RE: How to erase all data on disks

> I have a Compaq Proliant ML370 server running Red Hat Linux release
> 7.1. The server has two local disks each 18GB and mirrored as RAID 1.
> 
> How do I erase all the data on each disk?

As a theoretical matter, it's pretty hard, particularly against really
well funded adversaries such as the NSA, who might have scanning
electron microscopes and be able to read remnant magnetism.  As a
practical matter, it's sufficient to:

A. Boot a rescue disk
B. Run "dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda & dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdb"

This is the essence of what the dban suggestion was.  It won't take
care of stuff like data in sectors that were remapped as bad, but it
will be good enough for compliance with most regulations such as
HIPAA or FERPA or whatever.

-- Jim Leinweber
State Laboratory of Hygiene, University of Wisconsin - Madison
<jiml-qDHGe9P1N6L2fBVCVOL8/[email protected]> 2810 Walton Commons West; phone +1 608 221 6281
PGP fp: 2E36 47BC DB03 57CE 86AD  19CC 41A1 9179   5C6B C8B9

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