Hi from an Olde newbie

I have tried Linux since Redhat 6, using many distros and searched the net with each change and also a few forums. This is the first forum it seemed worthwhile joining. Nowhere have I found an answer to the question of motherboard or cpu failure. I recently lost a Windows 2000 sever with a software raid because of a mother board failure. Kiss that data goodbye. Lucky I had back up of all but one folder. I do not need the fastest file server on earth, but do need to be assured that in the event of a motherboard/cpu failure, I can build a new machine with different motherboard and cpu and install my old raid card and drives and be able to access my data so long as the raid card and drives are good. I currently have Rocket Raid cards. The latest is a 3510,which does not work well with Centos/Fedora but Suse loves it. It is in the Suse kernal. I have been considering a real hardware raid card,3wares 9690SA-4I but have read that the only true benefit is speed which I don,t need and they are hardware specific. Can somebody clarify this simple issue for me. When changing mother board/cpu can a raid card, hardware raid/software raid/fakeraid be implemented into the new machine without data loss using raid 5 or 10. Which is best. Hardware cost is not an issue. What happens to fake raid/hardware raid/software raids with a kernel upgrade? What other hazards can you be subjected to with a major unexpected hardware change.

Just to clarify: have you actually tried running dmraid with your fakeraid disks, on your new motherboard?

My issue is not with implementation, it is what can transport to a new hardware configeration. I would like to prepare for the future.
My Windows 2000 experience has made me warry of hardware changes. I have set up my raid with several Linux distros but all on the same hardware.

Well, maybe this will help, as I can't give you any guarantees about any combination of hardware.

There are two parts to the software raid/fakeraid equation: BIOS/Boot mode and OS mode. (Note, these are my terms because I can't remember the proper ones.) During the BIOS/Boot mode, the software(aka firmware) on the fakeraid board is in control. This software reads the data near the end of all the attached drives and begins accessing the data according to any fakeraid control blocks found.

Once the system is booted, *real* software has to do the same job. In Linux, this is accomplished by the "dmraid" package. Just like the firmware, it reads the drives and configures any arrays it finds. Unlike the firmware, it does its access through the kernel's "md" driver. The dmraid software provides a seamless transition from the BIOS/Boot state to the OS state.

So, in theory, you should be able to just move a fakeraid array from one system to the next, and even from one controller to the next, without encountering any problems. In practice, this may not work if you're trying to boot from the array.

Also, I believe that the dmraid people have set it up so that non-boot arrays can be accessed, even if they're not on fakeraid controllers. For more info on this feature, you'd need to join the dmraid mailing list.

One thing to keep closely in mind, though, is that fakeraid array management can only be done while in BIOS mode, at least at this time. Whether that will ever change is anyone's guess. The smart thing to do is to switch away from fakeraid and use mdadm to create your software arrays.

Thanks, Thanks the best thought I have had to date on this. I don,t boot from my raid setup so I might be OK with my Rocket Raid on any new hardware I have to use. I will join the mailing list you have advised. Do you have opinions on hardware such as 3ware 9690sa-4i? no pressure, verses software or fake raid. I appreciate your thoughts.

Sorry, I can't help you on the selection of hardware, as I've never used a hardware raid.

Thank You, You Have been of great help giving this old guy direction. Live long and prosper.