RAID 1 in Windows 2000 Professional

[Guest]

I have a customer who is using a raid 1 array for only data. He wants to
include the OS and applications in the raid array for optimum fault
tolerance. My problem is that I'm getting conflicting information from the
W2K Disk Management Help. It tells me, on the one hand, how to upgrade a
basic disk to dynamic, install the OS then mirror the drive (i.e. subj:
"Limitations of dynamic disks and dynamic volumes" and "Additional
information about upgrading a basic disk to a dynamic disk".) OK so far.
Then in the subj": "To create a mirrored volume" there's a note that says
this can only be done in Windows 2000 Server.

Can someone unconfuse me, Please?

 

[DL]

Perhaps hes using a mobo or card with a raid controler?
If that is the case then unless you start from scratch, clean install, new
mirror etc, you are likely going to get the o/s drive as E or similar.
Software raid, as used by win, and many low end raid cards is not a
reccomended route for raid in any case.

 

[Guest]

I'm still confused. Yes, he does, in fact, have a hardware raid controller.
Does that mean that I CAN do what he wants. Are you saying that what I read
in the Data Management Help was regarding SOFTWARE RAID? I had no intention
of using software raid. We want to use the RAID controller, so does that
mean that the RAID array can be drive C: with the OS et al included on it?

 

[Gary Chanson]

I'm still confused. Yes, he does, in fact, have a hardware raid controller.
Does that mean that I CAN do what he wants. Are you saying that what I read
in the Data Management Help was regarding SOFTWARE RAID? I had no intention
of using software raid.

What you read in Data Managment Help is about software RAID. If you
intend to use the hardware to set up a RAID array, none of it applies.

We want to use the RAID controller, so does that
mean that the RAID array can be drive C: with the OS et al included on it?

Yes. Without knowing what hardware he has, I can't go into much detail,
but it should be easy to set up an array and Windows will hardly notice that
anything has changed. You said RAID1 so I assume that you are simply going
to add a second drive to mirror the existing C: drive. The procedure should
be add the new drive, create a RAID1 array with the original drive as the
primary drive and the new drive as the secondary, and tell the controller to
copy the data from the primary to the secondary (probably a rebuild
operation).

The first order of business, of course, is a full verified backup.

 

[DL]

To add to Gary's post.
I dont believe it would be wise to use the current array and add the o/s to
it, for the reasons I mentioned earlier.
If this was me I would, having ensured I had multiple backups of the data,
and the raid drivers available on floppy. Disconnect all hd's excepting the
raid drives, then clean install win2k - you need to F6 early in the process
to install the raid drivers from floppy.
Then build the array - the raid driver will have some utility for this, that
you access early in the boot up process.
Then continue with win2k updates, installing Apps and data.
The old hd's can then be reconnected and used for whatever purpose, after
deleting/creating partitions
(depending on the raid controler it might be possible to use a third hd as a
fail safe hot swap within the array.)

 

[Gary Chanson]

I disagree. I see no reason for a complete reinstall.

 

[DL]

He is allready using a mirror for his data drives, and has the o/s and Apps
on a seperate drive(s)
Therefore he would appear to have C: (o/s) D (cd) E (mirror) at the very
least.

 

[Gary Chanson]

What? The mirror will not show up as a separate drive.

 

[DL]

He *allready* has a mirror configured for his data, which has been in use
for some time, the o/s is currently installed on a seperate drive

 

[Gary Chanson]

That doesn't make any difference.

 

[DL]

It does if you wish to use the existing mirror, what you are suggesting
requires another hd, and then moving data from the existing hd to the new
array, and is based on the assumption that the existing C drive is of
sufficient capacity. Unless of course you are suggesting two seperate arrays
Me thinks you were indulging in speed reading of the origonal post

 

[Gary Chanson]

We've obviously interpreted that post differently. I'm assuming that
he's going to add another hard drive to the system. There's no other way of
accomplishing what he wants to do. He used the word adding and there's no
way to use the existing hardware to mirror both drives. There's no reason
to assume that the drives are even the same size.

 

[DL]

"who is using a raid 1 array for only data. He wants to
include the OS and applications in the raid array for optimum fault"

When I read the above I make the assumtion C is o/s & Apps, D cd and E the
existing data array

Whilst he could break the array and use one of the drives to build the array
with C, he would then have to copy data from the old 'array' drive to C
And as you say thats assuming drives are of sufficient, and hopefully same
size.

 

[Gary Chanson]

"who is using a raid 1 array for only data. He wants to
include the OS and applications in the raid array for optimum fault"

When I read the above I make the assumtion C is o/s & Apps, D cd and E the
existing data array

Whilst he could break the array and use one of the drives to build the array
with C, he would then have to copy data from the old 'array' drive to C
And as you say thats assuming drives are of sufficient, and hopefully same
size.

That's quite a leap from what was actually stated...

 

[DL]

"who is using a raid 1 array for only data. He wants to
Where's the leap?

 

[DL]

I wonder if you are still following?

I'm still confused. Yes, he does, in fact, have a hardware raid controller.
Does that mean that I CAN do what he wants. Are you saying that what I read
in the Data Management Help was regarding SOFTWARE RAID? I had no intention
of using software raid. We want to use the RAID controller, so does that
mean that the RAID array can be drive C: with the OS et al included on it?