Source URL: https://www.wanhunglo.com/2021/the-strange-formatting-of-oracle-branded-hgst-ssds-whl-71
Source: Hacker News
Title: The formatting of Oracle-branded HGST SSDs (2021)
Feedly Summary: Comments
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: The provided text discusses a personal experience with hardware setups involving hard disks and SSDs, particularly focusing on the transition from Oracle’s ZFS to OpenZFS due to performance and encryption capabilities. It also delves into technical issues related to formatting and verifying the devices under Linux, posing significant points of interest for IT professionals interested in storage solutions, encryption, and enterprise computing performance.
Detailed Description:
This narrative outlines multiple facets of enterprise hardware management, heavily emphasizing the migration from Oracle’s ZFS to OpenZFS due to a file system bug and dissatisfaction with Oracle’s handling of software. Here’s a breakdown of the content:
– **Migration to OpenZFS**:
– The author transitioned from Oracle’s ZFS to OpenZFS to leverage enhanced file-system encryption and performance characteristics.
– OpenZFS provides features that Oracle ZFS lacks, such as compression and persistent L2ARC.
– **Testing New Hardware**:
– The author tests new HDD and SSD drives with various tools to check performance and health—highlighting the significance of SMART data in maintaining the reliability of storage devices.
– Issues arise during formatting under Ubuntu, showcasing practical challenges faced by professionals in managing and configuring storage infrastructures.
– **Technical Error Diagnosis**:
– The author addresses specific kernel errors encountered during tests, particularly protection errors associated with the new SSDs and HDDs.
– Emphasis is placed on understanding error codes and taking corrective actions, such as adjusting device settings via command line utilities like `sg3_utils` and `smartctl`.
– **Importance of File System Configuration**:
– The text highlights the importance of proper file system configurations, such as logical and physical block sizes, that impact performance.
– The author describes the nuances of ZFS and the significance of settings such as `ashift`, `recordsize`, and special storage configurations.
– **Performance Insights**:
– Comparisons between various RAID configurations (e.g., RAIDZ2 vs. Z1) reveal performance benefits and practical implications for enterprise storage solutions.
– Benchmarks illustrate notable performance improvements, urging enterprises to consider optimized setups to enhance processing speed and data retrieval times.
– **Hardware Analysis**:
– A detailed breakdown of the hardware specifications and potential firmware issues points to a meticulous approach to hardware valuation.
– The narrative expresses concerns about vendor-specific customizations, potentially affecting compatibility and performance across different operating systems.
– **Critical Perspective on Vendors**:
– The author’s frustration with Oracle reflects broader industry grievances regarding vendor lock-in, emphasizing the necessity for transparency and customer support in enterprise contexts.
This content serves as an insightful case study for professionals engaged in infrastructure security and compliance, as it beautifully intertwines practical hardware management with broader themes of vendor relationships, system reliability, and the pivotal role of encryption in safeguarding data within enterprise environments.