1:1 replacement of an LSI raid card?

[Damian]

So, one of our servers has reported that the cache RAM on the RAID controller encountered single-bit errors. We cleared the message and haven't had it come back, but it's in our thoughts now....

Anyone replaced a RAID card? I'd like to shut down the server, swap out cards, and specify the array to the controller without initializing it. Is this my own fantasy, or would this really be viable?

Card's an LSI 9266-4i if it makes a difference.

 

[weservit]

Just swap the RAID card. During the boot the RAID BIOS will ask to import the array confguration and press I.


That's all

 

[mitgib]

Just swap the RAID card. During the boot the RAID BIOS will ask to import the array confguration and press I.


That's all

It should be that easy, but to be extra careful, go to the config screen and see the VD's are still there then import, that import feature always scares the hell out of me when dealing with production systems.

 

[quirkyquark]

It should be that easy, but to be extra careful, go to the config screen and see the VD's are still there then import, that import feature always scares the hell out of me when dealing with production systems.

This. Generally, a copy of the RAID config data is typically stored at the very beginning or end of each disk, spread across all disks in the array(s). A "blank" controller reads this to figure things out. When swapping (or upgrading), always manually verify that the controller is reading what you think it should be reading, before telling it to import or giving it any chance to overwrite the config data.

 

[pcan]

It is mandatory to check the configuration on the controller BIOS config screen before importing and committing the changes. If a disk is missing, you can turn off the server and check the cable connections.

If the replacement controller is reused from another server, I usually erase the previous configuration on a laboratory machine and charge the cache battery for 24h before putting the card on the production server. I also upgrade the firmware if needed; the replacement card firmware should be at the same or newer release than the replaced card.

 

[VPSCorey]

Yep LSI Cards when I had the 2 die on me during the power outage, swap, power up and nothing was needed

 

[Damian]

Excellent, haven't had an LSI card die since we switched from Adaptec cards so wasn't sure how the process went. Thanks for the input!