topic format HP-UX disk in Operating System - HP-UX

format HP-UX disk

SUBRAMANYAM ANUPINDI_1 — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:56:25 GMT

Hi,

We are decommissioning our prod boxes which have HP-UX 11i Ver1 O/S on it. We want to format disks to clean up data.

a) We want to cleanup data so that data can't be recovered with any method

b) We want to use these disks again for some other purpose.

I read about "mediainit" and assume that will work for both a) and b)

1)If "mediainit" works can some one give me detail steps on how this can be done.

2)If "mediainit" is not the option than what is the other methods to do this.

Thanks

Re: format HP-UX disk

Torsten. — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:36:05 GMT

>> a) We want to cleanup data so that data can't be recovered with any method

Any method?

Shredder them.

Re: format HP-UX disk

Matti_Kurkela — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:51:19 GMT

If the data on the disks is worth more than the price of new disks, the most reliable method is to actually physically destroy the disks.

But if the disks need to be reusable, overwriting the data (possibly multiple times) is the best you can do.

For any disks manufactured in this century, "mediainit" is not recommended:

http://viktorbalogh.net/blog/hp-ux/hp-ux_sysadm/some-thoughts-about-mediainit-low-level-formatting-and-why-it-mustnt-be-done

Michael Roberts' answer in this old thread includes instructions for building a custom Ignite boot media (=a bootable tape) that will completely overwrite all disks attached to a HP-UX system with zero bytes:

http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/General/Best-way-to-DOD-wipe-drives-with-sensitive-data/m-p/4926568#M159101

Re: format HP-UX disk

Mel Burslan — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:40:13 GMT

Please keep in mind that, short of taking a sledge hammer and a power drill to physically destroy the storage platters of a disk drive, you DO NOT have a 100% proof way of wiping out your data. With the sufficiently high tech devices and methods, your data can be dug up from wipe-out by any kind of software method.

Having said that, running your disk thruough this command, several times in succession, should give you a peace of mind :

dd if=/dev/urandom of=dev/rdsk/cXtXdX bs=8192k

Hope this helps.

Re: format HP-UX disk

SUBRAMANYAM ANUPINDI_1 — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:54:09 GMT

Thanks all for reply. I can compromise data for re-use. These disks will be used within our company and data security shouldn't be that serious.

So, can i run dd command on non O/S disk while system is UP and finally run on O/S disks. Our O/S disks are software mirrored on two disks. How we can do this for O/S disks

Re: format HP-UX disk

Pete Randall — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:58:05 GMT

> How we can do this for O/S disks

Same way as for the other disks. The only difference is that the dd will eventually fail when it overwrites enough of the OS and the machine fails.

Pete

Re: format HP-UX disk

Mel Burslan — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:01:46 GMT

or, you wipe out the non-os disks first. Build your new OS on the newly wiped disks. Once the system is bac alive, wipe out the old OS disks using the same method.

Hope this helps

Re: format HP-UX disk

TwoProc — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:05:03 GMT

Just be aware that for SSD's this is an altogether different question, in which it is extremely impractical to think you can wipe out a disk, as you can never "see" all of the flash memory to wipe it out, you can only "see" what's presented *as a disk*.

Re: format HP-UX disk

donna hofmeister — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:44:12 GMT

You may wish to consider WipeDisk/ux from Allegro Consultants (www.allegro.com). The product can be rented if you don't have an on-going need for the product.

Re: format HP-UX disk

Michael Leu — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 12:53:18 GMT

This is what I do to clean the boot disks:
1) boot Ignite 11.31 from network
2) select [ Run an Expert Recovery Shell ]
3) tftp the files 'libpthread.so.1' and 'mediainit' from another system
4) chmod u+x mediainit
5) mv libpthread.so.1 /usr/lib/hpux32/
6) mediainit -S

Re: format HP-UX disk

Ismail Azad — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 22:24:43 GMT

Hi,

One way to toast the drive...Adding to the shredder comment by Torsten... Well 'popular mechanics' have described the "shredding" and how to go about it. It was amusing reading this...

"We still suggest a software shredder first, but if your personal data security justifies the extra effort, put on protective eyewear and gloves, then break out the power tools. Drilling four holes through the platters will ensure that they never spin properly again. Better yet, unscrew and remove the top lid of the drive, and go at the platters with a sander or angle grinder. Scuff the surface of the platters until all the shine is gone."

So now you need to buy some tools and protective wear...:)...As Mel mentioned this will not be enough....

Regards
Ismail Azad