Recycling Your IT

Server Recycling – Important Considerations

2010-10-08

A server is probably the most important computer when it comes to managing client related information in an organisation for customer relationship management, apart from maintaining an organisation’s accounting and inventory data in a centralised location. Being the strongest, most varied and most complex type of computer, it needs special consideration during its recycle process as well.

Since huge amounts of confidential information are maintained on the server, backing up the data should be, of course, carried out prior to recycling the machine. Once the appropriate backup process is complete, the data that is contained on the server needs to be irrevocably destroyed before subjecting the hardware components to any sort of recycling process.

When a new server has come into play, and the old server is still functioning, then the old server can serve as a stand by server for some time to come and help with fault tolerance mechanisms. The servers usually have high processing speeds and huge memory – retiring late into their lives. They are usually used until they are rendered completely useless. In such cases, recycling the computers to extract metal from extinct servers should be undertaken by a recycling company such as ours. Also, careful disposal processes such as shredding need to be considered while disposing of the solid state, optical and magnetic storage media of a server.

A server might also have additional switching components that need to be disposed of by employing appropriate waste management techniques. So factors such as thorough certificated data destruction, appropriate hardware disposal/recycling mechanisms for other supplementary components and irrevocable destruction of hard drives need to be thoroughly considered during server recycling.