A systems administrator is following the company's server decommissioning policy. The server has been verified as non-utilized, the data has been backed up, and the drives have been sanitized. Which of the following is the MOST important documentation to create and maintain for audit and compliance purposes?
An updated record in the asset management database marking the server as 'retired'.
A comprehensive decommissioning report detailing all actions taken, dates, and personnel involved.
A final power consumption report from the server's PDU to close out operational costs.
A work order for the facilities team to physically remove the server from the rack.
The correct answer is a comprehensive decommissioning report. This document serves as the official record of the entire process, providing an auditable trail that all required steps were completed in accordance with company policy. It typically includes details such as asset tags, verification of non-utilization, confirmation of data backup, a certificate of data destruction, and the server's final disposition. An update to the asset management database is a critical step, but it is an action recorded within the comprehensive report. A work order for physical removal and a final power consumption report are procedural artifacts, but they do not encompass the full scope of security and compliance documentation required for decommissioning.