Instant Secure Erase

> Instant Secure Erase

> Instant Secure Erase is a feature used to erase data from encrypted drives. After the initial investment for an encrypted disk, there is no additional cost in dollars or time to erase data using the Instant Secure Erase feature.

> You might not want to lock your drives to manage a password if they are locked. Even if you do not lock the drives, you can use the encrypted disks.

> The National Institute of Standards and Technology (http://www.nist.gov) values this type of data erasure on top of secure erase and below the physical destruction of the device.

> Consider the following reasons for using instant secure erase.

> To repurpose the hard drive for a different application

> You might want to move the drive to another server to expand storage elsewhere, but the drive is in use. The data on the drive might contain sensitive data including customer information that, if lost or divulged, could cause an embarrassing disclosure of a security hole. You can use the instant secure erase feature to effectively erase the data so that the drive can be moved to another server or area without concern that old data could be found.

> To replace the drives

> If the amount of data has outgrown the storage system, and there is no room to expand capacity by adding drives, you might choose to purchase upgrade drives. If the older drives support encryption, you can erase the data instantly so the new drives can be used.

> To return a disk for warranty activity

> If the drive is beginning to show SMART predictive failure alerts, you might want to return the drive for replacement. If so, the drive must be effectively erased if there is sensitive data. Occasionally a drive is in such bad condition that standard erasure applications do not work.

DB15-000988-08-December 2013
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