Storage. It’s not a sexy topic. But everyone uses it in some way or
another. You have iPhones, you have computers. Everyone knows how
important a person’s data is. But it doesn’t just “disappear.”
another. You have iPhones, you have computers. Everyone knows how
important a person’s data is. But it doesn’t just “disappear.”
Or does it?
New research suggests that newer solid-state hard drives, which are
faster and offer better performance, are vulnerable to an inherent flaw —
they lose data loss when they’re left dormant in storage for periods of
time where the temperature isn’t properly regulated.
faster and offer better performance, are vulnerable to an inherent flaw —
they lose data loss when they’re left dormant in storage for periods of
time where the temperature isn’t properly regulated.
Facebook engineers offer a sneak peek into the two new cold storage
facilities opened in the last year for storing more than two billion
digital photos — and keeping them instantly available.
Solid-state drives are better than regular mechanical hard drives,
which are slow and sluggish. But unless they’re battered around,
smashed, or poured in acid, they pretty much last forever.
A recent presentation
by hard drive maker Seagate’s Alvin Cox warned that the period of time
data is retained on some solid-state drives is halved for every 9°F (or
5°C) rise in temperature where its stored.
That means if a solid-state drive is stored in a warm room, say 25°F
(25°C), its data can last for about two years. But, if that goes up by a
mere few degrees to 86°F (30°C), that data’s retention period will be
cut in half.
Don’t immediately freak out, though. It depends entirely on the
temperature, but also the type of drive you’re using. Most consumer
solid-state drives, such as those in high-end performance desktops and
certain notebooks (including Apple MacBooks), do not suffer as much.
They are designed to retain data for about two years in storage under
the right temperature.
But enterprise solid-state drives pose the biggest risk to data loss, because the retention period drops considerably.
A moderate increase of just 9°F (5°C) in temperature in a space where
an enterprise solid-state drive is stored can drop a retention rate
from 20 weeks to 10 weeks.
Why does it even matter? Data isn’t meant to just disappear, or get
lost. Although newer solid-state drives are more common in a consumer
rather than an enterprise setting (mostly because of the associated
costs), ensuring data security is a high priority for businesses and
companies.
But keeping a solid-state drive at a reasonable temperature is probably the last thing most think of.
“If long-term storage is required, image the [drive] onto a
mechanical drive and place that drive in storage as well,” wrote
KoreLogic’s Don Allison in a blog post.
