moving raid5 array from MSA30 to DL380

[Arakattack_1]

I have MSA30 raid 5 with 3x300gb disk, and it is currently attached to Proliant ML310 as second array.

And now i have DL380G4 for replacement, there is raid array installed. I would like to move disk on MSA30 as second array in DL380 and deactivate ML310 with MSA30. What should i do?

OS is RHEL 4.

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom,

Assuming this is a fiber connection the procedure should be as follows:

1) Shut down disk array.
2) Change fiber connection to DL380
3) Perhaps reboot the DL280 to detect the disk.
4) fdisk -l to see the disk is recognized.
5) fdisk to configure disk on the DL380.

If there is imporatant data on the MSA30 back it up before proceeding.

SEP

[Arakattack_1]

Shalom,

Thanks for your response,
As far as i know, array can be moved to another smart array easily, can't it?

So can i just shut down all servers and MSA30, move all disk on MSA30 to DL380? Hopping When I boot New DL380 the array will be there automatically? So the next step u just need to edit /etc/fstab to configure mount point desired.

[chongkan]

RAID informationis stored both on the controller and the HDDs so basically you can:

Upgrade firmware on the 6i controller to latest

Shut down MSA

Mark discs positions and move them in the same order to the DL380 G4

Boot the DL380 G4 and the RAID 5 should be recognized from the HDDs

Verify everything with ACU from Smart Start CD.

If the RAID 5 is not been recognized compatibility between SA-controllers should be checked but I'm sure it will work.

A backup must be done before proceeding.

[Andrew Young_2]

Hi.

You can move the disks from the MSA30 to the Proliant DL380 provided the RAID controllers themselves are compatable. The theory is that you can move from an older model controller to a newer model controller ie from a RAID 5Si to a 6402, but not vice versa.

So the question is what RAID controllers on on the ML310 and DL380 G4?

Regards

Andrew Y

[Arakattack_1]

Thank you,

ML310 uses SA532, and extended to MSA30, my DL380 uses SA6i

Actually my MSA30 has 4 drives, 3 as raid5 and 1 spare. Can i detach spare disk temporary and install it on new DL380 for backup data on array raid 5? and rejoined as spare after i verify all data are integrated and array moved? I don't have anymore disk ;(

[Andrew Young_2]

Hi.

Taking a backup would be a very necessary precaution.

I have spoken to a friend of mine who knows these controllers very well. His recommendation is that before you do anything make sure the firmware on both controllers is fairly recent.

After backing up the data you need to shutdown both servers then move the three disks to the new server (do not move the "spare disk" that now contains the backup. If you are attaching the MSA to the DL380 then remove the backup disk.)

Restart the DL380 with the new disks attached. Note that the controller will probably complain because it will detect two configs, the one for the internal disks on the DL380 and the disks from the old server. You will need to fix this at boot. If you were running Windows the Proliant Support Pack (PSP) would allow you to do this operation online. I'm not sure about the Linux version though which I recommend doing this at power on.

Of course unfortunately my friend also added this disclaimer at the end.... no warantees or guarantees that something won't go wrong. So plan accordingly.

Regards

Andrew Y

[Arakattack_1]

Apparently i must need more disk to operate backup, mustn't I? although i believe smart array will do everything automatically.

As i told you i won't connect MSA30 to DL380, and i also keep 1st array on DL380 as OS and would like to have 2nd array raid5 from MSA30 as 2nd array. because DL380 is just like ML310+MSA30.

[Andrew Young_2]

Hi.

I understand, just wanted to make sure I had it correct.

If you are using LVM make sure you export the volume groups before you shutdown the old server. It will simplify importing them onto the new server.

Regards

Andrew Y

[Arakattack_1]

Dear all,

I just moved array with the following step by step:
1. powerdown ML310
2. powerdown MSA30
3. powerdown DL380
4. unplugged all drives on MSA30 and move them to DL380
5. boot DL380 and F8 to go to ACU, reconfigure array which is automatically detected!!!!
6. reboot DL380 and edit ftab after running #e2label /dev/cciss/c0d1p1 /home

Thank you