SMART and data scrubbing schedule - Printable Version +- ASK NC (https://ask.nascompares.com) +-- Forum: Q&A (https://ask.nascompares.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=1) +--- Forum: Before you buy Q&A (https://ask.nascompares.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=2) +--- Thread: SMART and data scrubbing schedule (/showthread.php?tid=11633) |
SMART and data scrubbing schedule - Enquiries - 01-16-2025 I have a DS923+ with WD Red Plus HDD (2x4 TB and 2x10 TB). I am trying to understand a best practice for how frequently to schedule SMART tests (short and long) and data scrubbing tasks. A quick web search reveals quite a bit of what people do, but no discussion of why they choose to test daily, weekly, monthly, or whatever. Do you have any guidance based on analysis or experience? I tried a chat with WD, but with little help. RE: SMART and data scrubbing schedule - ed - 01-17-2025 Thank you for reaching out with this important question! SMART tests and data scrubbing are critical for maintaining the health of your NAS and ensuring data integrity. Here’s a recommended schedule and the reasoning behind it, based on best practices and experience: SMART Tests Schedule 1. Short SMART Test Frequency: Weekly Why? The short test takes only a few minutes and checks for immediate, critical issues like read/write errors or disk surface defects. This frequency strikes a balance between regular monitoring and not overloading the drives unnecessarily. 2. Long SMART Test Frequency: Monthly Why? The long test performs an in-depth scan of the drive surface, identifying bad sectors or other potential issues. Since this is a resource-intensive process, running it monthly is sufficient to catch early signs of disk degradation. Data Scrubbing Schedule Frequency: Every 1–2 months Why? Data scrubbing ensures data integrity by scanning and verifying data blocks for corruption, particularly important in RAID configurations like SHR or RAID 5/6. Running it every 1–2 months minimizes risk without adding unnecessary stress to the drives. Synology recommends data scrubbing at least quarterly, but for WD Red Plus drives and your mixed-capacity setup, a slightly more frequent schedule can be beneficial. Additional Considerations Stagger Tasks: Avoid scheduling SMART tests and data scrubbing simultaneously, as both are disk-intensive operations. For example: Short SMART Test: Every Sunday at 2 AM. Long SMART Test: First Saturday of the month at 2 AM. Data Scrubbing: Second Sunday of the month at 2 AM. Drive Usage and Environment: If your NAS experiences heavy usage or operates in a high-temperature environment, you may want to run tests and scrubbing more frequently. Monitor Results: Regularly check the results of SMART tests and data scrubbing in Synology DSM. If errors or warnings appear, investigate immediately and consider replacing the affected drive. |