Prefail
Prefail monitors S.M.A.R.T. disk health across server fleets and sends warnings with recommended actions.
What Prefail is
Prefail monitors S.M.A.R.T. disk health across server fleets and sends warnings with recommended actions. Its SENTINEL score combines 25+ S.M.A.R.T. attributes into a 0–100 risk score for each disk. Score history includes seven-day changes and marks signals as stable or rising. Alerts show severity and an explanation, and can be acknowledged, muted, or dismissed in batches. Prefail supports MegaRAID 9260/9361/9460, Adaptec SmartRAID, and Linux mdadm, including health information for disks behind controllers. It offers Telegram alerts, a Telegram Mini App dashboard, email alerts, and a Monday PDF fleet report covering degraded disks and changes. The Linux agent runs smartctl and sends its output with curl; Prefail says it collects only S.M.A.R.T. data. The service cautions that S.M.A.R.T. monitoring may not warn of sudden damage and does not replace backups.
Good
- Scores each disk using 25+ S.M.A.R.T. attributes.
- Tracks seven-day score changes and signal direction.
- Alerts include severity, explanations, and recommended actions.
- Supports listed RAID controllers and Linux mdadm.
- Free plan covers up to two servers.
Watch out
- Supports Linux, not other listed operating systems.
- S.M.A.R.T. may miss sudden failures.
- Free plan limits monitoring to two servers.
Who it suits
Prefail suits teams monitoring disk health across Linux server fleets, including systems using its listed RAID controllers. Its free plan covers up to two servers; larger plans support more.
Verdict
Prefail provides fleet-oriented disk warnings, risk scores, and reporting, with several notification options. Its stated limits matter: it cannot cover every sudden failure and is not a substitute for backups.
Plans and prices
From Prefail's own pricing page, checked 8 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| FREE | Free | Up to 2 servers · PULSE 30–60 min · 7-day score history · Email alerts (1 recipient) · forever |
| PRO | $9 a month | Up to 20 servers per account · PULSE 5–30 min · 90-day score history · Email alerts (3 recipients) · Weekly PDF digest |
| BUSINESS | $39 a month | Up to 75 servers per account · PULSE 5–30 min · 180-day score history · Email alerts (5 recipients) · Weekly PDF digest |
| SCALE | $149 a month | Up to 250 servers per account · PULSE 1–30 min · 365-day score history · Unlimited email recipients · Priority support |
| ENTERPRISE | Priced on request | Unlimited servers · PULSE 1 min · Unlimited score history · Unlimited email recipients · Priority support · SLA / SSO / audit log |
The facts
Each one read from Prefail's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Alerts
- Alerts include severity, a human-readable explanation, and an actionable recommendation, with options to acknowledge, mute, or batch dismiss.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Data collection
- The agent collects only S.M.A.R.T. data and does not access files, scan the network, or list processes.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Data handling
- The site says data is stored on a dedicated server in Europe and offers GDPR-ready data export and deletion.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- The Linux agent is an approximately 250-line Bash script that runs smartctl and sends its output with curl.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The product provides Telegram alerts and a Telegram Mini App dashboard, with email alerts as a fallback.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- Prefail describes itself as a specialist tool for monitoring disk health across server fleets.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Limits
- Prefail warns that S.M.A.R.T. detects gradual degradation, not sudden failures such as power surges, controller burnout, or electrical damage, and says it is not a substitute for backups.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Prefail monitors disk S.M.A.R.T. health and sends alerts about disk problems and recommended actions.checked 8 Oct 2026
- RAID support
- It supports MegaRAID 9260/9361/9460, Adaptec SmartRAID, and Linux mdadm, including individual disk health behind controllers.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Reports
- Prefail sends a PDF fleet report every Monday describing degraded disks, changes, and what to replace.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Scoring
- Its SENTINEL scoring weighs 25+ S.M.A.R.T. attributes and gives each disk a 0–100 risk score.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Transport security
- Prefail says data is sent over TLS using a per-server API token bound to machine_id, with independent authentication for each server.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Trend analysis
- Prefail shows score history with 7-day deltas and classifies signals as stable or rising.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Upcoming features
- The site lists maintenance windows, REST API, webhooks, and team access as coming in Q2–Q3 2026 for Business tier and above.checked 8 Oct 2026
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