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Finding Lost IT With RFID
CWmike writes "Vendors are increasingly trying to sell users on the idea that they need to stick RFID tags on IT equipment to keep track of it. Users are interested in this technology because they would much rather automate inventory tracking then go server-to-server with a bar code scanner and clipboard. But the new push for RFID tags in data centers also hints at a larger issue: There may be a significant amount of equipment that can't be located. And while out-of-sight, out-of-mind is not always bad, there's a least one nagging problem: 'Ghost server' systems, which may still be drawing power but perform no work and may be difficult to locate. One vendor at the Afcom data center conference suggests IT shops get some 'GPS for your assets.'"
There's the classic "Cask of Amontillado" "Novell server drywalled up in room for years, keeps on ticking". Teh slashdots talked about it back in 2001, but there are plenty of "lost BSD boxen" stories out there, too.
Lots of "found" servers too. Years ago when I worked for a small IT support outsource department (4 guys, some phones and a van) we were packing up the office to move to new premises. Underneath a pile of boxes that were under a desk we found a running server. We had no idea what it was for, other than it had network and power cables running into our server rack. So my boss said "Yank the power, see who screams!". 30 seconds later, one of the owners of the company came running down the stairs demanding to know why his production VM server hosting clients was down. Problem solved :)