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220-1202 Practice Question: A technician is decommissioning a server that…
A technician is decommissioning a server that contained highly sensitive financial data. The server has multiple HDDs in a RAID array. The company policy requires data destruction to be certified. Which approach is most efficient and secure?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the misconception that wiping a RAID logical volume is equivalent to wiping each physical drive, but the trap is that RAID controllers abstract the physical layout, so logical operations may miss hidden or spare sectors on individual HDDs.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Remove each drive and wipe them individually using a secure erase tool.
Secure erase tools (e.g., ATA Secure Erase) perform a cryptographic or full overwrite at the drive firmware level, ensuring each HDD is individually sanitized and can be certified. In a RAID array, the controller may cache or stripe data, so wiping the logical volume (Option A) or reformatting (Option D) does not guarantee all physical sectors on every drive are overwritten, leaving residual data recoverable. Degaussing (Option C) destroys the drives' magnetic media but is impractical for a full chassis and may not provide certified destruction for mixed media.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Perform a single overwrite on the RAID logical volume.
Why it's wrong here
Performing a single overwrite on the RAID logical volume is insufficient for secure data destruction. The RAID controller's caching mechanisms, wear-leveling algorithms, and allocation of spare sectors mean that not all physical sectors on the underlying drives may be directly addressed or overwritten. Consequently, residual data could persist in unallocated or remapped sectors, making it potentially recoverable and failing to meet certified destruction standards for highly sensitive information.
- ✓
Remove each drive and wipe them individually using a secure erase tool.
Why this is correct
Removing each drive and wiping them individually using a secure erase tool is the most effective method for decommissioning a server with highly sensitive data. This approach bypasses the RAID controller's abstraction layer, allowing direct access to every physical sector on each storage device. A secure erase tool, often implementing standards like NIST SP 800-88, ensures that all data, including hidden sectors and controller-managed areas, is irreversibly overwritten, guaranteeing complete data sanitization.
- ✗
Degauss the entire server chassis.
Why it's wrong here
Degaussing the entire server chassis is an impractical and ineffective method for secure data destruction. Degaussing, which uses a strong magnetic field, is designed for individual magnetic media and would not uniformly affect all drives within a chassis, especially if they are shielded or non-magnetic (like SSDs). Furthermore, degaussing permanently damages the drives, rendering them unusable, and is not a certified method for sanitizing non-magnetic storage devices, making it unsuitable for a mixed server environment.
- ✗
Reformat the RAID array and reinstall the OS.
Why it's wrong here
Reformatting the RAID array and reinstalling the operating system is entirely inadequate for securely decommissioning a server containing highly sensitive data. This process primarily overwrites only the file system's metadata and directory structures, marking sectors as available for new data. The actual sensitive data remains largely intact on the physical sectors and is easily recoverable using common data recovery tools, failing to meet any standard for data sanitization or certified destruction.
Quick reference
RAID Level Comparison
| RAID Level | Min Disks | Fault Tolerance | Read | Write | Usable Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAID 0 | 2 | None | Excellent | Excellent | 100% |
| RAID 1 | 2 | 1 disk | Good | Moderate | 50% |
| RAID 5 | 3 | 1 disk | Good | Moderate | 67–94% |
| RAID 6 | 4 | 2 disks | Good | Lower | 50–88% |
| RAID 10 | 4 | 1 disk per mirror | Excellent | Good | 50% |
RAID is not a backup strategy — it protects against disk failure but not against accidental deletion, ransomware, or site-level events.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1202 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1202 exam.