We recently installed and deployed 45 HGST 8TB hard drives into Backblaze Storage Pod 902 and the drives have recently completed their initial data loading phase. As we have done with Seagate, Western Digital, and Toshiba drives, we tracked the HGST drives during their data loading phase to see how well they performed. Here’s what… Continue reading HGST 8TB Drives: Helium Makes Them Fly
Year: 2015
Introducing Our Marketing Intern, Caitlin
Our Engineering Intern Katherine’s reign of “newest intern” is over! Our newest newest intern, Caitlin, has recently joined the Marketing department to help us with some fun tasks! Caitlin is a student at the University of San Francisco and is studying psych and graphics design, so maybe we’ll have her come up with some cool… Continue reading Introducing Our Marketing Intern, Caitlin
Eric Joins Our Accounting Department
We’re hiring like crazy over here (know any Sys Admins?) and the latest person to join the Backblaze team is Eric! He’s joining our money department as a Junior Staff Accountant, and our controller Cecilia couldn’t be happier! Let’s take some time and learn a bit about Eric, shall we? What is your Backblaze title?… Continue reading Eric Joins Our Accounting Department
Welcome to Backup Awareness Month 2015
June is Backup Awareness Month and we are kicking things off with a review of the 2015 results from our annual Backup Awareness Survey. Since 2008, in preparation for Backup Awareness Month, Backblaze has tasked the folks at Harris Interactive to poll computer owners to determine how often they back up the data on their… Continue reading Welcome to Backup Awareness Month 2015
Katherine with a K: Our Newest Intern
The summer months are upon us and that means it’s time for Backblaze to get a whole new set of interns! The first one to join us is Katherine! She’s a JRPG playing Swarthmore Phoenix that’s joining our engineering team to help on some back-end projects they’ve been working on. Let’s get to know her… Continue reading Katherine with a K: Our Newest Intern
What Would You Do With a Storage Pod?
Backblaze Storage Pod 027 has been running 24/7/365 storing customer data for the past seven years. Pod 027 has served us well, but now it is time to retire. Pod 027 is one of 20 Backblaze Storage Pods being retired. In this group are version one and version two Storage Pods. They have been removed… Continue reading What Would You Do With a Storage Pod?
Hard Drive Reliability Stats for Q1 2015
Over the past year we’ve been releasing hard drive reliability statistics based on the drives we use to store customer data for our online backup business. As of the end of Q1 2015 we had 44,252 hard drives spinning in our datacenter. If we subtract boot drives and drive models with less than 45 drives from that total, we get 42,749 hard drives remaining spread across 21 drive models. Below are the hard drive reliability statistics for these drives for Q1 2015.
A Look at Backblaze’s Toshiba Hard Drives
Over the past year or so, we’ve covered the virtues and vices of nearly all the different hard drives we use in our Backblaze Storage Pods. From HGST to Seagate to Western Digital hard drives, we’ve charted drive hours, plotted failure rates, reported on drive temperature, and more. The one missing brand: Toshiba. We’ve had… Continue reading A Look at Backblaze’s Toshiba Hard Drives
Backblaze Release 4.0.2
Release Date: 5/12/2015 Version 4.0.2 Backblaze version 4.0.2 is out today! The latest Backblaze version is also becoming the minimum version of Backblaze that you can use. As part of this, a dialog has been added to the installer to protect against older installers being launched (they will now direct you to download the latest… Continue reading Backblaze Release 4.0.2
Mommy, Where Do Pods Come From?
Stop us if you’ve heard this: “Mommy? Where do Pods come from?” It’s a question that’s been asked for years, and until now the response has been a convoluted one. For Mother’s Day, we’re going to give moms everywhere the ammunition they need to answer this difficult question. “Where do Pods come from?” So where… Continue reading Mommy, Where Do Pods Come From?
Julie Weaves Her Way in to Backblaze
We keep hiring like crazy over in the Operations department, and our newest Data Center Tech is Julie! We knew Julie would be a great fit because even before getting hired, she built a gorgeous Backblaze Pod during her interview. Not only was it aesthetically pleasing, but it powered up reliably in its first test,… Continue reading Julie Weaves Her Way in to Backblaze
Our 6TB Hard Drive Face-Off Revisited
A few months back we published our initial evaluation of 6TB drives, comparing Seagate (model ST6000DX000) and Western Digital (WD60EFRX). Both drives performed well in our evaluation of 45 drives each, but we wanted to see if the results held up as we scaled the quantity of drives. We now have 450 Seagate and 495… Continue reading Our 6TB Hard Drive Face-Off Revisited
Usually Red Backblaze Going Green
It’s Earth Day! While Backblaze tends to make everything red (like our Storage Pods), we do have a bit of a green streak in us as well. Over the last few years, Backblaze employees have amassed quite an assortment of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. All told, 25% of the employees in our San Mateo… Continue reading Usually Red Backblaze Going Green
SMART 22 Is a Gas, Gas, Gas
We recently filled a Backblaze Storage Pod with 45 HGST Ultrastar® He8 hard drives. For the uninitiated, these are 8TB drives filled with helium. The helium, so says the literature, allows the drives to run cooler and quieter, and reduces power consumption. When we wire up a new hard drive model into our infrastructure, one… Continue reading SMART 22 Is a Gas, Gas, Gas
CSI: Backblaze—Dissecting 3TB Drive Failure
Beginning in January 2012, Backblaze deployed 4,829 Seagate 3TB hard drives, model ST3000DM001, into Backblaze Storage Pods. In our experience, 80% of the hard drives we deploy will function at least four years. As of March 31, 2015, just 10% of the Seagate 3TB drives deployed in 2012 are still in service. This is the… Continue reading CSI: Backblaze—Dissecting 3TB Drive Failure
There’s No “B” in Ryan
A new addition joins the Backblaze ranks! This time we went ahead and hired a Ryan, which is different than the typical Brian or Bryan that we’ve hired in the past. It’s good to diversify! Ryan is joining our support team as a Junior Support Tech. He’s jazzed about joining the Support squad and from… Continue reading There’s No “B” in Ryan
Backblaze 2: The Search for More Revenue
After we released Backblaze Online Backup 4.0, people starting uploading data crazy quickly! 1TB backed up per day? That’s not bad! Once that happened, we realized that we needed to buy a bunch more Backblaze Vaults to store all that data. The question we had to ask ourselves was, “How do we maintain our $5/month… Continue reading Backblaze 2: The Search for More Revenue
Scary Monsters for World Backup Day 2015
World Backup Day, the day everyone with a computer should make sure it is being backed up. Sounds great doesn’t it? The truth is, we all know someone who isn’t backed up—a friend, relative, or spouse. They just refuse to back up their computer. Oh, you’ve tried. You’ve explained how easy it can be and… Continue reading Scary Monsters for World Backup Day 2015