Hi, I was lucky and got a bunch of very good SSDs (Intel NVME enterprise U.2) for free. I built some of them into my server but still have many left and plan to use them for backups. That means that I’ll only connect them occasionally and store them in a drawer or even off-site. I’m aware that SSDs are not meant for long term “cold” storage as they can lose data when not powered on. However, I still really want to use them. This brings me to my question: What do I need to do to prevent data loss? Is it enough to connect them to power every few months and let the controller do its thing? Do I have to mount them or even read/write to them? Is there anything else I have to consider?

Thank you a lot in advance.

  • NaibofTabr@infosec.pubEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    They should be powered on if you want to retain data on them long-term. The controller should automatically check physical integrity and disable bad sections as needed.

    I’m not sure if just connecting them to power would be enough for the controller to run error correction, or if they need to be connected to a computer. That might be model specific.

    What server OS are you using? Are you already using some SSDs for cache drives?

    Any backup is better than no backup, but SSDs are really not a good choice for long-term cold storage. You’ll probably get tired of manually plugging them in to check integrity and update the backups pretty fast.