Re: How to tell when a hardware RAID disk goes bad?
Not sure about the Adaptec 5805(looking at the data sheet I don't see anywhere that it claims to do
data correction in hardware - AKA "hardware-raid"). Most raid controllers are really just multiple
SATA interfaces and the RAID stuff is done in the driver software. Turns out that the mdadm tools
work BETTER than the proprietary drivers (from all the tests I've seen) and the best option is to
use the overpriced hardware as plain-old multiple disk interfaces and use the normal mdadm tools.
(People used to Redmond software might not be able to resist making something simple more
complicated than it need to be.)
There are real hardware raid devices, but from a "KISS" prospective there is no reason to pay and
deal with the headaches they bring with them.
With the mdadm tools there is an option to start a monitoring daemon or you can look at
/proc/mdstat
I don't see much value in raid other than raid-1 (mirror) anymore with the huge, cheap drives
available. There are times with RAID-0 (striping) is used for speed. What you may save in cost using
raid-5 you end up spending in electricity and headaches today.
What ever system you end up using, test and rebuild a few times (making sure you can boot no matter
what drive goes down) and write down the needed steps to rebuild BEFORE putting it in any production
use.
See http://www.gagme.com/greg/linux/raid-lvm.php
http://wiki.xtronics.com/index.php/Raid
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Karl Schmidt EMail Karl@xtronics.com
Transtronics, Inc. WEB http://xtronics.com
3209 West 9th Street Ph (785) 841-3089
Lawrence, KS 66049 FAX (785) 841-0434
Assumption is the mother of mistakes.
Buckaroo Banzai
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply to: