Hi,
I wanted to upgrade my Dell laptop with a RAID 1 configuration.
So i removed the old SSD, installed 2 new disks in the notebook and then created the RAID using the Intel Rapid Storage Technology tool in the bios.

Is there a way to restore the old disk over the new RAID configuration?

I tried with Clonezilla (cloning the old disk over the 2 new disks), but no luck...

"The recommended software RAID implementation in Linux* is the open
source MD RAID package. Intel has enhanced MD RAID to support RST
metadata and OROM and it is validated and supported by Intel for server
platforms. There is a growing interest at OEMs in having Intel extend the
validation and support for RST on mobile, desktop and workstation
platforms in a Windows and Linux dual-boot environment. "

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/ww...inux-paper.pdf

I assume from the above that you will have to use clonezilla or other software to mount the array then clone to it.

There may be some editing later and the way the machine might be able to use loader is another concern. Not sure which way I'd even go. Probably also look at just reloading the entire deal fresh on the array and then add in programs and data.

I would use rsync, then reinstall the bootloader. I seriously doubt "cloning" to RAID is possible, so I've never tried investigating.

I've cloned to hardware raid since it was just acting like a normal drive to the clone software. I assume that the same will go on with md arrays.

Literal cloning pays no attention to filesystems or files. It's just a process of copying a string of sectors. I can't imagine how any on-device RAID structures necessary to Linux MD RAID existence would not be eliminated by a literal disk clone from an ordinary SSD. OTOH, are there any RAID structures existing on the disks of a BIOS (DM) RAID? The OP's Clonezilla result suggests there could be.

Intel RST has been most kindly described as a hack. And not a very clever one.
It's a container, so yes it's likely there is a (hidden) translation going on. Best answer is to disable it and use mdadm.

thanks for all of your replies.

a little more digging and i found out that intel rapid storage technology is also known as 'fake raid' and its usage is pretty much discouraged...

mdadm could be useful, but converting a single disk to raid1 is quite difficult: i found a couple of tutorials, but each of them is something like 20 steps and may vary depending on uefi/non uefi configuration and partitions type and number.

by now, i guess the easiest solution is to use brfs builtin raid capability: i've never tested it before, but i'll give it a try...

thanks for your help!

This doesn't make a lot of sense to me. A single disk can be converted relatively simply (with mdadm), but it makes much more sense to set the RAID1 up in advance. This will present as a single device (say /dev/md0) that you copy/restore your data to. Saves significant synch time.

As for btrfs, your learning curve will be much steeper - it is several nice features, but is not a "drop-in replacement".

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