RAID1 on SATA

[Daniel Caçador]

Hi!
I have a HP Proliant ML110 G3 with RAID1, I setup in your bios to be a RAID1, but on install Fedora core 5 I don´t know that I do.

Somebody can help me to configure and install this server with Fedora core 5?

Thank!

[Tom Robinson_1 · Accepted solution]

Do you mean that the raid is not recognised by the installer? You may need to load a driver manually at install time. How far does the installer get? What errors do you get?

[Daniel Caçador]

Hi Tom!

The installation detected the disc´s and it offered the possibility to me to create RAID, but my bigger doubt would be: If in the BIOS I already configured for to be a RAID I via hardware, what more I must make in the system? After all the installation presents me 2 records to be prepared. What you me sugest?
Tank´s

[sandeep_raman]

Hello Daniel,

This is what you should read first,

http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/fedora-install-guide-en/fc5/

Follow the normal installation.

Additional information,

http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=1055420
http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=1053402

PS:If you feel the responses were of help,before closing the post.
http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/helptips.do?#33

SRH

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom,

This should be done:

1. boot redhat cd 1
2. enter "linux rescue" at isolinux prompt
3. no networking, mount drives
4. at shell prompt, type "grub"
5. find /grub/stage1
6. root (hd0,0)
7. setup (hd0)
8. root (hd1,0)
9. root (hd1)
10. klingon deathgrip

Item 10 is a reboot.

This will insure mirroring is working correctly.

SEP

[sandeep_raman]

Shalom SEP,

Fresh after the RHCE certification eh? ;-)

SRH

[Daniel Caçador]

In this server have a hardware RAid 0 or 1, if I make the setup in the controler bios for create de RAID1 (mirror), why appears two disks to me?

What I do wrong?

PS. I am stay using the fedora core 5.

Tanks

[Tom Robinson_1]

RAID1 normally presents itself as one disk. In the installer what disks are being presented to you? Please can you provide more information?

[Daniel Caçador]

In installer are present to me two disks, but in BIOS of controler of SATA I setup array with 2 disks to be a raid1. What I can do?

Thanks

[Tom Robinson_1]

Perhaps if you send some more details? What are the disk names you see in the installer? Possible you have more disks on your server? Can you please supply the device names of the disks you see.

[Daniel Caçador]

In the server have only 2 disks, the name is maxtor.....80g (2 equal disks).

[Tom Robinson_1]

Daniel,

In the installer, do you see anything like:

/dev/sda

or like

/dev/hda

or anything that begins with:

/dev

Anything at all similar to the above?

Can you please send all information you gather about devices on your system.

[Daniel Caçador]

Sorry, my english is too bad...

Well, i see sda

Thanks to help-me!

[Daniel Caçador]

Please Tom, what I do now?

Thanks

[Manuel Wolfshant]

Daniel, the situation is at follows:
- Normally, RH/FC will see each of the phisical disks as a separate entity.
- As Tom Robinson has said, after you activate RAID1 from BIOS, the OS should see a single logical disk. In order for this to happen, you need ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE DRIVERS. If you are lucky, you might be able to adapt those from HP that you can download from http://h18000.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/locate/1116_6154.html#7. Unfortunately, at a quick glance there seem to exist binary only drivers, only suitable for very old kernels and which most probably will not be useful in FC.

However, IF the so called hardware RAID would have really been hardware, the additional software drivers would not have been needed. Therefore I strongly suggest to give up using the "BIOS" RAID and use a software linux-created RAID1 instead. It is EXTREMELY simple: just DO NOT activate the RAID in BIOS (leave the SATA ports as regular rather then RAID) then go ahead and create the RAID in anaconda (in disk druid actually) when given the opportunity. YOU WILL NOT GAIN ANYTHING using the pseudo-hardware RAID because in fact IT IS STILL DONE IN SOFTWARE, via the drivers available at the above mentioned URL.

As a sidenote: REAL HARDWARE RAID is EXPENSIVE. It ALWAYS includes a separate controller, either on the motherboard or on a separate card. ALL motherboards which pretend to do RAID but require specific software drivers are actually implementing fake-raid. Here are inlcuded both taiwanese made motherboards (all consumer sub-200$ boards) as well as higher priced (Intel, Dell, HP) ones.

And as a last observation: I have implemented linux software RAID several times without a glitch. As long as http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Software-RAID-HOWTO.html is respected, you will not have any problems. It works just as well (or better, since you have additional options and flexibility) as any fake raid.

[Andrea Rossi]

There is an option in the bios, sata section, sounds like "enable raid capabilities". It is disabled by default.

[Tom Robinson_1]

Daniel,

Take a pen and paper.

Start to install your system.

When you get to partitioning, write down EVERYTHING you see in there.

Type your notes onto the forum.

sda is not enough, I'm sorry. More information please.

[Daniel Caçador]

Tom,
This machine is a HP Proliant ML110 G3
I list to you all steps OK?

In setup:
- Configure to use SATA as [RAID]

In Embedded SATA RAID controller:
- Create ARRAY
ARRAY type: RAID 1 (MIRROR)
ARRAY label: cont
Create RAID via: Quick init

In Fedora core 5 (DVD Install)
- Fedora ask me to initialize my 2 disks
- In next windows Fedora show me the disks for use in the instalation.

SDA 76317 ATA MAXTOR 6L080M0
SDB 76317 ATA MAXTOR 6L080M0



But, this disks are the disks of my RAID!!!

what it is happening?

Thank!

[Tom Robinson_1]

Daniel,

Keep up this kind of post. The information you are now sending is useful.

>In setup:
>- Configure to use SATA as [RAID]

>In Embedded SATA RAID controller:
>- Create ARRAY
>ARRAY type: RAID 1 (MIRROR)
>ARRAY label: cont
>Create RAID via: Quick init

It looks like your array configures correctly in BIOS.

>In Fedora core 5 (DVD Install)
>- Fedora ask me to initialize my 2 disks
>- In next windows Fedora show me the disks >for use in the instalation.

>SDA 76317 ATA MAXTOR 6L080M0
>SDB 76317 ATA MAXTOR 6L080M0

>But, this disks are the disks of my RAID!!!

It appears that you don't have a driver for the hardware raid on your system. You will need to download the driver from the HP website and initiate the install with:

boot: linux dd

at the correct moment the installer will ask you for the driver disk. (Usually a floppy drive is require although sometimes this can be achieved by using a CD). Make sure you get the right driver for you version and architecture. (i.e. are you using X86_64 or x86). HP don't support Fedora so maybe you should try Red Hat, CentOS (which is a clone of Red Hat) or SuSE.

The other alternative is, as suggested above, to use software raid on your SATA drives. To do this, ignore completely the BIOS raid (in fact turn it off), and use the installer to configure you two disks with 'no mountpoint' and a filesystem type of 'Software RAID'. Next include both of the disks into a raid array and set the RAID level to '1' (i.e. a mirrored set). Once that is done, you can begin to partition the RAID array. You should have one boot partition. The rest of the disk can be either regular partitions or managed via LVM.

t.

[Daniel Caçador]

Thanks Tom!

After I try with CentOS I post here!

Thanks for all!

[Manuel Wolfshant]

Beware that if you use Centos and the RAID drivers supplied by HP you will be forced to stick with some old kernels. However meanwhile several security alerts have appeared and RH has released several kernel updates.

And as I said before: since the driver is actually implemented in software anyway, why not go with software RAID? The performance is the same.

[sandeep_raman]

I think there's a small difference.
Even though we use the controller bios to configfure array on the embedded controller,its not a hardware raid,more of a fake/software raid.
Only on 6-port and 8-port pci sata controllers,hardware raid can be implemented.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00260539/c00260539.pdf
Pg 32-33

Daniel,you could try these:

1.Ensure that Raid feature in BIOS is enabled as per Pg 34.
2.In the controller BIOS,create RAID 1 array.
3.Boot through the OS cd and follow the installation process.
4.OS installation will not start if controller driver is not loaded as it would'nt find any disks.

PS:Daniel,perhaps you are missing out a simple step/option.Take sometime and read documentation before you start.

Good Luck.

SRH

[jptros]

Daniel, the raid that comes on the proliant g3 ml110 from my research is developed by adaptec and has no support in linux without a 3rd party driver. I have been through this same issue with no luck on finding a resolution other than purchasing redhat, suse or whatever other version HP says the server supports. I suggest you try the software raid and forget about the embedded raid controller as already suggested.