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Old 03-13-2009, 04:30 AM   #1
Murdock1979
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RAID Advice


Hello!

I am planning to set up a Linux server using a Dell RAID device found here: http://www.dell.com/content/topics/t...555&l=en&s=biz

I am familiar with the theory of RAID devices, but I want to know how devices such as this one is implemented in Linux.

Thanks,
Murdock
 
Old 03-13-2009, 08:28 AM   #2
rocinante
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Not sure exactly what you mean by
Quote:
how devices such as this one is implemented in Linux.
They work the same as they do in other OS's...
On system boot you enter the RAID setup ( Ctrl-M for Dell PERCs I think ) and manage the disks there. Create/Delete arrays, assign hot spares, etc. Once you have the drives setup how you want, install your OS. As long as it has drivers for the specific RAID controller, you're set.
Dell also has Open Manage for Linux, which is used to monitor/manage your system once the OS is installed and running. But I don't know if they provide it in any form other than RPM's. I know it works on Redhat and VMWare ESX, but haven't tried it on Slack.
 
Old 03-13-2009, 09:15 AM   #3
Murdock1979
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Hello Schotzy!

Thanks for filling me in about RAID.

Since this will be the first time setting up a server with a RAID device, my main concern is how Linux sees the individual hard-drives. Are they all listed as one IO file in /dev such as /dev/raid1 or similar, or is each hard-drive somehow independent and Linux itself must accommodate?

I would assume the former, but I just wanted to be on the safe side.

Thanks again!
Murdock
 
Old 03-13-2009, 04:18 PM   #4
mRgOBLIN
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If it's proper hardware RAID and you have the correct driver in the installer then the operating system will see it as only one device.
 
Old 03-14-2009, 05:55 AM   #5
rocinante
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Quote:
Are they all listed as one IO file in /dev such as /dev/raid1 or similar, or is each hard-drive somehow independent and Linux itself must accommodate?
It depends on how you configure them on the RAID controller itself. If you configure one big array, Linux will see just that - One drive, probably as /dev/sda.
The Dell 2950's we get come pre-configured with two arrays ( or Virtual Disks as they're called in Dell PERC speak ). One is a RAID 1 mirror of the first two disks, the 2nd is a RAID 5 of the remaining 4 drives. Linux sees them as /dev/sda and /dev/sdb.
You could of course configure each drive as an individual "array" and let linux create a software RAID if you really wanted. But obviously that defeats the purpose of having a hardware RAID controller.
 
  


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