[xasop]

As some of you may remember, some time ago I bought a new computer with 2 TB of storage, plus another 2 TB for backups. Well, two and a half years after that fateful purchase decision, I am now almost out of space.

Just the other day, I bought two 4 TB drives (of the same brand and product line) to replace my existing 2 TB drives. I don't have any spare SATA cables, so I'll have to replace one at a time, but thanks to the magic of Linux LVM I can move data from one drive to the other while the system is running, so I only need to reboot briefly to exchange drives.

I'll also be taking this opportunity, in light of our recent Orwellian legislation, to encrypt the new drive before I put any data on it.

Let's get this party started!

[Lord Dave]

What in the name of code are you filling your drive up with?

[xasop]

What in the name of code are you filling your drive up with?

Lots of things.

The initial drive swap went mostly without a hitch. The only trouble I encountered was that when I yanked a SATA cable out of one of the old drives, the connector snapped clean in half. Nothing a bit of superglue couldn't fix, even if it cost me a few square millimetres of epidermis.

[Rushy]

Capacity upgrades are so 2000's. In this decade it's all about speed upgrades. If your read/write speed is below 1 GB/s you're doing it wrong.

[xasop]

Capacity upgrades are so 2000's. In this decade it's all about speed upgrades. If your read/write speed is below 1 GB/s you're doing it wrong.

It's easy to have both. I have an SSD where low-latency access is required (mainly my OS, git repositories, and frequently-used application data), and HDDs for the bulk of my data which is not speed-critical.

Also, I am now migrating data between drives:

root@vader:~# cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/sdb

WARNING!
========
This will overwrite data on /dev/sdb irrevocably.

Are you sure? (Type uppercase yes): YES
Enter passphrase:
Verify passphrase:
root@vader:~# cryptsetup open --type luks /dev/sdb sdb
Enter passphrase for /dev/sdb:
root@vader:~# pvcreate /dev/mapper/sdb
  Physical volume "/dev/mapper/sdb" successfully created
root@vader:~# vgextend data /dev/mapper/sdb
  Volume group "data" successfully extended
root@vader:~# pvmove /dev/sdc1
  /dev/sdc1: Moved: 0.0%
  /dev/sdc1: Moved: 0.1%

Linux is so great.

[Rushy]

Only plebs have data that is not speed critical. All of you data should be SSD based.

[xasop]

Only plebs have data that is not speed critical. All of you data should be SSD based.

You do understand that the primary advantage to solid-state storage is latency and not throughput, right? If you're doing sequential reads, such as for music and movies (which makes up the bulk of my data), an SSD is significantly more expensive for no real benefit.

On the other hand, booting an OS requires reads all over the place to load all the various executables and libraries your system needs, so it makes sense to put that on an SSD.

[xasop]

Done and done:

  ...
  /dev/sdc1: Moved: 99.9%
  /dev/sdc1: Moved: 100.0%
root@vader:~# vgreduce data /dev/sdc1
  Removed "/dev/sdc1" from volume group "data"

I now have 2 TB of free space in my volume group, plus an unused 2 TB hard drive.

[Rushy]

You do understand that the primary advantage to solid-state storage is latency and not throughput, right? If you're doing sequential reads, such as for music and movies (which makes up the bulk of my data), an SSD is significantly more expensive for no real benefit.

On the other hand, booting an OS requires reads all over the place to load all the various executables and libraries your system needs, so it makes sense to put that on an SSD.

It makes sense to put everything on an SSD. Quieter, less energy usage, less heat. The only reason you're not using an SSD for everything is because HDDs are cheaper. That is literally the only reason.

[xasop]

It makes sense to put everything on an SSD. Quieter, less energy usage, less heat. The only reason you're not using an SSD for everything is because HDDs are cheaper. That is literally the only reason.

Well, yes. Is there something wrong with that?

[Rushy]

Well, yes. Is there something wrong with that?

Yes. You should be ashamed.

[Blanko]

Imagine how many SSDs you could afford if you didn't waste all that money on whisky.

[xasop]

Well, yes. Is there something wrong with that?

Yes.

Do elaborate.

[Rushy]

Do elaborate.

You can't get something that is objectively better than an HDD because you can't afford it. It's the system keeping you down, man.

Also, Tom Bishop informed me being too poor for things is your fault.

[xasop]

You can't get something that is objectively better than an HDD because you can't afford it. It's the system keeping you down, man.

Also, Tom Bishop informed me being too poor for things is your fault.

Even if I could afford it, I wouldn't, because this isn't a case of "it costs too much", it's a case of "a 1 TB SSD costs more than double what I paid for a 4 TB hard drive". That's more than an eight-fold difference in price per unit capacity. That's not worth minor noise, power and heat gains.

In terms of value for money, HDDs do win economically, unless you need low-latency I/O.

[markjo]

Do elaborate.

You can't get something that is objectively better than an HDD because you can't afford it.

What makes you think that SSDs are objectively better than HDDs for media storage?

[Rushy]

What makes you think that SSDs are objectively better than HDDs for media storage?

I've already explained that in previous posts, in this thread, no less. If you're going to try to argue with me, at least bother reading the argument first. I look forward to your thoughts on HDD vs SSD.

In terms of value for money, HDDs do win economically, unless you need low-latency I/O.

I never disputed that. I am just saying you should be ashamed. So, there.

[markjo]

What makes you think that SSDs are objectively better than HDDs for media storage?

I've already explained that in previous posts, in this thread, no less. If you're going to try to argue with me, at least bother reading the argument first. I look forward to your thoughts on HDD vs SSD.

First of all, what makes you think I want to argue anything?  Am I not allowed to ask you to clarify your assertions?

Secondly, what makes you think that noise, energy and heat are significant concerns for media storage?

[Rushy]

First of all, what makes you think I want to argue anything?  Am I not allowed to ask you to clarify your assertions?

You're really bad at this, Markjo.

Secondly, what makes you think that noise, energy and heat are significant concerns for media storage?

Really, really bad.

[xasop]

Guys, please take this to CN or wherever we talk about markjo being terrible these days. This thread is about how awesome Linux is.