Quality and reliability specifications are theoretical numbers
that reflect the drive's quality characteristics under average--or in some cases
"ideal"--conditions. In actual operation, however, the reliability of a hard
disk depends as much on how the storage subsystem is implemented as it does on the
characteristics of the drive itself. No implementation factors can make the drive more
reliable than it is specified to be, but mistakes in the way the drive is used can
sometimes make it less reliable. There are several different issues that impact
upon this "real world" reliability.
In this section I will take a look at topics related to reliability such as cooling,
noise and vibration, and power management. I will also discuss determining when a drive is
failing, and also look at some software causes for reliability problems (which are often
mistakenly blamed on hardware!)
Next: Hard Disk Quality: Luck Of The Draw?
