19 January 2022

Even the most stable and reliable storage systems still require some degree of maintenance. Many may believe that firmware updates, software updates and replacement of failed storage components can never be avoided. Really? This does not have to be so, here is a storage system example that has been running for four years without any need for maintenance or unexpected downtime.

Back in 2017, Toshiba installed a ZFS storage system supporting storage infrastructure needs of the “Technology Experience Lab” at NTT Global Data Centers. Since then, the storage system has proven its outstanding reliability: except for a scheduled 10 minutes of downtime to install some additional ZFS features, the system runs steadily without component failures in any of the 60 HDDs, SSD, controllers, power supplies, fans, cables or other components.