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 is an independent project-intake and matching platform. It does not perform decommissioning, equipment removal, data destruction or transport.