
- Evidence standard. What your auditors will ask for, agreed with them beforehand.
- Acceptance criteria. What “done” means for the room, written down.
During the project
- Labelling before disconnection, always. Unlabelled hardware becomes unreconcilable within hours.
- Custody transfers recorded at the moment they happen, not reconstructed later.
- Exceptions logged as they occur: failed erasures, missing assets, unexpected devices.
- A daily count that matches the inventory, checked daily rather than at the end.
At close-out
- Reconciliation: inventory in, disposition out, exceptions explained.
- Certificates matched to serials, not to counts.
- Recycling evidence for regulated material.
- Settlement detail for resold assets.
- Formal acceptance of the room condition.
Start the scoping form
The form follows this order. Items you have not settled yet can be left open, that is useful information in itself.
Data Center Exit decommissions data halls: asset inventory, de-cabling, rack removal, on-site or witnessed data destruction, resale and recycling, and the certificate trail that proves each of them happened.