RAID hot-swap chassis compatibility

[Tom Del Rosso]

Can a SCSI RAID 1 set in a hot-swap chassis possibly be moved to a new
server? The one I'm thinking of migrating from is 4 year old Gateway 7400
server.

I have worked with Gateway, Dell, and Compaq RAID backplanes but I don't
know if they are made with standard dimensions. Since the drives all come
from Gateway I don't even know if they are standard SCSI interfaces.

 

[Curious George]

Can a SCSI RAID 1 set in a hot-swap chassis possibly be moved to a new
server? The one I'm thinking of migrating from is 4 year old Gateway 7400
server.

You sure you want to do this. They're probably slow and reaching
their service life anyway.

The hotswap canisters/rails are likely not compatible so you'll have
to unmount the drives from them and install them in the new server's
canisters/rails. Depending on controllers involved you may prefer to
redo the raid config from scratch.

I have worked with Gateway, Dell, and Compaq RAID backplanes but I don't
know if they are made with standard dimensions. Since the drives all come
from Gateway I don't even know if they are standard SCSI interfaces.

Gateway, Dell, & others don't actually manufacturer drives. The
drives are standard, & the scsi interface is standard (It's not like
Avid & a few others). However the canisters or rails the drives mount
in for hot plugging are proprietary (for the most part) & change with
each generation.

 

[J. Clarke]

You sure you want to do this. They're probably slow and reaching
their service life anyway.

The hotswap canisters/rails are likely not compatible so you'll have
to unmount the drives from them and install them in the new server's
canisters/rails. Depending on controllers involved you may prefer to
redo the raid config from scratch.


Gateway, Dell, & others don't actually manufacturer drives. The
drives are standard, & the scsi interface is standard (It's not like
Avid & a few others). However the canisters or rails the drives mount
in for hot plugging are proprietary (for the most part) & change with
each generation.

Depends on how the chassis is designed. If the drive mounts are integral
then the rails probably need to be replaced. If they use a 5-into-3 card
cage such as the one made by Enlight then the whole assembly can be moved.

 

[Curious George]

Depends on how the chassis is designed. If the drive mounts are integral
then the rails probably need to be replaced. If they use a 5-into-3 card
cage such as the one made by Enlight then the whole assembly can be moved.

Good point. That is sometimes an option (& would be the preferable
one for his migration plan).

 

[Tom Del Rosso]

moved.

Good point. That is sometimes an option (& would be the preferable
one for his migration plan).

Thanks all. It wasn't a plan though. I was just curious if it was a
possibility. I think part of the cage is integral, and there is a power
connector to the backplane that might be proprietary too.

As for service life, the larger drives (there are 2 RAID sets) are less than
2 years old. Since they are standard interfaces then I might leave open the
possibility of moving them, but I would redo the RAID config from scratch
like you said.

Thanks again.