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Re: ML330 with P410

 
rob-meh
Advisor

ML330 with P410

I have just taken ownership of a server and have some concerns with the setup.

 

It is a Ml330 with P410 Smart array. Currently ACU is telling me that there is a Raid 0 250GB drive, 1 x 250GB unassigned & 2 failed drives.

 

So now I am a little worried that the server will fall over abd everything will be lost.

 

What options do I have to migrate this on to a RAID 1 or 5?

 

My first though was to stick 3x 1TB drives in and RAID 5 them. Then use ACU to migrate the DATA on to this new raid but after a bit of research I would need the external battery & write cache to be able to A) Have RAID 5 & B) Do the RAId migration anyhow.   Is that correct?

 

What other options are open to me at this stage without re-building the server? Could I stick two 1TB drives in, RAID 1 them & use acronis backup and recovery 10 to make a system image and restore it to the RAID? Would this work / boot the OS correctly?

 

I am open to suggestion and wondering if anyone else has come across a similar senario? / How they delt with it?

 

On another note it wont let me use the unassigned drive? Do I have to remove the dead drives first before ACU will let me use it?

 

Rob

10 REPLIES 10
Mark Matthews
Respected Contributor

Re: ML330 with P410

Going off your screenshot, I'd say Array B is a total loss given that with 2 drives it could only have been Raid 0 or 1 so I'd delete that in ACU.

 

The disk in Bay 4 isnt being recognised properly as it shows as 0MB so you may as well get rid of that one.


This should leave you with 2 unassigned drives (bays 2 and 3)

I'd get hold of the BBWC as you say and add the 2 unassigned drives to the Raid 0 that you already have, then migrate it to a RAID 5 for a bit of fault tolerance.


Thanks

Mark...


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rob-meh
Advisor

Re: ML330 with P410

Thanks That sounds a little easier than I had in my head!

 

BBWC - Is that all I need to enable the RAID migration and to enable the P410 to move on to a RAID 5 system?

 

I wont buy it from Ebay. It was just easier to show you the part I think im looking for.

 

 

That sounds like the best solution if It works like you said!

 

Thanks.

Mark Matthews
Respected Contributor

Re: ML330 with P410

Yep, thats it.

The P410 will do RAID 5 without that, but you'll need it for the RAID Migration from 0 to 5.
It also gives you better performance too so its worth having...



 


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rob-meh
Advisor

Re: ML330 with P410

Ah ok, I agree its worth having just cost and convincing them its the right decision!. 

 

Would I need the BBWC to convet the RAId 0 to a RAID 1? If I deleted the two dead drives and used the unassigned one?

 

Does the process change as im  moving up to 1Tb drives?. If removed the 3 drives not being used and replaced them with 1TB ones and RAID 5 them, Once I have converted the RAID 0 to the RAID 5 could I remove that 250GB drive out of the server?

 

Sorry to ask so many questions first time I have come across a senario like this. I like do all my RAID setups before installing the OS.

 

Rob

 

 

Mark Matthews
Respected Contributor

Re: ML330 with P410

Yes, all RAID migrations depend on having the BBWC.

 

You cannot convert one logical drive to another (ie your RAID 0 to a new RAID 5 made up of the new 1TB disks)
Raid migration is the process of converting an existing logical drive to an different RAID level. (ie your RAID 0 to RAID 1 or 5 depending on how many disks you add to it)

 

I'd add more disks to your working RAID 0 logical drive then, migrate it to RAID 1 or 5.

Once everything has rebuilt and settled down, you can replace the 250GB disks one at a time with a 1TB one, letting it rebuild each time.
Once all 1TB disks are in, you can expand the logical drive into the new space.

 

(NOTE: You wont be able to extend the size of a Windows C: drive without using third party partitioning tools, even then its a bit risky)

 

Thanks

Mark...

 


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rob-meh
Advisor

Re: ML330 with P410

I have done the work. and everything appears to have gone smoothly apart from one thing. 

 

I put two new 3tb drivres in to the array with an aim of putting them in a mirror 1 configuration for extra storage. But I get this error message from ACU?

 

"Physical Drive State: This drive is not supported for configuration by this version of controller firmware."

 

Its just a 3TB Sata drive as nothing important will be stored on it.

 

Will a firmware update on the P410 fix this issue? or is it the drives that are wrong?

 

If it is a fix can someone point me to the correct one.

 

Rob

Mark Matthews
Respected Contributor

Re: ML330 with P410

Great, I'm glad that most of it has gone smoothly...

Looks like you need firmware revision 5.06 or later on the P410.
See the following article...

 

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c02910174&lang=en&cc=us&taskId=101&prodSeriesId=3902574&prodTypeId=329290

 

You can check the version in ACU or when the P410 is initialising at POST.


Thanks

Mark...


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rob-meh
Advisor

Re: ML330 with P410

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

Ill install it and restart the server.
 Is there any likely hood this will breat the controller and not boot to the OS?

I added the second disk to the raid 0 I want to expant to a Raid 1. Thinking it would be a quick job and I could start the migration late tonight.. But then the main disk started 'transforming'  which I didnt expect..

 

So I will have to wait for this to finish before I restart the server and hope It still lets me migrate it to a RAID 1.

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Rob

rob-meh
Advisor

Re: ML330 with P410

The transforming is taking longer than I wanted it to.

 

Can I update the firmware and restart the server while the transforming is on 10%? or do I need to wait for this to finish before I can do the update?

 

I wanted to be onsite while the server restarted but I fear it would be too late if I wait for the transforming to finish.

 

Rob