Storage Enclosure Reliability: Analysis Of Various Enclosure Configurations With Implications On Data Reliability And Resulting Backup Applicability

By James Wiebe, CEO, WiebeTech LLC

Hard drives are the long term memory of your computer system. Virtually every computer uses an internal hard drive as a repository for the operating system, applications, and user data. Hard drives are also used outside of a computer, usually within storage enclosures. External storage enclosures containing hard drives can be used for all of the same reasons as internal hard drives (e.g. storing the operating system, saving programs, and saving user data) but enclosures have the benefit of expandability and portability, and as a result are also commonly used for data transport and data backup.

The failure of a hard drive within or attached to your computer system (via an enclosure) is an eventual certainty.

When the failure of an external storage device occurs, it's important to distinguish whether the enclosure has failed, or a hard drive inside it. If only the enclosure fails, it's a simple matter of moving the hard drive(s) to another enclosure or repairing the enclosure, after which the hard drive(s) contained therein will once again be functional. This is a critical concept for discussing the overall reliability of hard drives, which shall be covered in later chapters.