HPE tells users to patch SSDs to prevent failure after 32,768 hours of operation

guest · Nov 26, 2019

HPE tells users to patch SSDs to prevent failure after 32,768 hours of operation
HPE SAS SSD users need to install a critical firmware patch or they'll lose their SSDs, including their data
November 26, 2019
https://www.zdnet.com/article/hpe-t...event-failure-after-32768-hours-of-operation/

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) warned customers last week to install a critical firmware patch to prevent SAS SSDs (Serial-Attached SCSI solid-state drives) from permanently failing after 32,768 hours of operation -- which is 3 years, 270 days, and 8 hours.

"After the SSD failure occurs, neither the SSD nor the data can be recovered," HPE said, clearly suggesting that device owners need to install the firmware patch if they want to keep using their devices past the 32,768-hour deadline.
Users who keep data backups on different drives will be able to recover their data, but the HPE SSD will be unrecoverable, according to HPE.

Impacted SAS SSD models are listed in the table at the bottom of this article.
HPE said some SSD models are sold as standalone products, but others are also incorporated inside other HPE products -- such as ProLiant, Synergy, Apollo, JBOD D3xxx, D6xxx, D8xxx, MSA, StoreVirtual 4335, and StoreVirtual 3200.
The bug affects all HPE SAS SSDs with a firmware versions prior to HPD8. Upgrading the SSD firmware to version HPD8 fixes the problem, HPE said.
Click to expand...

This entire issue is eerily similar to what happened to Intel earlier this year when the company found out that two SSD models (D3-S4510 and D3-S4610) also contained a bug that would brick the device after 1,700 cumulative hours spent in idle mode. Per Reddit, some HPE SSD owners have already had storage drives die out.
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guest · Mar 24, 2020

HPE Warns of New Bug That Kills SSD Drives After 40,000 Hours
March 24, 2020
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...bug-that-kills-ssd-drives-after-40-000-hours/

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is once again warning its customers that certain Serial-Attached SCSI solid-state drives will fail after 40,000 hours of operation, unless a critical patch is applied.
The company made a similar announcement in November 2019, when firmware defect produced failure after 32,768 hours of running.
Affected drives
The current issue affects drives in HPE server and Storage products like HPE ProLiant, Synergy, Apollo 4200, Synergy Storage Modules, D3000 Storage Enclosure, StoreEasy 1000 Storage.

When the failure point is reached, neither the data nor the drive can be recovered. Preventing such a disaster is possible in environments with data backup setups.
HPE learned about the firmware bug from a SSD manufacturer and warns that if SSDs were installed and put into service at the same time they are likely to fail almost concurrently.

“Restoration of data from backup will be required in non-fault tolerance modes (e.g., RAID 0) and in fault tolerance RAID mode if more drives fail than what is supported by the fault tolerance RAID mode logical drive [e.g. RAID 5 logical drive with two failed SSDs]” - HPE advisory
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Not as bad as last time
There is some good news, though. By checking the shipping dates from HPE and considering the 40,000 hours expiration limit, no affected SSD have failed because of this firmware bug.
HPE estimates that unpatched SSDs will begin to fail as early as October 2020. This gives plenty of time for admins to apply the corrected firmware.
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Rasheed187 · Mar 28, 2020

mood said: ↑

HPE Warns of New Bug That Kills SSD Drives After 40,000 Hours
March 24, 2020
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...bug-that-kills-ssd-drives-after-40-000-hours/
Click to expand...

I don't get it, how the heck is this possible? I mean how can software cause a SSD drive to fail after a certain amount of time?

roger_m · Mar 28, 2020

Rasheed187 said: ↑

I don't get it, how the heck is this possible? I mean how can software cause a SSD drive to fail after a certain amount of time?
Click to expand...

Some SSD firmware has serious bugs. For example, an Intel SSD I have, when it was released had an issue where it would accumulate massive amounts of data writes. Eventually Intel released a firmware update to fix the bug.

Rasheed187 · Apr 4, 2020

roger_m said: ↑

Some SSD firmware has serious bugs. For example, an Intel SSD I have, when it was released had an issue where it would accumulate massive amounts of data writes. Eventually Intel released a firmware update to fix the bug.
Click to expand...

Sounds quite shocking to me.

roger_m · Apr 4, 2020

Rasheed187 said: ↑

Sounds quite shocking to me.
Click to expand...

Well at least they fixed the issue eventually.

Brian K · Apr 4, 2020

I have one of those SSDs. I found the firmware update about a year after it was released.

Intel 535 series.

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