Do you proactively replace a trouble-free out of warranty drive just because it is beyond its warranty date, or just wait until SMART test or NAS identifies a failure or impending problem?
My details: Personal use NAS, TS-253Be, RAID 1. The NAS is new, as the mainboard on my previous TS-251+ failed after about 4 years and was out of warranty.
Both drives are WD Red 4TB, which apparently have a 3-year warranty. One of the drives has about 4 years of full-time use; it was new when I got the TS-251+. The other drive was a replacement for a drive that failed after 2 years; so it has about 2 years of full-time use.
Yes, I have a new spare.
Yes, I have backups. Following 3-2-1 backup rule.
I know this is an "it depends" question, but interested in any constructive thoughts.
Thanks.
Replace out of warranty drive before it fails?
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jstore
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Replace out of warranty drive before it fails?
Last edited by jstore on Wed Jan 15, 2020 12:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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storageman
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Re: Replace out of warranty drive before it fails?
Wait, cause you have backups, right?
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jstore
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Re: Replace out of warranty drive before it fails?
Yes. Following 3-2-1 backup rule. Updating original post.
Thanks.
Thanks.
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scolumbo
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Re: Replace out of warranty drive before it fails?
Seems wasteful to ditch perfectly good hard drives. I currently have 9 out of 10 hard drives that are out of warranty. I expect to still get good use for most of them for a few more years. If/when they fail, I have 2 spares for immediate use to rebuild my RAIDs, and of course, I have good backups.
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P3R
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Re: Replace out of warranty drive before it fails?
Disks fail within warranty as well (as you've noticed) so the only thing that really change when the warranty ends is that you have to pay for the replacement disk. If you have a cold spare disk that you can replace the failed one with as soon as you're notified of the failure you're well covered without being wasteful with still working hardware.
RAID have never ever been a replacement for backups. Without backups on a different system (preferably placed at another site), you will eventually lose data!
A non-RAID configuration (including RAID 0, which isn't really RAID) with a backup on a separate media protects your data far better than any RAID-volume without backup.
All data storage consists of both the primary storage and the backups. It's your money and your data, spend the storage budget wisely or pay with your data!
A non-RAID configuration (including RAID 0, which isn't really RAID) with a backup on a separate media protects your data far better than any RAID-volume without backup.
All data storage consists of both the primary storage and the backups. It's your money and your data, spend the storage budget wisely or pay with your data!
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jstore
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Re: Replace out of warranty drive before it fails?
Perfect, thanks.P3R wrote: ↑Wed Jan 15, 2020 7:03 am Disks fail within warranty as well (as you've noticed) so the only thing that really change when the warranty ends is that you have to pay for the replacement disk. If you have a cold spare disk that you can replace the failed one with as soon as you're notified of the failure you're well covered without being wasteful with still working hardware.