Decommission Workflow for laptops and desktops
❗ Important
inSync client must be present and activated on the device for device decommissioning.
Laptops and desktops on Windows OS
The decommission process is started for the Windows laptop or desktop. The device's DLP status changes to Decommissioning, and the Device Status changes to Disabled.
inSync overwrites the free space of that partition by creating a SErase file and increasing the size of the SErase until it gets a No free space error. By doing this, inSync is able to clean up the free space of the drive.
The inSync Client starts to erase all files that were configured for backup up from the device.
inSync then creates SMFT (Secure Master File Table) 0 byte files to clean the MFT table so that no one can see the name of the files that were there on the system.
inSync then deletes the SErase file (the file used to fill up the free space).
After the decommission process is complete, the DLP status for the device changes to Decommissioned.
Laptops and desktops on macOS
The decommission process is started for the Mac laptop or desktop. The device's DLP status changes to Decommissioning, and the Device Status changes to Disabled.
The inSync Client starts to erase all files that were configured for backup up from the device.
inSync uses the built-in rm -P module of the operating system, to perform secure deletion of the data on the device. This ensures that each file is overwritten, renamed, and truncated before it is unlinked. This prevents other people from recovering any information about the file from the command line.
After the decommission process is complete, the DLP status for the device changes to Decommissioned.
📝 Note
Decommissioning is not supported for Linux operating system devices.
Frequently-asked questions
What to expect after changing the decommission status to 'On Hold'?
inSync Server marks the status of decommissioning to On Hold, thereby preventing decommissioning. If a device is offline and the user marks it as On hold, the setting is not relayed to the device. This option can be used in a scenario where you have configured the Auto Delete option for a device and you know that the device will not be connected to the inSync Server for “n” number of days.
For more information, see Automatically decommission a device.
When to mark a device as Normal?
To remove the device from On hold, you need to mark the device as Normal.
What are SMFT files? How are they created during the decommission process?
A file is deleted from the hard drive and the free space is securely overwritten (wiped). However, the file entry remains intact in Master File Table (MFT) even after deleting the file. MFT contains an index of files on NTFS drives. inSync creates SMFT files that wipe MFT Free Space called Secure file deletion.
In which folder are SMFT files created?
During decommissioning, inSync overwrites the free space of that partition by creating an SErase file. Thereafter, inSync creates SMFT files in shared folders which are configured for backup. If there are no folders that are configured for backup, no SErase or SMFT files get created. The process only removes all files from inSync Share and finishes the decommission.
How to verify that the device is decommissioned successfully?
inSync cannot guarantee that a device can update the status on inSync Cloud after decommission completes. The person who steals the device may not connect the device to a network. Hence, the status will not get updated on the server.
To ensure that the device has decommissioned successfully, check the following:
The status of the device on DLP page must be "decommissioned"
Device status on device page must be "disabled"
inSync Client should give an error like "can't connect to server" when one tries to perform backup or restore operations.
Configured folder should be filled with the SMFT files.