The challenge
The client was moving its equipment to Paris in stages, and the old estate still had to be emptied and cleared at the end. That is three different jobs: move the kit out, get it across a border, and deal properly with whatever is left behind.
As we put it at the time: put it in, take it out and manage the whole end of life cycle.
Our approach
In order:
- On 23 February a couple of our engineers were on site cable tracing and de-racking several devices for the staged migration to Paris.
- On 24 February two of our team were in Paris on two data centre relocations. The kit was insured at £0.5m under our marine cargo policy, customs was cleared and the loads were delivered direct to site. The last van was on the Eurotunnel at Calais.
- On 2 March we moved a server relocation to Paris before midday. It was insured at £250k, pre customs clearance was done in advance, and it was delivered direct to site in a Renault Trafic.
- On 3 March our HSM Powerline HDS 150 shredder went out on site for the final decommission of 4 racks, with the equipment going on for recycling and WEEE certification.
Here is how we normally run the shredder on site:
- Drives are audited, and make, model and serial are scanned into a certificate of destruction.
- The HSM cuts to a 40 mm strip, at up to 210 drives per hour.
- It runs from a 13 amp socket or from a 7 kW generator in the vehicle.
- Equipment goes to a WEEE recycling partner for certification. Kit can also be stored, reused, recycled or donated.
The result
A two week phased project from cable trace to final decommission. Two data centre relocations to Paris insured at £0.5m, a server relocation insured at £250k and in Paris before midday, and 4 racks decommissioned with the shredder on site, then sent for recycling and WEEE certification.
