hot-change disk arrays...can I do it on Linux?
Disk array question: Our computer center here has several NT servers with
RAID5 disk arrays (4x4GB disks, so 12GB useable). I'm curious about some
implementation questions regarding RAID arrays. I'll try to separate my
questions, so that informed people can set me straight on each of the
issues.
Hot-swap drives: this is a functionality of the drives, right? I'd have
to have disk drives that were manufactured to stand up to that, correct?
Assuming that I have a hot-swap disk in my machine and a spare disk on my
shelf, and that I was not using RAID or anything special on that disk,
would I need a special controller or customizations to the OS to use it
(i.e. be able to take out the failed drive and stick in the new
(formatted) drive)? Is hot-swap only for RAID arrays?
Hardware RAID: Hardware RAID is independent of the operating system,
right? Aside from software to control/tweak the array parameters, I need
only to have "driver" support for the controller, right?
Hot-growth arrays: Our NT servers have the ability to add a disk to the
RAID array live on the fly. All the administrator has to do is tell the
controller to add the new disk to the array and BINGO! bigger array. Is
that a functionality of the controller? What other parts of the computing
system need to be modified to support that (i.e. can I do that with my
Debian systems)?
Thanks for the help. I'm soon embarking on a development project from the
ground up for a local computer store and want to plan things right from
the beginning.
Pete
--
Peter J. Templin, Jr. Client Services Analyst
Computer & Communication Services tel: (717) 524-1590
Bucknell University templin@bucknell.edu
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