That was a cool answer to unplug...What if that was a server with NIS/Storage connected.For a decom, you should first check for the active services on the server.something likeps -aef | grep -i ypfor ...
"ps -aef" must be good I guess..For some services known you would use something like below..ps -aef | grep -lp ... lpd daemon would be running for printer servicesps -a...