[ubuntu-uk] RAID failure after a couple of weeks

[Tony Travis]

Chris Rowson wrote:
> [...]
> So, before I give the server company a bell. Does anyone know if this
> definitely looks like an error caused by a failed disk drive, or is it
> an Ubuntu bug (which I seem to have hit a few when using Hardy - more
> than you'd expect for an LTS - that are already reported). Smartctl
> doesn't return a result on the drive, it does however from the
> remaining working drive.

Hello, Chris.

I've had some problems with 'cheap' SATA cables, which don't quite come 
of when they are displaced in the case but subsequently they don't make 
a good contact and the SATA driver tries to drop the connection speed...

My advice is to try swapping the drives on the ports to see if it's the 
port/cable or the drive that is faulty. As far as I'm aware 'md' RAID5 
works fine in Hardy, but I've not tried RAID1 - I'm using a 3ware 8000 
series 'hardware' RAID1 instead + it works extreemly well. However, I do 
also use software RAID5 with 4 at 500GB drives and (touch wood) I've not 
had any problems other than the dodgy cables I've already mentioned :-)

	Tony.
-- 
Dr. A.J.Travis, University of Aberdeen, Rowett Institute of Nutrition
and Health, Greenburn Road, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9SB, Scotland, UK
tel +44(0)1224 712751, fax +44(0)1224 716687, http://www.rowett.ac.uk
mailto:ajt at rri.sari.ac.uk, http://bioinformatics.rri.sari.ac.uk/~ajt