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h710p mini forgets SATA raid right after reboot?
Hello
I have difficulty in adding a new hard disk into my existing server. My server is R720 and with 2 virtual disk (both 3-disk raid 5, SAS HDD)
I just want to add one SATA hard disk, so I insert the disk in the front and Ctrl-R into the raid configuration, press F2 to create a new VD and add the disk, check the initialization box, and after clicking ok system said the initization is completed like in 2 seconds. All these looks normal. And I pressed ESC key to exit, system told me to Ctrl-Alt-Del... ok, very good.
However, after reboot in the Raid card boot message, it says that my newly created VD02 does not have the disk, and will be remvoed. The exact message is:
The following virtual disks are missing: 02 If you proceed (or load the configuration utility), these virtual disks will be removed from your configuration. If you wish to use them at a later time, they will have to be imported. If you believe these virtual disks should be present, please power off your system and check your cables to ensure all disks are present. Press any key to continue, or 'C' to load the configuration utility.
Tried update raid card to latest firmware (21.3.2-0005), build a raid 1 with 2 SATA disk instead of one, replace the hard disk, build the raid using raid tool in the bios, all with the same result.
I have not installed any kind of dell openmanage.
Tried the blink and unblink the disk, there was no problem. And obviously I didn't unplug the disk after reboot.
I read the manual again and see that SAS & SATA disks are supported simultaineously, as long as they are not in the same virtual disk. What did I miss? Any help is appreciated.
theflash1932
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January 15th, 2016 07:00
It is certainly the case. Probably more so now then years ago ... and for different reasons.
Enterprise drives meet SATA or SAS standards, and besides being designed for 24x7 operation, are designed to respond differently to controllers and behave differently with respect to maintaining data in a redundant (vs standalone) environment.
EVERY drive is designed for a specific purpose these days - some for low-power capacity storage in a NAS, some for high-performance access in RAID arrays, some for casual desktop/consumer use, some for fast database access, some for slower archival capacity. A little research is required to make sure you have the right tech for the right job. Use server drives in servers, NAS drives in NAS, desktop/laptop drives in desktops/laptops, etc.
Using a server drive as a standalone drive in a desktop/laptop is as bad as using a desktop/laptop drive in a server ... you risk unreliability and potential data loss.
theflash1932
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January 14th, 2016 09:00
What make/model is your SATA disk? Laptop/desktop drives should not be used.
Emerald Sentine
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January 14th, 2016 19:00
Thanks for your message, the SATA drives I tried are Seagate ST2000DM001 and Toshiba DT01ACA300. I can't remember if it's desktop drive, but even if it is the raid shouldn't behave like that?
theflash1932
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January 14th, 2016 21:00
It certainly could, which is why I asked.
Desktop drives (which both of these are) are not designed to be used on enterprise RAID controllers. RAID controllers expect member drives to behave a very specific way, and if they don't, then the controller kicks it out. Timings, error recovery, response types and response times are all things that MUST behave differently on RAID controllers as opposed to workstations.
Poor performance, random offline, not recognized at all, recognized but not configurable, or even running seemingly fine and only warnings in the logs (which all uncertified drives will do) ... all potential symptoms of poor drive choice.
You might try playing with the firmware versions of the drives and controllers ... you might find a combination that works better.
Emerald Sentine
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January 14th, 2016 22:00
Thanks for your message, but I aren't totally agree with you. I have heard of these timing issues with systems in 1980s or 1990s, but it shouldn't be the case anymore. Would you please tell me more, or have any specific example?
My understanding is that enterprise drives may last longer or faster, but are stick to the same standard as desktop drives, which in my case is the SATA standard. The drives and raid card are either compliant to the SATA standard or not, and if both are compliant, they should work.
Your input will be highly appreciated.
Emerald Sentine
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January 17th, 2016 20:00
Thanks for your message, tend to more agree with you now. I read from varios sources which seems to saying desktop drives are not suitable for raid (at least hardware raid).
Example is the timeout for bad sector reading, I read from a Intel document which says desktop hard disk usually tries very hard to try to read from back sector, for up to like 30 - 60 seconds, it's because in desktop environment, it's usually the only disk.If it can't read, there is the end of those data in that sector.
Constrast with raid enviornment, which one disk has bad sector, usually the data can still be retrieved from other disks. Meanwhile, if a single disk tries too hard on bad sector recovery, it slows down (or even blocks) the whole raid. As a result, most manufacturers set the timeout low, and so if a raid card sees a drive not responding quickly (for example reading bad sectors), the raid card kicks the disk out and marks it offline.
I tend to think that maybe hardware raid truly needs hard disks that is for raid now.
Thank you very much for your help, very appreciated!! :emotion-2:
The Intel document I read is here: download.intel.com/.../enterprise_class_versus_desktop_class_hard_drives_.pdf