kgraham@dotnetdotcom.org (kevin graham) writes:

Does anyone know if OnTAP spins down spares? IIRC, when I've pulled spares in the past, they were definately spinning.

They should be spinning. [Of course, disk shelves that don't enable you to force logical disconnection and spin-down *before* pulling the disc out do leave something to be desired!]

                                        I can't say for sure why this

is bothering me, but it would seem that leaving them idle would be a good thing.. From looking at specs, even older drives will be ready in NLT 20s, which isn't enough to seriously impact rebuild times, and the drive is still available for non-media access commands, so it seems like an all 'round good idea..

Is there something I'm overlooking, or is this completely inconsequential in the grand scheme of things?

I think what you are overlooking is that a spun-down spare is a spare that may not spin up when you need it.

IIRC, ONTAP does some sort of basic read/write test on spare discs every so often, to make sure they are still functional.

Chris Thompson Email: cet1@cam.ac.uk