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Re: [zfs-discuss] ZFS and SE 3511

Subject: Re: [zfs-discuss] ZFS and SE 3511
From: Richard Elling
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2006 11:35:07 -0800
sidetracking below...

Matt Ingenthron wrote:
Mike Seda wrote:

Basically, is this a supported zfs configuration?
Can't see why not, but support or not is something only Sun support can speak for, not this mailing list.

You say you lost access to the array though-- a full disk failure shouldn't cause this if you were using RAID-5 on the array. Perhaps you mean you've had to take it out of production because it couldn't keep up with the expected workload?
You are gonna laugh, but do you think my zfs configuration caused the drive failure?
You mention this is a new array. As one Sun person (whose name I can't remember) mentioned to me, there's a high 'infant mortality' rate among semiconductors. Components that are going to fail will either do so in the first 120 days or so, or will run for many years.

We don't use the term "infant mortality" because it elicits the wrong
emotion.  We use "early life failures" instead.

I'm no expert in the area though and I have no data to prove it, but it has felt somewhat true as I've seen new systems set up over the years. A quick search for "semiconductor infant mortality" turned up some interesting results.

We (Sun) do have the data and we track it rather closely.  If a product
shows a higher than expected early life failure rate then we investigate
the issue and take corrective action.

In general, semiconductor ELFs are discovered through the burn-in tests at
the factory.  However, there are some mechanical issues which can occur
during shipping [1].  And, of course, you can just be unlucky.  In any case,
I hope that the replacements arrive soon and work well.

[1] FOB origin is common -- a manufacturer's best friend?
 -- richard
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