I have a similar-sized array which I also only power on nightly to receive backups, or occasionally when I need access to it for a week or two at a time.
It's a whitebox RAID6 running NTFS (tried ReFS, didn't like it), and has been around for 12+ years, although I've upgraded the drives a couple times (2TB --> 4TB --> 16TB) - the older Areca RAID controllers make it super simple to do this. Tools like Hard Disk Sentinel are awesome as well, to help catch drives before they fail.
I have an additional, smaller array that runs 24x7, which has been through similar upgrade cycles, plus a handful of clients with whitebox storage arrays that have lasted over a decade. Usually the client ones are more abused (poor temperature control when they delay fixing their serveroom A/C for months but keep cramming in new heat-generating equipment, UPS batteries not replaced diligently after staff turnover, etc...).
Do I notice a difference in drive lifespan between the ones that are mostly-off vs. the ones that are always-on? Hard to say. It's too small a sample size and possibly too much variance in 'abuse' between them. But definitely seen a failure rate differential between the ones that have been maintained and kept cool, vs. allowed to get hotter than is healthy.
I can attest those 4TB HGST drives mentioned in the article were tanks. Anecdotally, they're the most reliable ones I've ever owned. And I have a more reasonable sample size there as I was buying dozens at a time for various clients back in the day.
It's a whitebox RAID6 running NTFS (tried ReFS, didn't like it), and has been around for 12+ years, although I've upgraded the drives a couple times (2TB --> 4TB --> 16TB) - the older Areca RAID controllers make it super simple to do this. Tools like Hard Disk Sentinel are awesome as well, to help catch drives before they fail.
I have an additional, smaller array that runs 24x7, which has been through similar upgrade cycles, plus a handful of clients with whitebox storage arrays that have lasted over a decade. Usually the client ones are more abused (poor temperature control when they delay fixing their serveroom A/C for months but keep cramming in new heat-generating equipment, UPS batteries not replaced diligently after staff turnover, etc...).
Do I notice a difference in drive lifespan between the ones that are mostly-off vs. the ones that are always-on? Hard to say. It's too small a sample size and possibly too much variance in 'abuse' between them. But definitely seen a failure rate differential between the ones that have been maintained and kept cool, vs. allowed to get hotter than is healthy.
I can attest those 4TB HGST drives mentioned in the article were tanks. Anecdotally, they're the most reliable ones I've ever owned. And I have a more reasonable sample size there as I was buying dozens at a time for various clients back in the day.