Moving raid 5 array to another server

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lupo

Weaksauce
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Oct 9, 2005
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I am currently running a 8TB Raid 5 array (4x 2TB) using a Highpoint 2640X4 controller. (Win 7 x64 OS). The system is rather old and I would like to build something new and move the array to the new system without destroying the data on the array. (It is just media, OS is on another disk)

IIRC, this should be possible but has anyone done this successfully? I would think if I keep the drives attached to the same sata ports on the highpoint card I can install the card in the new system, install the drivers, attach the drives to the same sata ports again, etc.

I am curious what would happen in the OS when it sees the new drives. (It would be Win 7 x64 Pro) Is it smart enough to see the array without me having to initialize the drives again and erase all of the data?

I would like to hear any thoughts or experiences you all may have. Thanks!
 
Usually with hardware raid you can just move the controller to a new machine and it will just work. Problems occur if you want to change controller brands or sometimes models within the same brand.
 
Sure, if you're moving the whole card AND the target OS has drivers for it then you should be able to do what you're asking. Just make sure the card has drivers in the new OS. I can recall the days when Adaptec abandoned a series of perfectly useful RAID cards by not making drivers for new versions of Windows.

I would suggest that you set up the drivers in the OS first. Then shutdown and install the card, but without the drives attached. Some setup programs require seeing the card before doing the install, that's fine. I prefer to get it installed before the card. If you can make an F6 install floppy of the driver that'd make it possible to get the driver installed right from the start. But it's not necessary when you're not using the card for the boot OS partitions. Whichever way you install the driver, make sure the OS sees the card properly. Then shutdown and attach the drives. They should come up just as configured before.
 
My concern is with windows 7 on the new box. Once I install the drivers and the card, the next time I reboot with the drives attached to the card will windows 7 automatically see the new array or do i have to go into the disk manager and do anything? This is what worries me. I don;t want to accidentally wipe the array trying to get it mounted under windows 7.
 
Windows will not wipe the array. Just after the drivers are installed it will assign some new drive letter and mount it.
 
That's what I like step-by-step installation. Better to see if the driver installs and the card is recognized without the drives present. Then physically connect them to bring them online.

It's is possible you'll have to import the drive array into win 7 as the old install would be seen as a foreign disk. This won't cause any harm to the array or its contents. You will need to use the diskmgmt.msc console to do this. It'll be a simple matter of right-clicking the foreign drive (the array) and it'll mount in the OS. Depending on your needs you may want to change the drive letter. But, again, none of that will affect the contents of the array.

One tip, make sure you get the new Win 7 OS totally installed AND updated BEFORE you install the driver. Once it's all updated then you can install the driver, shutdown, physically install the card, reboot and see that it's properly seen by the OS in the devmgmt.msc console. Then physically connect the drives and use diskmgmt.msc to import it.

You voice concern about the contents of the array. You DO have it backed up on to other media, don't you? An array is not a substitute for backups.
 
It's a little difficult to backup 6+TB of information inexpensively. ;)
 
Well, the old saying about being pennywise and pound foolish still applies. If the data is valuable enough to want to keep it accessible then it's pretty stupid not to have it backed up. No RAID is a substitute for backups. It's merely a way to keep the data online and accessible in the event of a drive failure. Some levels of RAID offer the ability to ward off multiple drive failures. But none of them will guard against data corruption, deletion of files or catastrophic failure of the entire machine (like a flood, fire or other disasters). Off-line and off-site backups are a necessary part of the equation. Yeah, it's not exactly cheap or convenient to get multi-TB data stored offline. But neither is it cheap to rebuild all of it from scratch again.

But you probably know that already.
 
This is not mission critical data. If I loose it, it can be replaced although it will take time and be a pain in the ass. I have a dollar value that my time is worth. The number of hours it would take me to restore everything on the array in the event of a total loss is worth about half the cost of a backup solution.
 
Just want to detail a bit what wkearney99 saying
- Build new system
- Move the controller to the new system (just a controller)
- Install the correct driver yo may get the latest driver at HTP
- Shut down connect the drive
- You should able to see the raid volume

DATOptic,Support
 
I can't recall for certain, but there was an update that involved large drive volumes not being seen properly when being imported as foreign. That was why (among other good reasons) to do a full install of the OS and then get ALL the current updates for it. That way you're up to date BEFORE the controller is even inserted. Get the latest driver for the card and install it, again BEFORE putting the card into the machine. This way when the card does get inserted it should be able to pick up and use the driver right away. Once that's all known to be in working order then you can bring the drives back online. Step-by-step and you avoid getting any errors BEFORE the drive media is put at risk.
 
lupo said:
My concern is with windows 7 on the new box. Once I install the drivers and the card, the next time I reboot with the drives attached to the card will windows 7 automatically see the new array or do i have to go into the disk manager and do anything? This is what worries me. I don;t want to accidentally wipe the array trying to get it mounted under windows 7.
Click to expand...

Worst case you'll have to online the array. Windows is generally very good about not doing anything to disks that you don't tell it to.
 
Yes, it's likely you WILL have to use the diskmgmt.msc console. If he previous disk was probably set up as NTFS (and maybe dynamic). Those usually mark the drive as being part of a set. When you set up a brand new OS you're also setting up a new drive set. As such the old one will be 'foreign' to it. It's a simple matter of importing the foreign set. This won't affect the contents of the volumes on it at all. And you'd still be able to take the back to the old OS set (should there be some need for that).
 
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