At 01:18 AM 02/28/2000 -0500, Dennis wrote:
...
>Most of you "server" folks don't understand the reliability of low-power
>ide drives because you use the high-speed scsi drives which are much more
>prone to failure. The WD ide drive (which we use in our router) will run
>much longer than the usefulness of your router. If you get 1 failure in 500
>in a year you are really unlucky. The biggest failure point in a PC based
>router is the power supply (especially if you use the $32. taiwanese pieces
>of garbage that come with most systems)...using an industrial power supply
>is the answer to that.
>
I couldn't disagree more. In fact, over 15 years of experience has shown
me that:
1. Hard drive MTBF in the real world is more a function of power-on time,
physical shock, and manufacture than the application, manufacturer's
*stated* MTBF, drive specs, or type of interface.
2. I do NOT trust drives over 3 years old in a 24x7 application. Period.
Time for them to go.
3. Stated MTBF of 100,000 hours is pure fiction. 24x7 is 8,760 hrs/yr.
Does a 100,000 hr rating mean this drive will go 11 years? If nothing else,
the bearings will fail. Ignoring connector corrosion, bearing or bearing
seal failure will do these drives in first. 5 years is extraordinary. 3
years is good. 10 years is pretty much unheard of in PC-class drives.
4. Flash is fundamentally sound for many more years. Random bit flips are
the usual source of failure, followed closely by outright chip failure. Of
course, there are at many more junctions on a flach card than a disk drive,
so chip failures would seem to be much more likely on a flash card. But...
5. Anything that moves WILL fail. Electrons tend to be much more reliable
than metal bearings and even air, the major moving parts in a drive. Flash
wins.
Sorry, these are my observations. Given a choice, I'd prefer flash memory
over HD for the OS. Having said that, either is suitable for current
router demands. IMHO.
Rick
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