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Data Center Decommissioning Sees Ruthless Efficiency as Equipment is Shredded and destroyed.
In a decisive move to clear out a data center, all equipment, including servers and network devices, was systematically dismantled and destroyed. The operation, described by Ellora Praharaj, Director of Reliability Engineering, as a point where “No need to be gentle anymore,” involved a complete purge of all hardware.
The decommissioning process for each rack consisted of two primary stages: de-cabling all connected machines and then un-racking them. The images depict racks in various states of de-cabling, with any salvageable components already removed. This allowed for a non-delicate approach to the task.
A notable aspect of the de-cabling was the expedient removal of cables. Instead of carefully disconnecting RJ45 connectors, the team resorted to cutting them, bypassing the usual challenges associated with releasing the locking tab.
The discarded cables were consolidated into a large pile. Initially, this pile began to obstruct an exit route, prompting a strategic decision to pile the debris higher rather than wider to maintain access.
Following the de-cabling and un-racking, all servers and network devices were organized into seven distinct piles on the floor.
The article concludes with a question posed to the reader, asking whether the presented images represent the “before” state from the initial build around 2015 or the “after” state of the decommissioning process.
