In the message dated: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 14:36:07 -0800, The pithy ruminations from "Michael D. Parker" on <Re: [lopsa-tech] Data on longevity of powered off disk drives?> were: => I think that a bigger problem might be the quickly changing disk technology => and having to maintain possibly obsolete hardware that could read the disks => in the future if need be.
Actually, I'd claim that's just the opposite situation, particularly when comparing disk to tape. The 'quickly changing disk technology' won't affect the drives you've got locked away in a fireproof safe, as long as the disk _interface_ (SAS, SATA, FC, etc.) is still available in the future. One advantage cited for disks over tape for off-line storage is that a disk drive has everything needed to read data within the device--only the interface & power must be supplied by the server, while a tape cartridge relies on the mechanism within a tape drive or library to physically move the tape, as well as logically read the media. My biggest concern about the longevity of disk drives for off-line storage would be mechanical. A disk drive has a fair number of moving parts, which have been designed to move, not sit still for extremely long periods. Many years ago, disk drives were well known for having problems spinning up if they were shut down for too long -- typically the problem was ascribed to stuck bearings, congealed grease, etc. This may not be [as much of] an issue with modern drives. Mark => => Bill Bogstad _______________________________________________ Tech mailing list Tech@lists.lopsa.org https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
