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Re: Installing Debian on a SuperMicro server



mourik jan heupink - merit wrote:
> Bob Proulx wrote:
> > When I set up a system such as this I always test afterward that the
> > system can be booted from each disk individually.  Don't boot past
> > grub.  Just boot to grub to verify.  If you boot past grub into a
> > degraded raid system it will create a "split brain" problem with each
> > disk thinking it is newer and requiring the raid to be rebuilt
> > manually.
>
> Or simply change boot priority of the harddisks in the bios? That way you
> should be able to fully boot the system from both disks.

Not quite.  It is possible that the boot sector on one disk points to
the system on the other disk in a criss-cross way.  In that case both
disks are required for boot.  Swapping the drives in the bios may not
catch that type of problem because both are still online in the
reversed order.  Very annoying to find that out later.  I say this
because I have had the misfortune to find that out later in just such
circumstance.  The debian-installer in rescue mode works well to
recover from such problems.

We were talking Supermicro servers.  All of mine have hot swappable
drive bays.  (Because I avoid the non-hot-swappable ones.  I know
there are a lot of those too.)  With hot swap drive bays it is easier
to grab the red handle and pull the drive part way out of the bay to
disconnect it.  (Leave it in the bay and let it spin down.)  Then you
are assured of the disk isolation.

Bob

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