Retiring an Old Server


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I have an older Server that I'm no longer going to use.  It is running 6.8.2 and I would like to make sure nothing can be read and/or retrieved since some of the data could be compromising.  I've looked through the system and see where I can start over and even re-format the drives (2 to 5 GB in size) but that is very time consuming,  If necessary ok, but is there a "Best Way" to Wipe the Drives similar to the DOD standard for Windows/Mac?

 

Recommendations welcomed!

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

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Reformatting is super quick, and totally ineffective at really wiping data. All it does is write a new table of contents and show all addresses as available for writing new files, nothing is done with existing data beyond removing the easy to access table of contents.

 

The closest thing to a DOD wipe would be preclear with random data before it zeroes it. It is extremely time consuming, but any method that repeatedly writes values to every single address on the disk is going to take a very long time, no way to shortcut a thorough wipe.

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Just now, Archivist said:

Is it possible to Pre-Clear the Drives while they are still in the Old Server?

Sure, just set a new config to remove all the disks you want to erase from the array, and run the preclear script on them. A normal preclear is very effective at erasing disks, it would take a lot of money and time to get any data off a properly precleared disk.

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I work with medical records and have been tasked with wiping drive many times... I have one particular client who is a pediatric dermatologist... He uses a single laptop both in the office and for personal use... When I discovered that he had an Apple Time Capsule that held the backups of his machines... When it was time to decomision that divice, the solution was easy enough - I drilled a couple of holes in the disc, directly through the platters.

 

2.5' drives have the added benefit of often being constructed of glass platters that EXPLODE when you hit them with the drill.

 

Arbadacarba

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Thanks for the info, I've used Community Applications to install Preclear and stopped the array.  I've also gone into Tools and tried to set a new config (all disks; yes) but they all still show up in the stopped Array.  After that I've tried to invoke Preclear but it won't let me identify the drives.  What am I missing?

 

Much obliged for the assisance!

 

Dave

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  • Solution

Thanks Conner, you were correct.  I had to remove each Drive from the array individually to have them all show up under the Preclear App.  All Drives now being Cleared of Data!

 

Much obliged!  I'd forgotten a lot of my programming for Unraid, this Server has been around for ~ 10 years+ from all the way back in the original release version (3 or 4).

 

Dave

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