Software RAID (5) via Ubuntu?
Hi, I would like to use a decommissioned PC as a 'RAID enclosure'.
Can I simply use a decommissioned PC and create a RAID array using Ubuntu? RAID 5 is recommended, and preferably not JBOD.
This is meant to serve as redundancy, because I want to throw old records in there and then they can die there in peace.
If that's possible, how do I find hard drives if they don't have dedicated numbered drive bays like a 'real' NAS?
Would it be a wiser option to attach an expansion enclosure to my existing NAS?
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Yeah, that’s it, you have the free choice:
or
How do you want to find the plates?
If you have a disc floated, you would like to pull and exchange the right ones 🙂
Correct. And since that’s just a standard mainbiard, the ports are numbered but put the right cable to the right plate and find the damn thing again when the plate makes the exit.
There are WWN/series numbers for this.
As well as lsblk, blkid, hdparm and various other tools. If you should sit in front of a booted Linux:
Here I would need to explain what exactly the commands are doing and the technical background.
So in short form. I’ll google again anyway.
hdparm serves the management of HDDs, but can also display the information from the Indentify including WWN and Serial etc.
blkid is used for handling UUIDs and labels, in particular finding block device inodes based on UUID/label.
lsblk lists block devices, also as a tree diagram, useful to quickly gain overviews.
mdadm is the veteran for RAID management, can create different metadata formats, RAIDs, controls Syncs, onlin capacity changes, level migrations and much more.
LVM2 is actually a volume manager, which is now also a component for RAIDs on Bais of mdraid, works structurally somewhat differently and uses its own metadata format to integrate both functionalities. It’s more necessary to get used, in my opinion.
Since the RAID is based on the device master in both cases, there is also a proc and a sysfs interface.
And finally, you can also ensure that udev generates further symbolic NAmen in addition to the normal inodes, so that you have something like /dev/slots/slot# -> /dev/sd .
If the disk is exchanged, you can only think about updating the configuration.
Oh. If I finally find this point of my To-Do list to be put into effect, it is not necessary to google a few of them.
Yes and yes. Depending on the PC, only makes sense because it is too expensive from power consumption.
With “lsblk”. This can read the serial number that is on the hard drive somewhere.
Depending on the viewing angle 🙂 If you don’t want to work with it, and it’s just gonna work out, then it’s better to expand to the existing NAS. If you build and craft Bock on yourself, that’s it.
Power consumption would not be irrelevant, but (first) negligible.
I already have a productive NAS, so a little bit of making would be cool.
What about maintenance?
When setting up, I like to do it when it runs, should it run as independently as possible.
What happens when a disc fails, is that hotSwap capable with ‘Auto-Rebuild’?
Where are the limits of extensibility?
fyi: I managed to do this on a colleague’s ‘game PC’, even with user/pw-protected network release.
Problem was there the alcohol level, the next boat in the morning did not run so much (where the successfully transferred victorious image was still there:D)
You’re gonna have to make a fool of yourself. So regular OS patches, sort of a kind of monitoring to see when records are broken or the arrays are full, etc.
The limits give the hardware. If the board has e.g. 4 SATA ports (I guess you’re going to normal SATA spindles) and a PCIe slot, then you can run e.g. 8 Port SATA controllers and have a total of 12 ports.
software “limited” mdadm here in front of the Linux kernel, but as you probably don’t plan to pack 256 disks or more into your RAID, this fits:)
If you like a UI, look at the incoming NAS distros (Open Media Vault zB)
Ahso: bash-wise is good (and quite ‘powerful’), at least for anger I always love a graphic ‘KlickiBunti’ GUI. If there’s something like that.