Decommissioning: step-by-step

After data has been archived to a new system for retention and access, legacy applications must be decommissioned. Legacy systems that contain only information that is beyond its retention period and is not under legal hold should be decommissioned instead of archiving.

• Define scope of application / infrastructure to be decommissioned

1. Determine Application to Infrastructure Relationship Mapping by following the instructions in the ServiceNow KnowledgeBase article KB0036280.
2. Document your Application Software/Hardware Inventory in a list including all of the following:

• Business applications
• Server devices, data storage devices, networking devices

3. For each inventory item, follow the steps below.

• Business applications

1. Terminate ongoing support contracts with legacy vendor. Be aware that some vendors require lead time to end a support contract; for example, Meditech requires a 90-day notice.
2. Run an audit of the legacy application to determine business users/usage.
3. Prepare user communication, including notification of heads of affected departments.
4. If the legacy data was archived, authorize and train users for the archiving application.
5. If applicable, remove user authorizations to access to the legacy system.
6. When applicable, submit a ServiceNow Application and Service-Related Request to remove the application from the Partners Applications folder, and if applicable, from the PEADS database and PAS (Personnel Authorization System).

• Configuration item (CI) = Application Hosting and Publishing - mgb (Assignment Group is automatically set to EDS Application Delivery Services - phs.)
• Category = System Access
• Description (one or a few applications) = Remove list application(s) by name from Workspace.Partners.org,  the Win10 Partners Application Menu, and PEADS if applicale; retire the PAS group(s) list PAS group(s) by name.
• Description (when the list of applications and/or PAS groups is long) = Remove applications listed on the attached document from Workspace.Partners.org,  the Win10 Partners Application Menu, and PEADS if applicable; retire the PAS group(s) listed on the attached document.
• Attachment = if needed based on the description, attach a document listing the applications to be removed and the PAS groups to be retired.

7. If applicable, once user access has been removed, run a final audit of the legacy system and archive final audit data.

• Server devices, data storage devices, networking devices

• Submit a ServiceNow General Request to decommission the server, data storage, and networking devices on your inventory.
• Description (one or a few servers) = Request to Server - phs assignment group to decommission list server(s), data storage device(s), and networking device(s) by name  
• Description (when the list of servers is long) = Decommission servers, data storage devices, and networking devices listed on the attached document.
• Attachment = if needed based on the description, attach a document listing the servers, data storage devices, and networking devices to be decommissioned

• Decommissioning these devices takes several steps over about one month. For more information, see Server team decommissioning process.