On Mon, 14 Oct 2013 09:16:17 +0100 Mark Rogers mark@quarella.co.uk allegedly wrote:
My interpretation of the 300,000 lifetime max was that this was an "expected" maximum, ie it would be predicted that a disk would reach this level in normal usage over its lifetime. In designing a disk to spin down more often it should be expected to have a higher load cycle count in normal use than a "normal" disk. The maximum design lifetime seems to be 1,000,000, so anything up to that shouldn't really give any cause for concern (in my reading of this),
But with a NAS that is always on, a load cycle count of nearly 390.00 in 6 months points to a disk lifetime of around 16 months. I was sort of hoping for about 3 years (which is about what I expect of a modern disk).
and I will repeat that I have a RAID5 array running on disks at 1,800,000 cycles that hasn't shown any sign of problems (although I will be replacing those disks as a caution now that I've become aware of it).
So would I.
So I wouldn't worry too much about your disks, but at the same time I won't personally take any responsibility for your data :-)
:-)
If I had a RAID1 array, as you do, I would replace one of the disks, and in future I shall return to my principle of using disks from different manufacturers in my RAID1 arrays.
I have decided to order one new disk to replace my desktop and I will now re-use the old desktop disk in the RAID array. I have also taken the plunge and (successfully it would seem) used Christophe Bothamy’s idle3tool utility to switch off the idle3 timer on my disks. Of course it remains to be seen what longer term effect this will have.
I'm also still very much looking for recommendations here though. I am seriously considering the "better the devil you know" route and getting WD drives and tuning them accordingly, for fear of buying a different brand which has a similar quirk that I know nothing about. The fact that my disks currently seem fine at 1,800,000 load cycles gives me some confidence that the drives are themselves well made.
You may be right. But I've ordered a seagate for the desktop. I'm still open to suggestions for the RAID box.
Cheers
Mick
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Mick Morgan gpg fingerprint: FC23 3338 F664 5E66 876B 72C0 0A1F E60B 5BAD D312 http://baldric.net
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