In August 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Knoxville, Tennessee, decided it was time to retire the Cray XK7 “Titan” supercomputer, which was the fastest supercomputer in the world at one point. Disassembling and recycling the electronics, components, and cabinets required more than 40 individuals from Cray, ORNL, and other outside companies. When all was said and done, the team hauled off and/or repurposed 350 tons of equipment.
Shutting down 9 MW of data center capacity at once is a titanic-sized task, but even smaller decommissioning projects can prove challenging. With more capacity shifting to the cloud, the challenges and costs associated with decommissioning are on the rise.