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mean-time-to-data-loss · research · also MTTDL

Mean time to data loss (MTTDL)

Mean time to data loss (MTTDL) is the expected time until a storage system first loses data that cannot be retrieved or reconstructed.

Related Observatory article: Mean time to data loss (MTTDL) on hesela.com

MTTDL integrates the no-loss survival probability over an unbounded horizon; it is not a finite-mission loss probability or a measure of loss size. [1]

Relations

related
normalized-magnitude-data-loss, failure-domain, erasure-coding, mtbf

Citations

  1. Mean time to meaningless: MTTDL, Markov models, and storage system reliability, Greenan, Plank, and Wylie, USENIX HotStorage 2010 (USENIX PDF, independent academic source) (accessed 2026-10-15)
  2. Eleven nines: what a durability model does not prove (accessed 2026-10-15)

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