Stephen Frost wrote:
>
> On Fri, 7 Apr 2000, Christian Robottom Reis wrote:
>
> > Just a short note to aid me in my recovery here: can I remove the disks
> > from a working array, reset the board configuration, put them back again,
> > and rebuild the configuration - with no problem? Should I also backup the
> > configuration to a disk?
> >
> > I'm wondering if I can swap drives from the dead box to the working one to
> > conclude if I've got a broken controller, or broken drives.
>
> Hrm, personally I'd be *very* careful when mucking w/ your config in
> a hardware raid controller at all. I'd suggest you back up *all* your data
> before doing anything, and give yourself a fair bit of time in case something
> goes wrong. I have no idea how the Mylex handles these things, but I've
> found it's pretty easy to wipe the config on a MegaRAID if you're not careful,
> and I didn't spot an easy way to fix it, luckily I had backups. :)
>
> Stephen
As Stephen indicates, the downside of any mistake is significant.
Backing up the configuration information would be prudent. My
experience comes from the Mylex 150 and 1100 cards with the older
firmware.
I examined a number of recovery cases and what you propose to do
is well supported by Mylex. First, the controller defers to the
configuration information on the drives when there is a conflict
with the information stored in the controller. Makes sense. That
allows the configuration to be recovered when the drives are moved
around or when the controller is replaced.
Second, the controller firmware does a better job of recovery than
humans. That is because the BIOS/DACCF commands are not user-friendly.
when you boot up with the new controller, leave the controller to
recover the configuration without intervention. If you intervene i.e.
<Alt>R atthe BIOS prompt, the controller aborts the recovery process
and does not provide and further guidance. You are then entirely on
your own and 9 times out of 10 will screw up. Or, is it 10 times out
of 10. I forget.
--
Dan Jones, Storage Engineer VA Linux Systems
V:(408)542-5737 F:(408)745-9130 1382 Bordeaux Drive
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sunnyvale, CA 94089
