Anyone Moved a Raid array.

[K.C.Leblanc]

Hiya,

The onboard RAID controller on one of our servers has died. Since the server is 3 years old we were considering replacing it. The data drives are in a Raid 5 array. How easy would it be to move the drives to a new server? I'm consurned I couldn't get the new server to detect the drivers as already being setup in a RAID.

Anyone done this before?

[Geoff]

If you need to salvage the data in the array, you will need an identical raid controller (preferably the same firmware version too). As the server is so old, your best bet is ebay.

If you don't care about what's on the drive, just shove the new hardware in and setup from scratch. It should all work fine.

[contink]

How easy would it be to move the drives to a new server? I'm consurned I couldn't get the new server to detect the drivers as already being setup in a RAID.

Anyone done this before?

I had this happen when we lost our motherboard thanks to the mother of all zorches.

As Geoff said, ebay is your best bet or look out for possible returned but working versions of the same motherboard. Making sure they are the exact same motherboard helps enormously as the RAID should be the same (was in my case)..

[Butuz]

You cant move an array from one type of raid card to another, but you should be able to if you use the same raid cards in both servers - well I've never seen it done anyway - wouldnt mind being corrected though?

Butuz

[Geoff]

In one of my old jobs the servers were on a 5 year maintenance contract. We had several raid cards go bang. As I explained, as long as you used an identical raid card, the repairs went fine.

[K.C.Leblanc]

Thanks for everyone's input. At the point where I posted we weren't sure if it had died before of after last nights backup.

We've restored the data from tape onto our print server. Hopefully we'll be getting a new server.

[Dos_Box]

Incedentaaly, what RAID controller was it? I may have a spare.

[Oops_my_bad]

Damn, i feel sorry for your print server

[K.C.Leblanc]

Incedentaaly, what RAID controller was it? I may have a spare.

It's on the motherboard, so we're a bit consurned about the future health of the server.

We were a bit panicy when I first posted. It's our Sims server........






........ and OFSTED are in. :cry:

[contink]

Ouch!... Never rains when it pours eh?

Just a thought but one thing I've started doing is using off motherboard RAID cards so that if the worst happens I can always replace the card and not the board or vice versa.

What was the motherboard out of interest?

[Oops_my_bad]

I've recently made this mistake with an IBM server I bought - they always used to be hardware RAID but now apparently the IBM controllers are sort of half motherboard and half software. It's a crock of shyte because now Linux takes over the whole RAID thing rather than letting the controller do it.