HP Proliant 350 with Smart Array 642 problem

[Ries Spruit_1]

Hi Jon,

First of all, thanks for your support.

From your remarks I understand that doing this via an image almost is not an option.
I'll keep at it a bit more though, cause the installation I'm migrating is a fully used SBS 2000 installation, including SQL Server and Interbase DBs. Ghosting would be so much easier than reinstalling..

What I can achieve is getting Windows 2000 to work on the Smart 642 when then the drive is not part of a RAID array. When I promoted the drive to a RAID 0 array via ACU it seemingly only lost the boot config. Perhaps if I promote the drive via the Windows based array config tool the boot config will be taken into account?

What also might be an option is to find an app. which will let me transfer an image under Windows. I could install a temp. Windows OS on an IDE drive, boot from that and then ghost from on-board SCSI to Smart 642 RAID 0. Drivers shouldn't be a problem then.

If I should stop messing about, just say so ;-)

Regards,
Ries

[Jon Ward]

Moving images across dissimilar controllers will always be a messy business.

An alternative is to perform a OS migration. This requires two computers (in your case anyway). Essentially, the source computer would be a computer with the SCSI hard drive. The target computer would have the Smart Array Controller and it's own hard drive. During the migration process, drivers are installed, etc. prior to the transfer of "data" (files, registry, etc.)

The problem with this is of course additional equipment is necessary. Even if you can borrow another computer temporarily, you would need another hard drive.

[Ed Lion]

I have a question related to this issue. I have an ML350 with a Smart Array 642 that I want to duplicate to other identical ML350s. If there's no DOS driver, I can't use Powerquest Deploycenter... how can I go about this?

[Jon Ward]

Try using a package that does not utilize DOS storage drivers, such as the hp Rapid Deployment Pack. Refer to http://h18013.www1.hp.com/products/servers/management/rdp.html for details.

[Ries Spruit_1]

I just thought I'd give you the results of the quest I described a few posts above.

Working title:

Budget migration from dynamic disk to Smart Array 642? No way!

The plan was: Install a temp. OS on a temp. harddrive and use Powerquest DriveImage to transfer the image from a dynamic mirrored diskset to an array on a Smart Array 642.

The problems/showstoppers were:

- ML350 G2 will not boot from an IDE disk.
- DriveImage only runs on Windows 2000/XP Prof, not server
- Dynamic mirrored disksets are not accesible under Windows 2000/XP Prof.*

All this I learned after spending roughly two hot summerdays in a broomcloset with an ML350, wrecking my own little RAID 1 array in the process, because I needed the borrow a SCSI drive...

Options:

- Use a imaging product meant for servers and pay roughly EUR 1200 instead of EUR 35,-
- Do a fresh install of Win 2000 srv on the new Array and drop a full backup on top, as described above**.

I hope somebody (besides me learns from this) because broomclosets and hot summerdays are a bad combination.

I'm still not were I need to be with the ML350 in question. So I'll probably be trying option nr. 2 on the next hot saturday.

Kind regards,
Ries



*: See http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prkb_cnc_klvo.asp

**: See http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q249694&SD=MSKB&