[ILUG] Booting a broken raid array

[Ciaran Johnston]

Conor Wynne wrote:
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> Kenn Humborg wrote:
>>> Its a small office setup - About 10 people - data files shared by NFS
>>> from the server. Currently the files are synced off-site every night
>>> using rsync over ssh and then once a week copied to an external hard
>>> drive, also held off site. So I can restore the system if it fails,
>>> given time. We have had to do this in the past when the server hard
>>> drive failed so I am quite happy our back up system works. However it
>>> takes time and also relies on me being there - as the only vaguely
>>> computer literate person in the company. As the company expands we need
>>> a better system.
>>>
>>> So to make things a bit more robust I want to migrate the server to a
>>> RAID array for starters - I reckon hard drive failure is our most
>>> likely
>>> failure point. At a later stage we are thinking of having a second
>>> server on stand by as a backup.
>>>
>>> Any suggestions welcome - I am no expert here.
>>
>> I'd say get a server with a real hardware RAID setup, like a Dell PERC.
>>
>> Later,
>> Kenn
>>
>
> Couldn't agree more, even an entry level one like the t100 or t300
>
> In fact, I was on dell.ie only this morning to buy one for myself to
> replace this dodgy machine. I need one to reproduce issues (esx /
> Xenserver / xen on SLES & RHEL)
>
> Personally I'd buy two and rsync between the two of them, oh and make
> sure you use a supported OS. SLES10 EM64T is dirt cheap, although I'd go
> with RHEL5 myself.
>
> You'll only need one subscription OS as you can install the same on the
> other node anyway.

Are you guys on commission to Dell, or something?

I fail to see why trusting your data to proprietary firmware - and
limiting your operating system choice in the process - is a better option
than a tried and tested open source solution. It may take a little longer
to figure out the optimum configuration, but at least you're not reliant
on a single vendor or unaudited code.

Cheers,
Ciaran.