Beyond the Cloud: How to Safely Store Physical Hardware

In a world where it has become increasingly simple to sign up for a cloud service and store a large amount of data accumulated over decades, it’s quite easy to become complacent and leave all our information with providers who can alter the terms whenever they prefer.

While there is ultimately always a place for the cloud, it’s a good idea for most normal people to avoid the physical purely for the convenience offered by digital services.

Here, we will be taking a look at how to safely store physical hardware, such as your servers, drives, and computers, to ensure longevity and safety, so when the time comes, all your belongings are in the same condition as you stored them.

Key Takeaways

• Electronics come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, materials, and enclosures, and it is important to store them in a secure place for safekeeping
• Some hardware types are prone to damage due to prolonged exposure to severe environmental conditions 
• Humidity, particulate matter, dust, and temperature extremes can cause major damage to your hardware, leading to a complete data loss
• Some data storage protocols must be followed before keeping your belongings or hardware in a storage unit, to help keep them secure for the long-term

Understanding What You’re Actually Storing

Electronics are available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, materials, and enclosures. As such, the first step you must take is to properly understand what you’re attempting to store so that you can research the correct methods that result in the best outcome.

While it’s obvious that this kind of hardware would be stored within a self storage with CCTV and undercover loading (to keep the elements at bay when you’re loading everything away), the type of unit you opt for will depend on your items. 

The table below provides a risk assessment matrix for each type of hardware you might consider storing:

Hardware type	Environmental sensitivity	Security risk
HDD/SSD with data	High when stored in humid and damp conditions.	Critical if they contain valuable data
Networking equipment	Medium	High (may contain files with networking keys and certificates)
Vintage computers	Depends, but often high due to a risk of corrosion	Depends (low for data but high if they’re valuable machines like an Apple-I, but relatively low if they’re not rare.)
Components (GPUs, CPUs, motherboards, RAM, etc.)	Low (as long as still in their protective sleeves and boxes)	High, particularly with the price and demand for specific components like RAM and GPUs.
Backup tapes	Very high	Could be high if they contain sensitive data backups, but usually low (since they tend to be used for archival purposes)

Obviously, your experience will vary, as a lot of what is in the table is heavily dependent on a range of different factors. But it should highlight the things you should consider when you choose a storage unit to keep these items in good shape and safe.

Fun Fact

Hard drives are manufactured in cleanrooms that are 1,00 times cleaner than operating theatres, because a single dust particle can cause a catastrophic “head crash”, rendering the hard drive useless.

The Environmental Enemies of Electronics

The table in the previous section highlighted the risks that different types of hardware face when stored, but not the specifics. 

When it comes to electronics, although they are not quite as sensitive these days, some conditions still pose a threat to secure storage, and if left in such conditions for longer periods of time, you will return to a pile of useless metal and plastic.

• Temperature extremes: Almost everything suffers when exposed to high or very low temperatures, but electronics are more susceptible to such changes. For many items, it will be condensation that forms and eventually destroys the delicate metal connectors and ruins all your stored data.
  
• Humidity: Corrosion kills electronic devices faster than anything else, and even if you can swap out the larger parts, smaller and more highly integrated elements that corrode can destroy entire systems.
  
• Particulate matter and dust: Although most electronic hardware is pretty robust against dust, if it builds up, it can cause overheating when turned on again and, in some extreme cases, cause shorts.

Consequently, any storage unit you plan on leasing must come with humidity and temperature controls built in. If you can find one that uses positive pressure, you can keep most particulates away; if not, keep them in plastic sleeves and boxes.

Pre-Storage Preparation Protocols

To avoid the feeling of retrieving your expensive things only to find out that they’ve been transformed into useless paperweights, you should take some time to perform a pre-storage prep.

This process comprises three categories, each with its own set of protocols to follow:

1. Data security:
   1. Full data backups
   2. Encryption status confirmed on all devices
   3. Remove all documentation, credentials, and API keys
      
2. Physical preparation:
   1. Remove batteries (if applicable, and including the CMOS battery if you plan on storing these things for a long time)
   2. Blast out any residual dust
   3. Place silica gel packets in your storage boxes
      
3. Document everything that you’ve stored, including:
   1. Serial numbers
   2. Last working condition and configurations
   3. Original packaging, if you have it

Storing anything requires some effort to ensure you retrieve it in the same condition, but working with electronic hardware is a different kettle of fish entirely. 

As long as you understand what it is you’re storing and take the time to prepare it all before stowing it away, you should find that it all remains in working condition when you need it once again.

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