[Info-vax] unused SAS SFF disk spin status?

[Richard B. Gilbert]

On 8/19/2011 2:49 PM, Rod wrote:
> I'm building RX2660 configurations with a spare Serial Attached SCSI
> small form factor disk as part of the configuration.  Intention is to
> data populate that spare drive with a localized copy of the O/S.  That
> will simplify network recovery in case all the production O/S RAID
> member drivers are corrupted or otherwise rendered collectively
> unusable.
>
> I would like to maximize the life of this "standby" SAS SFF spare
> drive.  What is the spin status of such a drive when it is not mounted
> by OpenVMS in the running RX2660?  Will I be forced to have the front-
> access drive pulled to keep it spun down when not needed?

I believe that you can simply dismount the drive and it will spin down.
When you want to use the drive, mount it.  When you are done, dismount 
it.  Of course this will be a royal PITA if you use the drive often.  If 
you seldom use it, dismounting the drive should save both  electricity 
and wear and tear on the drive.