[svlug] Using Linux as a testing platform

[Chris Miller]

On Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 7:25 AM, Sargun Dhillon <xbmodder at gmail.com> wrote:
> What sort of tests are you planning on doing? Many R/W iterations? Shake
> tests? Checking the response to a bad power supply?

With the exception of the last one, those could all be done with a
very simple series of shell scripts and C programs (shell script to
mount the drive, format it, C program to stress-test R/W, shell script
to unmount it, reformat it, etc.)

Also consider using hdparm(?) and some other little gizmo I forgot the
name of for monitoring the drives.  If you're really going to be doing
this for a long time, perhaps you should consider tearing apart a
clothes dryer and using some of the mechanics to shake rattle and roll
the machine chassis, or at least an external drive enclosure.  You
could use some of the instrumentation now made cheap in devices like
the iPhone (just the sensor, not the whole phone!) to monitor G-forces
and stuff.

With such a world of junk to play with, you really could do quite a bit!

-- 
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