Re: Converting IDE RAID 1 to SATA RAID 1

Previously "JonnyCab®" <shutout39@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> > How about this?
>>
>> > * Power off
>> > * Remove one IDE drive from the array
>> > * Connect one of the new SATA drives with an IDE adapter
>> > * Power on
>> > * Rebuild the array (populating the new SATA drive)
>> > * Power off
>> > * Install both SATA drives and the SATA RAID controller
>>
>> Unclear whether this works. Unlikely IMO. This will only work
>> if both controllers use compatible metadata for the array
>> description. It should work if both controllers operate
>> metadata-free, i.e. do not store anything on the disks
>> except the data. But usually a RAID controller stores a
>> descriptor of the array on each disk in some non-standardised
>> location and format.

> I do see your point. Wouldn't the newer SATA controller somehow see the new
> disk and "adopt" it as its own (for the lack of a better way of describing
> the process)?

No. If it is connected to the IDE controller no other hardware has
any business messing with it. It likely cannot even see it without
sort of "hacking" the OS driver layer.

> I converted two machines from single IDE to RAID 1 by simply
> installing the original single drive into a new RAID 1 IDE array, building
> the array with one new disk, then removing the original disk and installing
> a second new disk, and then having the first disk build the second. It
> worked perfectly, and took only a few hours.

Ok. So the old controller may not store a superblock on disk. Or your
disks are short one sector and you are lucky it was not allocated
(smart controllers store it at the end of the disk and some partition
tools dont use the last few MBs on disk). You might also have one
sector you better not write any data to.

> Here are some details: The servers (I actually want to do this to two of
> them) are Tyan Tiger 200T (S2505T) boards with Promise FastTrak100 RAID IDE
> controllers. They've worked rock-solid flawlessly in RAID 1 configurations
> for several years, and I want to continue to use them until I can upgrade
> the boards, processors, power supplies, and memory, probably in a year or
> two. I replace the drives (as preventative maintenance) each year. For
> now, I want to move the IDE drives out of the inside of the cases and into
> fan-ventilated I-Star BPU-230 SATA enclosures, so the drives can be replaced
> when necessary without taking the cases apart . Since I'm over 500 miles
> away from the servers, it's much easier for me to instruct someone to
> replace a drive in a tray than inside a cage filled with cables, especially
> when the case has to be pulled out and disassembled.

> Anyway, the new controller will be a Promise TX2300 with a pair of Maxtor
> 7L250S0 Maxline III 16MB 250GB (5-year, enterprise-level) drives.

> I'm not a fan of Ghost, which is the only "cloning" software I've used.
> I've seen it take almost a day to run, and I don't have that kind of time to
> wait for it. I've put new drives into RAID arrays and watched the array
> take under two hours to copy to the new disk, so you can see why I'm a
> little hesitant to use software.

> Thanks for any additional insight, and/or any suggestions for software that
> doesn't run like it's written by Microsoft or Symantec. LOL

Depending on what your server does, you can make an image or backup
while the server runs and recreate the installation on a separate
system on the SATA disks and then swap them in. You need to have
some sensible backup procedure anysways that lets you do something
close.

Probably the easiest approach for now is to stay with IDE and just move
the disks into IDE enclosures that can be removed from the front.

Arno

.

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