requesting information for orange blinking lite on server drive array(2)

"is there any other information you might suggest i provide to prove the facts?"

Short of a heavenly vision to confirm, you have the facts :) : The drive is flashing amber (and green?), meaning a predictive failure flag has been assigned to that disk.  A pf can be either logical or physical ... if diags pass, then it is a logical failure within the array; if diags fail, then the disk is bad.  Replace it.

"when replacing the drive, must i purchase the exact same drive, or can it just me the same size drive but different brand?"

You needn't purchase the exact same drive.  It can be as larger or larger, and as long as you get "certified" drives (Dell co-branded), then the actual brand makes no difference (as "certified" drives all have the same firmware code, regardless of drive manufacturer).

the flash thanks once again for your fast answeres!

heres a few more questions for ya!

how do i know if this specific issue is logical or physical?

if trying to save money here is first priority than would rebuilding the drive be a solution?

if data is first priority would replacing the drive be the best solution here?

im not in the united states and ive never replaced a scsi drive before. where can i get certified dell drives from my region?

the flash thanks for your fast reply! i remember it was you who helped me in my last post and were very helpful!

anyways! so have i already done enough diagnostics to be sure that drive array 2 is failing? is there any other information you might suggest i provide to prove the facts?

also on a different note, when replacing the drive, must i purchase the exact same drive, or can it just me the same size drive but different brand?

thanks in advance

So, the DRIVE LED is blinking orange?  If so, is it blinking orange/amber, or is it alternating green/amber?  I suspect alternating green/amber since all the drives show as Online.  If that is the case, then that indicates a "predicted failure" (as also indicated by the diagnostics, although the screenshot doesn't indicate which drive is being tested), in which case, the drive needs to be replaced.

(You will only be prompted to choose between Disk/NVRAM in View/Add if you have a RAID configuration mismatch on the controller/drives.  If all drives are online, then it isn't possible to have a mismatch, meaning View/Add will only show you one config - the current one.)

"how do i know if this specific issue is logical or physical?"

Diagnostics.  The diagnostics test the disk physically, independent of any array it may/may not be a part of.  If it fails diagnostics, then the pf is physical.  If a pf disk passes diags, then there may be corruption or some other logical failure of the array itself.

"if trying to save money here is first priority than would rebuilding the drive be a solution?"

No.  The disk is bad.  If the data/services this server provides is important at all, then bite the bullet and get a replacement.  If another disk fails, then your entire array will be gone - are you prepared for the downtime to rebuild from scratch/restore from backup and/or potential data loss in that scenario?  eBay is a good place to get cheap drives if you are looking to save money ... most sellers warrant the drives, so test it upon receipt to make sure it passes diagnostics.  Also, the drive is not actually offline, so you can't rebuild it.

"if data is first priority would replacing the drive be the best solution here?"

Absolutely.

I've never shopped UK, but I know several well-known suppliers ship internationally.  I would start by getting a part number and googling it (ry491, uj672, y4707, etc.).  When you get the replacement, do NOT power off the server to swap the drive ... first, force the drive offline, then pull it out, wait 30 seconds, then put the replacement in - it should start rebuilding automatically, but if it doesn't, then you need to assign it as a hot spare.

I have no idea what online options you would have in Israel ... you would just have to check around at various international sites' shipping policies.  Dell does NOT have many (if any) SCSI drives left as a company, so they may not be able to sell you one even if you are willing to pay their price for it ... but it may be worth a phone call to them to see what they have available there.  You mentioned salvaging a bad hard drive to save money, which is why I suggested eBay ... WAY better than using faulty hardware.  So, in short, I can't say "yes", because I have no idea what limited options you have in Israel, but I would guess you would need to find a UK-based company (if not overseas) to source a disk.

SAS disks will NOT work in a 2850.  You must have the old parallel SCSI (U320, 80-pin).  You will choose from 146GB or 300GB in SCSI (smaller will not work).  Start with the part numbers I listed before and see if you can find anything.

"i dont know how to check if its certified or not by dell"

If it is SCSI, has the "Dell" name on the label, and/or has a Dell part number, then it is "certified" (there is no such thing as "consumer" or non-enterprise class SCSI).

the flash thanks again!

I'm not in the UK, I'm actually in Israel. there is a dell service center here. I am not interested in purchasing the disks on eBay or over seas. I need to be able to get disk replacements if and when necessary. i was hoping for an answer (yes expensive) like calling the dell service center.

this is my current disk discountechnology.com/Fujitsu-MBA3147NP-SCSI-Hard-Drive

i can get my hands on these SAS (serial attached scsi) drives from my supplier. once again, i have no background knowledge of SCSI, i only have experience with IDE and SATA, so my question is, would any of these drives be suitable?

HD0B20875        HITACHI        73G 3.5" SAS Cheetah 15K.5 16MB

ST3300657SS SEAGATE 300G 3.5" SAS 6G ST3300657SS Cheetah 15K.5 16MB

ST3600057SS SEAGATE 600G 3.5" SAS 6G ST3600057SS Cheetah 15K.5 16MB

ST9600204SS SEAGATE 600G 2.5" SAS 6G ST9600204SS 10K 16MB

ST9900805SS SEAGATE 900G 2.5" SAS 6G ST9900805SS 10K 16MB

ST32000444SS SEAGATE 2TB        3.5" SAS 6G ST32000444SS Constellation ES 16MB

WD4001FYYG WD                4TB        3.5" SAS WD4001FYYG SAS 32MB

i am interested in the last, i always prefer western digital, however 4GB is unnecessary.  If SAS is what i need, than i guess ill have to get the 300GB SEGATE. agreed?

i dont know how to check if its certified or not by dell