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Can I move a mirrored array from a dead DL360 server to another server?

 
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Jim Guerin
New Member

Can I move a mirrored array from a dead DL360 server to another server?

Hello,

Today, one of our older DL360 G4 servers died and the problem seems to be system board related. This server is out of warranty, but the data on the hard drives is very important to us (we have a 1 week old backup but we'd like to recover the changes since if possible).

My question is, can this 2-disk mirrored array be moved to another Proliant server? I tried moving one of the drives to a DL385 but the ACU only detects the drive as "Unused space", it does not seem to recognize any of the array configuration.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
7 REPLIES 7
Rob Leadbeater
Honored Contributor

Re: Can I move a mirrored array from a dead DL360 server to another server?

Hi Jim

As long as both servers are using SmartArray controllers to mirror their disks, then yes you should be able to move the disks...

If I remember correctly, the DL360 G4 uses an onboard 6i controller as standard, so I'd have thought that any version 6 SmartArray (6i, 641, 6400 etc.) should be able read the data off them...

Unless of course the system board problem has trashed the array configuration as well - the 6i is built into the system board...

Cheers,

Rob
Jim Guerin
New Member

Re: Can I move a mirrored array from a dead DL360 server to another server?

Thanks very much for the quick response Rob!

Your answer was somewhat encouraging, but I think what I might be lacking is some documentation about how the migration process should occur (logical steps to follow, potential caveats, etc). Can you point me in the direction of some whitepapers or support articles that address this type of operation?

Thanks again for your help,
Jim
TTr
Honored Contributor

Re: Can I move a mirrored array from a dead DL360 server to another server?

Typically with all RAID controllers the RAID information is kept on each and every drive that is connected to the controller. I had controllers replaced in the past on UNIX servers and the RAID LUNs were found and used by the replaced controller.

How did you try moving one of the drives to the new server? Was it the only disk drive that was plugged in to the new controller/server?

If not and you had new drive(s) plugged in at the same time while you plugged in the drive from the dead server, the new controller probably ignored the drive.
Jim Guerin
New Member

Re: Can I move a mirrored array from a dead DL360 server to another server?

Hi,

The destination server I moved the drive to is a DL385 we have in production that already had a 2-disk mirrored array of its own. The backplane supports six 3.5" drives and four of the bays were not being used.

When I connected the single drive to the destination server, the ACU detected it immediately, but displayed it as an "Unassigned drive". I have not tried the other drive yet from the mirrored set but I was also under the assumption that the RAID configuration info was stored on each drive in the RAID set.

Thanks,
Jim
Rob Leadbeater
Honored Contributor
Solution

Re: Can I move a mirrored array from a dead DL360 server to another server?

Hi,

I would try and put the drives on a controller with no other drives...

Your "dead" mirror will be configured as the first logical drive, which is probably conflicting with the first logical drive on the controller in the DL385.

Cheers,

Rob
Jim Guerin
New Member

Re: Can I move a mirrored array from a dead DL360 server to another server?

Good suggestion! I tried this with partial success. We have another DL360 G4 server with a non-critical application on it, so I removed it's mirrored array and added one of the drives from our dead system to it. This time, the array was detected properly, but when it came time to boot up I received a BSOD immediately after the Windows logo appeared. The code translated to an "Inaccessible boot device". Ugh. I thought for sure that the hardware in this server was identical but apparently that's not the case. It's like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

I am now attempting an installation of Windows on the same drive (but in a new Windows directory) at which time I hope to recover the files/folders. So far it seems to be installing ok. It's worth noting that during the DOS-based portion of Setup it detected the other Windows installation on the drive.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions, it has helped point me in the right direction!
Rob Leadbeater
Honored Contributor

Re: Can I move a mirrored array from a dead DL360 server to another server?

You might be getting the inaccessible boot device if your boot.ini is pointing to the wrong partition...

That can be quite awkward to fix, unless you've got something to boot from to be able to modify the file on the disk.

It sounds like you're making progress though.

Regards,

Rob

P.S. Remember to assign points if people have helped you out.