by A zombie or ghost server (sometimes called comatose server) is a physical server that is running without any activity/connectivity & not performing any useful function for the last 5 to 6 months.
New researches found that datacenters may have zombie servers from 20% up to 30% especially if your datacenter have been in operation for long time.
Zombie servers drain datacenter resources & can even compromise datacenter network security.
Killing zombies in your datacenter will have a lot of benefits including:
- Space saving.
- Power & cooling saving (OPEX saving).
- Availability to install new hardware using the existing infrastructure.
How to identify zombie servers:
- Track servers age (servers age may give you indication).
- Perform physical audit (check servers connectivity).
- Identify working servers (if all working servers are identified dead servers will be known).
- Use Network traffic mapping tool.
Perform cleanup plan:
- Set zombie servers cleanup priorities.
- Build process.
- Cleanup Fiber, UTP & power cables during servers removal.
