Optimizing Hard Drive Reliability – 8 Essential Elements
If you are using a hard drive in an application for which the drive was not designed, you may be doubling your failure rate, or worse. Hard drives are extremely reliable, but only when they are operated within manufacturer specifications. We can help you determine which drive would be the best fit for your business, given cost, supply, reliability, and performance considerations.
In order to achieve performance and reliability goals, your system must operate efficiently. There are numerous interaction details at play here, and only when the components are correctly matched and in harmony does the device realize its potential. HDSTOR can review your design for component mismatches.
Handling Procedures
Shipping and handling, along with temperature, are the most common reasons for premature hard drive failures or excessive failure rates. If you buy drives in volume, order in pallet quantities, which is usually 320 drives or more per shipment. Implement proper handling procedures; here is our Hard Drive Handling Basics guide.
'worst Case' Use Model
Testing is the only way to get real data prior to suffering failures in the field. How to test and what the results are telling you is the key to understanding. HDSTOR has experience in developing test plans, and we can guide you to testing that is meaningful without overtesting.
Are your returns too high? If you aren’t accurately tracking them, there is no way to know. We’ll explain what you should expect them to be and the simple math and processes you need to track your rates. Accurately communicating your failure rates is a mandatory step in getting assistance should you incur a field issue. Know your rates ahead of the need.
Maximum reliability and longevity are affected by many things, not just temperature. But you should know that higher temperatures affect your entire system, not just your hard drives. HDSTOR can advise on testing procedures to qualify your system's thermals, and we can help to translate the results into real-world expectations.
From Your Supplier
Your suppliers should be on your side. If you are giving your business to them and treating them well, they should be making an effort to help you choose the right drives and then to optimize their reliability. We do this at no added cost to you, due to our streamlined business model.
for More Information
Wherever you buy drives, ask for more information, or check your supplier’s website for resources or links to get support. Explore our site; we have more valuable information to help you in the HD TECH section of our website.