Failed drive in E200 RAID 1 array

[dannyboyy75]

Hi all

We have an ML350 server with E200i RAID controller. This has 3 hard disks, with 2 in RAID 1 configuration and the other as a spare.

Over the weekend one of the active drives failed so yesterday, using ACU, I configured the spare drive to be used instead (or at least I thought I did). Its status then changed to 'Active Spare', and its icon is a little green disk with '+' symbols emanating from it (see attached screenshot).

I've checked ACU this morning and the status for this drive is still 'Active spare' with the little green disk icon, rather than the normal mauve icon.

Is there something else I need to do in order for the data to be mirrored to the spare drive? Or would it be easier to physically remove the failed drive and put the spare in its place?

thanks

[gregersenj]

The spare drive is a spare drive, and wil allways be the spare. It will nerver be a part of an Array.

When the spare is active, it mean that it has become active. You will se flashing LED's on the spare when its active.

When the spare is inactive, all LED's will be off, the drive is powered down.

You can use a local spare or a global spare. The local spare is spare for one Array only. The global spare is spare for multible Arrays.

When you got a spare drive configured, it will be powed off, while not in use.

Once a drive i the Array(s) fail, the Smart Array controller will power on the drive, and reconstruct the Array to the spare drive, automatically.

What you have to do, is to replace the failed drive. When the Smart Array controller, detect a good drive, in the bay/ID of the failed drive, it will automatically, copy the data from the spare drive back to the new disk. And the spare will become idle/powered down again.

So all you need to do is to replaced the failed drive.

Here's som good documentation:

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/servers/technology/whitepapers/proliant-servers.html

BR

/jag

[dannyboyy75]

Thanks so much for the reply. I'm going to do this in the next hour or so, when most of our users are heading home.

I inherited this server from someone else, so am not sure of its exact specifications, in particular whether the disks are hot-swappable. However, I would guess that as each drive bay has a red button which pops out the release lever for that drive then it must be a hot-swap chassis?

[gregersenj]

Hi Danny

Ypu're most welcome.

yes, just push the red button, and the lever will pop out.

wait 30 secondst before, you insert the replacement drive. And should the failure LED tun amber on the replacement drive

wait 5 minutes. If thenstill  doesn't turn green. post an ADU report.

FYI: Any part on a ProLiant with a red, actually bugundy/wine red is hot swap. 

And the non-hotswap drives is not visible from the outside, then you must power down and remove covers.

BR

/jag

[dannyboyy75]

Hi Jag

I just removed the dead drive from bay 4, then swapped the spare from bay 5 to 4, and it all looks fine. The new drive's status now shows as 'rebuilding' :)

I just have one minor issue left - the spare drive that I moved from bay 5 to bay 4 still shows as a 'bad or missing' drive for bay 5 (see screenshot). I can't figure out how to delete it from here - have tried using the 'Manage spare drives' wizard but this didn't seem to do anything.

thanks again

[dannyboyy75]

I figured out how to remove the 'bad or missing' drive entry for bay 5. Once the array had finished rebuilding overnight, I was able to simply remove this entry in ACU, by going to 'manage spare drives'. 

[gregersenj]

Greate :)

BR

/jag