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The first drive in my 1+0 RAID array is showing a status of predictive failure. There are two drives in the array; is it safe to replace this without losing any data? I will be replacing it with the same manufacture/model drive. From what I know a RAID 1+0 array functions as a RAID 1 when there are only two disks, but I haven't actually dealt with one before.

DanBig
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EGr
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2 Answers2

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Yes.

This is a standard hot-swap situation. In HP Smart Array language, a RAID 1+0 is a RAID 1 with two disks. The predictive failure indicator should be live on the bad disk. You can swap the disk while the system is running.

ewwhite
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Yes, it should be safe. Just make sure that you replace the right disk.

BTW, a tad more information would not hurt. Which OS, how is the RAID setup (HW card? Then which model). SAS or SATA drives etc. All you got now is a generic answer.

From the manual of the P400i: (page 27)

Replacing hard drives 

The most common reason for replacing a hard drive is that it has failed. 

If you insert a hot-pluggable drive into a drive bay while the system power
is on, all disk activity in the array pauses for a second or two while the 
new drive is spinning up. When the drive has achieved its  normal spin rate,
data recovery to the replacement drive begins automatically (as indicated 
by the  blinking Online/Activity LED on the replacement drive) if the array
is in a fault-tolerant configuration. 

If you replace a drive belonging to a fault-tolerant configuration while
the system power is off, a POST message appears when the system is next 
powered up. This message prompts you to press the F1 key to start automatic
data recovery. If you do not enable automatic data recovery, the logical
volume remains in a ready-to-recover condition and the same POST message 
appears whenever the system is restarted.

So just replacing it should be sufficient to get it to rebuild.

And if you replace it when the power is off you will need to press a key during POST.

Hennes
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