I want to sell my NAS server. What do i need to do?

[theshadow1234]

Ok. So I decided that I want to sell my NAS server but I need to figure out how I can safely wipe my data permanently and make it unrecoverable for the person I will be selling my NAS to. My storage consists of 4 3TB drivers in RAIDZ1 with encryption running on Freenas 9.3.

Can I simply just use the wipe function in the webgui or is there a certain procedure to wipe the drives for resell? I heard of a utility called DBAN but not sure if this is what everyone uses.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[BigDave]

DBAN or any other good quality wiping program will work just fine for what you intend.
The FreeNAS GUI would not do what a good wiping program will do... Not recommended...

 

[anodos]

Since we're talking about an encrypted pool, I don't think there's much risk in just destroying the zpool and selling afterwards.

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

I heard of a utility called DBAN but not sure if this is what everyone uses.

DBAN is a good solution that I have used many times. You might also consider the disk wiping utility found on the Redo Backup live CD, which makes use of the ATA secure erase command and therefore takes less time than DBAN. I have also used this many times. Even badblocks will do the job.

But as noted, if your pool is encrypted and you don't reveal the decryption keys to the buyer, your data should be safe even without wiping.

 

[Darren Myers]

I would be interested in what parts/whole system youre selling. Otherwise all above options are good for wiping

 

[theshadow1234]

How long will it take for a 3TB drive to finish using DBAN?

Here are the specs..

Lian LI case Q25B with power supply
Asus P8H77-i
Intel I3 CPU
8GB Kingston HyperX x2
x4 3TB RED WD Drives (Warranty valid until Dec, 2017-Jan 2018)
x1 640GB WD Black

 

[Darren Myers]

i would be interested in in the 3Tb hdds for the right price.

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

How long will it take for a 3TB drive to finish using DBAN?

Depending on which wiping method you choose, anywhere from all day (one erase pass and one verify pass) to a couple of days or more (3 or more erase passes). The ATA secure erase command (via Redo Backup) is always faster because it only does one pass, and with modern drives it will give you a time estimate before you begin. However, there is one pitfall, which is that if the machine is restarted or power is lost during the erase, you have a locked drive. It can be unlocked with proper use of hdparm, but it's a nuisance. This won't happen with DBAN.

 

[theshadow1234]

i would be interested in in the 3Tb hdds for the right price.

Thanks but I am going to sell the whole system for one price. What i'll do is backup my stuff then do a manual delete and destroy the Zpool. Then i'll run the Dban DODshort for every 3TB drive. It will take a while but i'm not in a hurry.

I think this should be good enough unless anyone else thinks its not . The only thing I am worried about is power going off when DBAN is running. DO I have to run DBAN all over again for that drive it was running on?

THanks.

 

[BigDave]

DO I have to run DBAN all over again for that drive it was running on?

It sounds as though you are pretty serious about security, so yes, I'd run it again...

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

DO I have to run DBAN all over again for that drive it was running on?

I would say it depends. DBAN works by writing random data 0 or more times across the entire drive, followed by writing zeros to the entire drive, followed by a read verification pass. You might be willing to let it go if it has already completed at least one write pass. It would require a highly sophisticated operation to recover any data after one pass of writing zeros, never mind random data.

 

[Darren Myers]

Thanks but I am going to sell the whole system for one price. What i'll do is backup my stuff then do a manual delete and destroy the Zpool. Then i'll run the Dban DODshort for every 3TB drive. It will take a while but i'm not in a hurry.

I think this should be good enough unless anyone else thinks its not . The only thing I am worried about is power going off when DBAN is running. DO I have to run DBAN all over again for that drive it was running on?

THanks.

ah no problem man, if it falls through i still want the drives :P