topic Disk access from B110i SATA RAID Controller in ProLiant Servers (ML,DL,SL)

Disk access from B110i SATA RAID Controller

Karsten Stolten — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 07:51:35 GMT

Hi!

I have an issue that need help with.

I have an HP Proliant DL180 G6 server with Windows Server 2003 istalled on 1 disk. SATA RAID functioanlity is disabled at the moment. So there is no RAIDing involved. I also have a second disk that stores data files.

Now I want to install a new OS (Windows Server 2008 R2 x64) on two new 1TB disks that i have mirrored (RAID 0+1). I also want the two old disks to be mounted into the new OS so that I can copy data from them.

However my problem is, that when I enabled the RAID functionality, the two "standalone" disks cannot be mounted within the new OS.

So my question is - why cant I see the old disks in the new OS? Shouldn't it be possible when the old disks are not RAIDed?

Kind regards
K Stolten

Re: Disk access from B110i SATA RAID Controller

SMR — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 03:27:03 GMT

My blind answer having no experience on the Windows side of this issue is that the OS is now loading the RAID driver for the controller, thus the controller (now RAID enabled) only presents Logical volumes to the OS, your old drives do not belong to any logical volume and so they're insivible to the OS (pretty much like unassigned drives on higher grade Smart Array controllers)

Those are my thoughts on the matter :)

Re: Disk access from B110i SATA RAID Controller

gregersenj — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:43:00 GMT

The RAID "controller" is not data compatible with the SATA "Controller"

You will find the same issue, on the first generation of the DL/ML 300 and 500 series.

They had embbeded dual channel SCSI controllers. And a socket for ROC (RAID On a Chip).
Without ROC, it was a standt SCSI Controller.
If you installed the ROC, It was a smart array controller. The Smart Array Controller is not data compatible, with any other disk controller.

There's no easy way out.

BR
/jag

Re: Disk access from B110i SATA RAID Controller

Karsten Stolten — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:55:45 GMT

Hi there!

Thank's alot for your input on this matter!

SMR ->
The disks that I'm trying to access (with the old data) was/is not an array. They are single volume disks - as plain as they come. So I guess they should really be driver independent.

gregersenj ->
Wasn't the answer I was hoping for - thus somehow expected it.
So I couldn't eaven take the disks and mount them in - say an SATA External HDD cabinet and the access the data that way?

BR
Karsten

Re: Disk access from B110i SATA RAID Controller

gregersenj — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:47:43 GMT

I will guess, you can put the old disk's on any standard SATA controller. And get access to the old data.

BR
/jag

Re: Disk access from B110i SATA RAID Controller

SMR — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:28:12 GMT

Like gregersenj mentioned, you would have to put them (old disks) on a standard SATA controller, I guess what I meant was your controller is not a standard SATA controller anymore ever since you enabled RAID on it.

Re: Disk access from B110i SATA RAID Controller

Karsten Stolten — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:01:52 GMT

Hi guys!

Thank's again for your feedback!

I will try to get access to the data through another controller!

BR
Karsten

Re: Disk access from B110i SATA RAID Controller

gregersenj — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 08:01:30 GMT

You're Welcome.

Good luck :)

BR
/jag