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

[Chris Rowson]

>> [...]
>> 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.
Hi Tony,

I'll have a look - unfortunately it means a site visit and I'm on two
weeks leave at the mo though lol!

I would have thought the cable would be OK though, it's a HP server
with 3 year warranty (but unfortunately the dodgy software based
pseudo RAID chip) so I'd have thought they'd at least fit decent
cables to keep the returns down.

The hardware controller you mention. Does that support Ubuntu? I
wouldn't mind buying a hardware RAID card as long as it came with some
kind of monitoring application (so I could tell remotely if the RAID
fell over) and it managed to come in at the sub 100 quid price...

Chris