Keep Disk & SMART Data History: A Hub Feature

Have you ever noticed how your Beszel agent-connected devices, especially those that aren't always online, seem to lose their valuable data in the hub after a short while? It's a common frustration for users like myself who have devices like gaming PCs or Steam Decks that only connect sporadically. While they're online, we can see all the great stats, but once they drop off, poof! All that useful information vanishes. This is precisely why the feature to retain "last known" history for disks and S.M.A.R.T data is so crucial. Imagine wanting to check on your gaming PC's health, only to find that its disk usage and S.M.A.R.T. attributes have disappeared just hours after it was last online. It defeats the purpose of having a monitoring tool when the historical context is lost so quickly. The motivation here is simple: to provide a persistent, albeit historical, view of our hardware's status, even when devices are offline.

The Need for Last Known Disk and SMART Data

The inclusion of S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) data in the stats provided by Beszel is a fantastic step forward. S.M.A.R.T. data offers invaluable insights into the health and potential failure of your hard drives and SSDs. It can warn you about impending issues long before they cause catastrophic data loss. However, its utility is significantly hampered if this data is only available while the device is actively online. For users with infrequently connected machines, this means missing critical warnings. Retaining the "last known" state of drives, including their S.M.A.R.T. attributes, would allow us to build a historical baseline. This baseline is essential for understanding trends and identifying potential problems that might develop over time. For instance, a slight increase in reallocated sector count might not be an immediate cause for alarm, but seeing this trend over several offline periods could be a strong indicator of a failing drive. Similarly, knowing the last known disk usage is incredibly useful. Did your gaming PC's primary drive suddenly fill up before it went offline? Having that last recorded usage figure would immediately point to a potential issue, such as an unexpected game update or a runaway log file. Without this historical data, diagnosing such issues becomes a guessing game, relying on memory or having to manually check each drive the moment the machine reconnects.

Implementing Last Known History for Disks and SMART Data

The implementation of this feature can be elegantly simple, focusing on providing the most critical historical information without overcomplicating the interface. Primarily, the S.M.A.R.T. statistics should be displayed on the individual machine's page. This display should not just show current data but also the last recorded values for key S.M.A.R.T. attributes. Alongside these S.M.A.R.T. details, a simple table showing the last known disk usage figures for all mounted drives would be immensely beneficial. This table could include columns for the drive letter/mount point, total capacity, used space, free space, and the percentage of disk used at the last connection. For users like myself, this basic information is sufficient and highly valuable. However, it's also worth considering that there might be a broader demand for historical tracking of other metrics. If the system architecture allows, perhaps a future iteration could include a historical graph for disk usage, similar to how other metrics might be tracked. The key is to prioritize the "last known" disk and S.M.A.R.T. data as the core feature. A visual example like the one provided by Scrutiny, which clearly shows historic data for a drive, illustrates the desired functionality effectively. It allows users to see not just the current state but also how that state has evolved, even across intermittent online periods. This persistent record empowers users to make informed decisions about their hardware, plan for maintenance, and prevent potential data loss or downtime.

Benefits of Retained Disk and SMART Data

Implementing the feature to retain "last known" history for disks and S.M.A.R.T. data offers a multitude of benefits, especially for users with intermittently connected devices. Firstly, it significantly enhances proactive hardware monitoring. Instead of only seeing a snapshot of your disk health when a device is online, you get a continuous, albeit historical, record. This allows for the early detection of potential drive failures. S.M.A.R.T. attributes like reallocated sector count, pending sector count, and ultramap error rate can show subtle, gradual degradation. By tracking the last known values, even if a device is offline for days or weeks, you can still observe these concerning trends. A sudden jump in any of these values between offline periods is a serious warning sign that requires immediate attention upon the device's next connection. Secondly, it aids immensely in storage management. Knowing the last recorded disk usage for your drives helps in identifying unexpected storage consumption. For instance, if your Steam Deck's last known usage was 80% full, and upon reconnection, it's still 80% full but you know you installed a new large game, it might indicate an issue with the installation process or a corrupted download. Conversely, if the usage has jumped significantly without any apparent reason, it prompts an investigation into what might be consuming the space. This historical context is invaluable for both personal and professional use cases where disk space is a critical resource. Thirdly, it provides peace of mind. For many, especially those with valuable data stored on their machines, the anxiety of potential hardware failure is ever-present. Having a record of the last known state of their disks, including health indicators, reduces this anxiety. It provides a sense of control and allows for informed decision-making, such as backing up critical data or planning for a drive replacement before a failure occurs. The ability to see this historical data, even for offline devices, transforms the Beszel hub from a real-time dashboard into a more comprehensive management tool. It ensures that users aren't caught off guard by hardware issues that may have been developing while their machines were out of reach. This continuity of information is key to truly effective system monitoring and maintenance, especially in diverse and dynamic computing environments.

Comparison with Existing Solutions

When considering the feature of retaining "last known" history for disks and S.M.A.R.T. data, it's helpful to look at how other tools handle this crucial aspect of hardware monitoring. The example provided, Scrutiny, excels in this area by offering a clear and intuitive way to view historical data for drives. Its interface demonstrates the value of seeing not just current metrics but also their progression over time. Many professional-grade monitoring solutions and even some consumer-level NAS devices or server management tools include robust historical logging for disk health and performance. These systems understand that real-time data alone is insufficient for comprehensive diagnostics and long-term maintenance planning. They typically store historical readings, allowing users to graph trends, identify anomalies, and receive alerts based on deviations from established baselines. For instance, a system might flag a drive if its S.M.A.R.T. error rate has increased by a certain percentage over the last week, even if the current error rate is still within acceptable real-time limits. Similarly, disk usage history is often graphed, showing peaks and troughs that can highlight performance bottlenecks or identify applications that consume excessive storage over time. While Beszel's current focus might be on real-time data, incorporating a "last known" history feature would bring it closer to the functionality offered by these more established solutions, albeit potentially in a simpler, more targeted way. The key difference often lies in the scope and depth of the historical data stored and presented. Dedicated hardware monitoring tools might store minute-by-minute or hour-by-hour data for extended periods, whereas a "last known" approach offers a more condensed view, capturing the state at the point of disconnection. This latter approach is perfectly suited for systems that are not always online, as it avoids the need for constant data transmission and storage, yet still provides invaluable diagnostic and management context. By implementing this feature, Beszel can bridge the gap and offer a more complete picture of hardware status, making it a more powerful tool for all its users, regardless of their device's online availability.

Conclusion

The ability to retain "last known" history for disks and S.M.A.R.T. data is not just a nice-to-have feature; it's a fundamental requirement for effective hardware monitoring, especially in environments where devices are not perpetually online. The current behavior of the Beszel hub, where data disappears after a few hours of disconnection, leaves a significant gap in our ability to proactively manage and diagnose our hardware. By implementing this feature, Beszel can empower its users with the historical context needed to identify potential drive failures early, manage storage efficiently, and gain peace of mind regarding their system's health. The proposed implementation, focusing on displaying last known S.M.A.R.T. attributes and disk usage figures on the machine page, is both practical and highly beneficial. It draws inspiration from successful implementations in tools like Scrutiny, proving the value of historical data. This enhancement would transform the Beszel hub into a more robust and indispensable tool for maintaining the integrity and performance of our diverse computing setups. For further insights into hard drive health and S.M.A.R.T. technology, you can explore resources on TechTarget or consult the documentation provided by your drive manufacturer.