RAID Server Hard Disk Failure Problem

“ We have a RAID Server Hard Disk Failure Problem. The Hard Disk Drive failed out of the blue on our database server setup in a RAID 5 configuration. Users are continuing to work on the system but response times are poor.  How do I install the new drive – will the data for this drive automatically be rebuilt from the parity or is there another process I should follow?”

Datlabs Emergency RAID Recovery Team Response.

Your RAID 5  system is running slowly because it has to reconstruct the missing data which involves additional CPU and I/O occupancy whilst the system sorts itself out. Depending on the size of the stored data this may take a long time so allow time for this to finish and do not under any circumstances be tempted to swap disks during this period. Under no fault or major bad sector issues the system data will rebuild from the parity references on the remaining drives. Once this is complete and users are getting a good response from the system then it is time for some planned maintenance.

At this point however you need to be aware that If another hard disk drive drops out of the array the system will not rebuild itself  and you will need the services of our Emergency RAID recovery team.

If you have a RAID System in  mission critical business applications then you NEED to include the use of a hot spare hard disk drive in your RAID hardware itinerary. Different RAID systems have different steps for replacing a disk, and done wrong you risk destroying the whole array. Without knowing what sort of RAID hardware/software you have we can only guess at the steps needed so before you replace the failed hard disk drive you must check with your IT support provider on how to proceed and also what hard disk drive to proceed with.

Once you have replaced the failed hard disk drive and the system rebuild is successfully complete then it is  now is time to make sure your backups are up to date and if not backup immediately. also If not already done then transfer your DB logs to  a separate volume (in this case a separate hard disk drive). By doing this you will improve your chances of a future restore and also improve the systems overall performance.

Click here if you require Details About Datlabs RAID Recovery Service.