Disk Failures and Non-Functioning HP P4000/P4500 Storage Servers

At Advanced Data Recovery London we pride ourselves on our ability to help customers just like you recover data that under other circumstances would be lost. One such instance when it would be easy to consider your data lost for good is in the use of a HP P4000 or P4500 StoreVirtual Storage server or SAN (Storage Area Network).

If you are the owner or IT professional responsible for the overseeing of such a device you will know that they do not come cheap and more so neither does the time and effort spent trying to reclaim data by reconstituting it from old sources if it has been lost. Many man-hours can be lost with both a loss of productivity and financial implications when the disks within a ‘node’ or the server itself fail.

Our engineers at Advanced Data Recovery have perfected a way of retrieving data from the HP P4000/P4500 range of SANs that was previously unthinkable even by their manufacturer Hewlett Packard who have said openly that failure of such ‘nodes’ and their drives will leave you with a system that is unrecoverable.

It may well be that the system itself is no longer functioning and will not function again but using our bespoke methods of data recovery based on forensic recovery and reverse engineering, we can help businesses just like yours get back on track by recovering the data from drives.

You may be wondering how it is that, if Hewlett Packard say it can’t be done, we can do it.  But with over 16 years in the business of data recovery with a whole host of technology and experience at our fingertips our engineers are well versed in dealing with myriad devices such as the HP P4000/4500 range of StoreVirtual SANs and the likes of the HP StoreVirtual Centralized Control Management Console that allows it to work in conjunction with other ‘nodes’ and devices on an Ethernet or IP-based network.

Disk failures within such a setup can lead to the loss or reported deletion of LUNs (logical unit numbers) against which data is stored and allocated; these LUNs are important to a ‘node’ in the same way each drive is important within a smaller RAID setup such as RAID 0 (where each drive is allocated). Failing disks can impede the flow of information as well as its safe storage if the LUNs that the data is allocated to are no longer recognisable.

Likewise a non-functioning ‘node’ be it because of issues with the firmware or ability to communicate with software controllers like the HP StoreVirtual Centralized Control Management Console, can leave the data on-board inaccessible and without the aid of our bespoke data recovery, lost forever.

Why file sharing increases the chances of getting hacked and what you can do about it

It is called File Transfer Protocol and it hasn’t changed much in the 40 years since its development in the 1970s. It may be a testament to a design that has been so useful that it has been preserved. However, with concerns over data privacy and new security issues with hackers, FTP may no longer be the best way to share file or information at all.  With hackers able to intercept data en route, new protection measures may help UK businesses stem the tide of data they lose annually to hackers.

One way UK businesses can keep their data private is by blocking peer to peer sharing and avoid using P2P networks or sharing technology. According to one 2011 study, a marketing research firm found 9 percent of users downloaded files from a peer-to-peer network. If using these programs such as BitTorrent, FastTrack, or KaZaa, users unsuspectingly give hackers an opportunity to gain access to sensitive information through a shared file.

How to stop viruses that act as peer-to-peer programs

While some applaud the Internet for allowing people to communicate across continents, it has opened the door to viruses being spread on P2P networks and increasing the chances that a UK business may receive an infected file. It may not take a virus to gain access to sensitive data.  In 2009, researchers at one college found 45 results for “birth certificate,”42 results for “passport, and ”208 results for “tax return.” it is  no secret P2P programs are a “common avenue” to submit viruses.

What is the best way to stop unintended data sharing and curb data loss? It may not be enough to simply have antivirus protection anymore. Companies need a platform that allows them to keep information private and solely for the email recipient the email is intended.  Businesses do need to look into encryption of emails and other files. However, they also need to consider having STF features that allow a user interface between customers and company employees, having policies that fall in line with the company’s sharing policy and technology usage, and allowing fast sharing of any suspicious activity or possible hacking within the network.

Whether your data loss is because electrical outages or because of physical hardware problems, experts can help. Let us recover your data before you attempt your own data recovery.

Data storage solutions are expanding, but what does it mean for data Recovery?

With the amount of data growing, new ways to store data is needed. No longer is it enough for companies to store data NAS or SAN. Today’s newer machine use SMR or shingle magnetic recording to boost storage needs in a world of seemingly endless data. What do these changes mean for data recovery specialists and external hard drive data recovery? It may mean taking new courses to learn how to retrieve compromised data off a machine that is running SMR, for example.

Many specialists may not understand how this newest technology works and why it is valuable to external hard drives that store massive amounts of storage. Did you know drives will use perpendicular magnetic recording only is able to store 1 terabyte per square inch? However, by lapping data files the storage space is increased to 1.3 to 1.4 T per square inch. Data files are stored by overlapping each other, similar to how a roofer would put on shingles.

Why retrieving data files may be more Time-Consuming

With the introduction of drivers that use SMR to sandwich and squeeze data onto drives, data recovery specialists may need to rethink their processes of recovering data using traditional methods to restore data. But since it has been roughly six months or less, since data storage solution companies have shipped this new storage solution for hard drives.

It isn’t the only way data recovery is changing, as laptops are also now being shipped with solid state drives. This new technology may also prove to be challenging for laptop data recovery. Less moving parts may mean less time-consuming measures of troubleshooting and using imagery to see inside a drive. However, it also could mean less moving parts to be able to perform external hard drive data recovery or laptop data recovery.

Will deduplication cause headaches when it comes to data Recovery? 

Instead of taking so long to read and write across the entire drive, newer solutions allow read and write solutions that only read and write over part of the drive at a time. This allows for much faster results. But, without reading the entire drive, will this have any effect when a laptop does develop errors? Will it change how laptop data recovery is offered?

Will data be able to be recovered using the same techniques if drives will be having fewer parts and able to read and write at much faster speeds? Will layering of data have any effect on how much of the personal data is retrievable? These are questions which may be answered after people have time to spend with this new technology and data recovery specialists have had time to explore how data recovery changes may affect data retrieval methods.

Partitioning a hard drive may improve computer speed and give hackers nothing to Steal

Should you partition your hard drive? For home computer users, partitioning a hard drive may be a smart option. By partitioning, critical data that a computer uses is not stored on the same drive. Why is this helpful? There are several advantages; however, the best reason to partition a hard drive is that no one has to lose all their computer data at once. With a partition, even if a person accesses the partition index file and learns where an important file is stored, that file cannot be accessed if the drive has been partitioned.

Your computer cannot boot off that drive, even when using a recovery disk. This means the data cannot be accessed. Since your computer treats the partitions as separate entities, keeping the system and apps in a partition separate from data is safer. Because a recovery disk does not usually include a computer system or its apps, it will take less time to secure valuable data.

Wavering about Partitioning?

Did you know that partitioning is useful in an emergency? If the computer suddenly dies, you still may be able to salvage the data. All you need is a bootable operating system and some diagnostic tools. By doing this, you can save your data and easily retrieve it. It may also be a far cheaper option than having a computer expert recover sensitive data that has sentimental value.

Did you know some computer manufacturers, such as Lenovo, include an emergency drive inside their computers? Homeowners can backup and save their data more easily. Even if the computer does not have an emergency partition, it is easy to create one.

Try other Systems

Have you ever wondered what it was like to use Linux? If you have a Windows operating system, running Linux isn’t possible unless you have partitioned your hard drive. However, you also still need to create a dual-boot drive in order to use Linux while running a Windows operating system on the machine.

However, do partition your drive, first. Otherwise, these two drives cannot co-exist; they would step on toes. There would also be no way of easing into Windows 8 without a dual bootable drive.

Isn’t good to know that if your computer does have an error, you don’t have to try to figure out how to solve the problem yourself? Isn’t it useful to have a bootable drive handy?  It may save you a costly data recovery effort instead.