BitRaser® Drive Eraser Cloud Variant
This deployment guide provides simple instructions for wiping multiple hard drives, solid-state drives, NVMe drives, etc., simultaneously in a rack or chassis using the Cloud Variant of BitRaser Drive Eraser software. The Cloud Variant can be deployed using USB or PXE. If you are using the USB solution, you can wipe 100 drives simultaneously; however, with PXE, you can wipe up to 65,000 drives over a network.
Further, you can also wipe multiple drives using the Offline variant of BitRaser Drive Eraser software. This variant does not require any internet connection and supports the erasure of 100 drives simultaneously.
For this KB, we will wipe multiple drives simultaneously connected in a chassis using the Cloud Variant of BitRaser Drive Eraser (USB Solution). (Refer to Image 1)
Image 1: Supermicro Chassis
The following stages help you easily navigate deployment instructions:
Note: Total wiping time will vary per the drive type, storage capacity, and the chosen erasure standard.
Stage 1: Download the BitRaser Drive Eraser ISO File from the BitRaser Cloud Console
- Step 1: Log in to your BitRaser Cloud account using the credentials delivered via email after purchasing BitRaser Drive Eraser software.
-
Step 2: Go to 'Download BitRaser' on the left side and click on 'BitRaser Drive Eraser Variants,' then click on 'Cloud Variant: BitRaser Drive Eraser' to begin the download. (Refer to Image 2)
Image 2: Download BitRaser Drive Eraser ISO from Cloud Console
Stage 2: Create a BitRaser Bootable USB to Wipe Multiple Drives
- Step 1: Visit https://rufus.ie to download Rufus – an open-source application for creating bootable USB flash drives. (You can use any freely available USB creator for Windows)
- Step 2: Install Rufus on your PC and connect a USB drive to the system.
-
Step 3: Launch the Rufus application, navigate to the ‘Device’ section, and select the connected USB drive. Go to ‘Boot Selection’ and select the ‘BitRaser ISO’ file you downloaded. Click ‘START’ and follow the onscreen instructions to create a BitRaser bootable USB. (Refer to Image 3)
Image 3: Create a BitRaser Bootable USB Using Rufus
-
Step 4: Click 'Yes' on the pop-up message box to proceed. (Refer to Image 4)
Image 4: Click Yes to Proceed
- Step 5: Click 'OK' on the final pop-up confirmation message to burn the BitRaser Drive Eraser ISO file on the USB.
Now, your BitRaser Bootable USB is ready to erase multiple drives simultaneously.
Stage 3: Wipe Drives Using BitRaser Drive Eraser Software
- Step 1: Mount all the drives you want to wipe in a storage rack (Chassis).
- Step 2: Connect the storage rack with a monitor, keyboard & mouse.
- Step 3: Plug the bootable USB media into the storage rack and plug in the ‘Ethernet’ cable.
- Step 4: Power ‘ON’ the system and enter the Boot menu by pressing the applicable Function keys for your device. Select the BitRaser bootable USB you created and press the ‘enter’ key. (Refer to Image 5)
Image 5: Select BitRaser Bootable USB, then Press Enter
A screen with BitRaser Boot Menu will appear after the host device boots successfully. The first option, BitRaser, is selected by default; press ‘enter’ to boot the system with BitRaser Drive Eraser software. (Refer to Image 6)
Image 6: BitRaser Drive Eraser Legacy Boot Menu
-
Step 5: You will see the Home screen of BitRaser listing all the drives connected to the host machine. The interface will display the number of licenses left as '0'. (Refer to Image 7)
Image 7: BitRaser Drive Eraser with Multiple Connected Drives
-
Step 6: Connect the host machine to the Internet and log in to BitRaser Cloud to acquire licenses to wipe the rack mount drives and to enable auto-upload of erasure reports to your BitRaser Cloud account.
Click the ‘Settings’ icon on the top right corner and select the ‘Network’ tab in the Settings window.
Connect the application to the Internet over Ethernet:
- Choose Automatic (DHCP). All other fields will be auto-populated, or select Manual and enter the details manually.
- Click ‘Connect’. (Refer to Image 8)
Image 8: Connect the BitRaser Application to the Internet via Ethernet
- Step 7: Next, click the ‘BitRaser Server’ tab in the Settings window. Enter BitRaser cloud URL, user name & password, then click ‘Connect.’ These details were shared in your E-mail post-purchase.
The software will automatically acquire licenses from your BitRaser cloud account. You can see the ‘License Left’ count in the bottom right corner. (Refer to Image 9)
Image 9: Connect the Application to BitRaser Cloud
- Step 8: Select the drives you want to erase, the erasure method to be used, and the verification. Once done, click ‘Erase’, an alert window pops up, and click ‘Yes’ to begin the erasure process. (Refer to Image 10)
-
Image 10: Select the Drives to Wipe, Erasure, and Verification Type, then Click Erase. Click Yes in Alert Windows
You can see the erasure progress on your screen. (Refer to Image 11)
Image 11: Multiple Drive Wiping BitRaser Erasure Progress Screen
After erasure, you can download erasure reports and certificates from your BitRaser Cloud account.
Once the erasure process is finished, you will see a green tick on your screen. (Refer to Image 12)
Image 12: Erasure Completion Screen with Green Tick