[rescue] Re: Small RAID array setup

[Espen Randen]

On Mon, Jun 30, 2003 at 04:41:08PM -0400, Rip Loomis wrote:
> So given the *BSD, Linux, and Solaris software RAID implementations
> out there, has anyone had any luck with recovering such a system
> after failure of the boot device (IOW, having to reconfigure software
> RAID on the same/a different system and trying to recover data that
> was in the software RAID array)?  I'm curious to know... 

I've done this with Vinum(1) on FreeBSD 4.7. Worked like a charm.

Vinum stores it's config file under /etc/vinum.comf, but it also writes
the array configuration to the disks in the array(s) you create.

I have a single drive where the OS is installed, and a 6-disk array
where I have home dirs, FTP area and such.
One time, I fsck'ed a config file so bad that FreeBSD refused to boot.
I simply installed a fresh copy of FreeBSD on the systemdrive, compiled
a new kernel and world, started vinum and told it to read it's config
from the drives in the RAID-array. Then i dumped the config to /etc/vinum.conf
and all was well again.

I also tested this on a SUN V120 with two disks in a RAID-1 array with
Solstice Disksuite(2) running Solaris 8.

I shut the system down, pulled one of the disks out and booted the system.
When the system came up it dumped me in to single-user mode and it
basically told me that one of the drives in the RAID-1 array had failed (duh)
and would I please fix this before it booted into full usermode.
I then removed the failed drive from the array config and rebooted the system.
Solaris came up without a hitch.
Then i halted the system again, plugged in the second drive again, booted
the system up and added the second drive to the array again.

I haven't tried this method with two different systems, but from what I have
read about DiskSuite it should work with RAID-1 arrays. Don't know about RAID-5
though...

PS: Does anyone have, or know anyone, with experience with the EasyRaid arrays?
A SUN A1000 or T3 is just way to expensive for me now, and the EasyRaid gives
me cheap storage due to using IDE drives, but presenting them as a big SCSI drive.

1, http://www.vinumvm.org/
2, http://www.sunhelpdesk.com/users/john/002.htm
-- 
Espen