I’m thinking about getting one for several purposes, primarily for portable software, some certificates and keys, and a few backups. Since it won’t be powered off for more than a few days or weeks and won’t experience heavy writing (although I plan to use Veracrypt and that may cause some stress)
How long can I expect it to last? Obviously there will be backups, but I also don’t want to lose anything on it as much as possible.
Can be years, but it’s as much luck and storage conditions as anything else. Luck being that batch of components not having one tiny error, or the box not being dropped by a guy loading the truck.
Get 2 backups from 2 different high end companies. Store them somewhere cool and dark with little to no moisture, in a static bag. So a ziploc with a silica gel packet in a safe in a basement. Or even in a fake soda can in the back of your fridge.