Difference between revisions of "RAID"
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{{Warning|Installing a system with RAID is a complex process that may destroy data. Be sure to backup all data before proceeding.}} | {{Warning|Installing a system with RAID is a complex process that may destroy data. Be sure to backup all data before proceeding.}} | ||
− | RAID does not | + | RAID does not guarantee that data is safe. A RAID will not protect data if there is a fire, the computer is stolen or multiple hard drives fail. Therefore it is important to make backups (see [[Backup Programs|List of backup software]]). |
=== RAID level comparison === | === RAID level comparison === | ||
Line 50: | Line 50: | ||
===Prepare the device=== | ===Prepare the device=== | ||
− | + | {{Warning|These steps erase everything on a device, so type carefully.}} | |
− | {{Warning|These steps erase everything on | ||
− | + | To prevent possible issues each device in the RAID should be [[Securely wipe disk|securely wiped]]. Additionally, the following steps can be taken. | |
− | |||
− | Erase | + | Erase any old RAID configuration information on the device: |
− | {{bc|1=# | + | {{bc|1=# mdadm --zero-superblock /dev/<drive>}} |
− | + | Verify that the kernel clears old entries: | |
{{bc|1=# partprobe -s}} | {{bc|1=# partprobe -s}} | ||
− | + | With a software RAID, disabling the hard disk cache will help prevent data loss during power loss, as long as you do not use a [[Wikipedia:Uninterruptible power supply|UPS]]. Repeat the command for each drive in the array. Note however, that this decreases performance. | |
− | + | {{bc|# hdparm -W 0 /dev/<drive>}} | |
− | With a software RAID, disabling the hard disk cache will help prevent data loss during power loss, as long as you do not use a [[Wikipedia:Uninterruptible power supply|UPS]]. | ||
− | {{bc|# hdparm -W 0 /dev/ | ||
===Create the partition table=== | ===Create the partition table=== | ||
− | + | It is recommended to format the disks you want in your array. It is also possible to create a RAID directly on the raw disks (without partitions), but not recommended because it can cause problems when swapping a failed disk. | |
− | When replacing a failed disk of a RAID | + | When replacing a failed disk of a RAID, the new disk has to be exactly the same size as the failed disk or bigger — otherwise the array recreation process will not work. Even hard drives of the same manufacturer and model can have small size differences. By leaving a little space at the end of the disk unallocated one can compensate for the size differences between drives, which makes choosing a replacement drive model easier. Therefore, it is good practice to leave about 100 MB of unallocated space at the end of the disk. |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
====Partition code==== | ====Partition code==== | ||
− | The two [[Wikipedia:Partition types|partition type]]s that are applicable to RAID devices are Non-FS data and Linux RAID auto. Non-FS data is recommended, as your array is not auto-assembled during boot. With Linux RAID auto one may run into trouble when booting from a live-cd or when installing the degraded RAID | + | The two [[Wikipedia:Partition types|partition type]]s that are applicable to RAID devices are Non-FS data and Linux RAID auto. Non-FS data is recommended, as your array is not auto-assembled during boot. With Linux RAID auto one may run into trouble when booting from a live-cd or when installing the degraded RAID in a different system (maybe with other degraded RAIDs in worst case) as Linux will try to automatically assemble and resync the array which could render your data on the array unreadable if it fails. |
{{note|cfdisk and mkpart use a set of "filesystem types" to set the partition codes. Each type corresponds to a partition code (see [http://www.gnu.org/software/parted/manual/html_node/mkpart.html#mkpart Parted User's Manual]). It uses the {{ic|da}} type to denote Non-FS data and {{ic|fd}} for Linux RAID auto.}} | {{note|cfdisk and mkpart use a set of "filesystem types" to set the partition codes. Each type corresponds to a partition code (see [http://www.gnu.org/software/parted/manual/html_node/mkpart.html#mkpart Parted User's Manual]). It uses the {{ic|da}} type to denote Non-FS data and {{ic|fd}} for Linux RAID auto.}} | ||
+ | |||
+ | Once you have selected a partition type follow the [[Beginner's Guide]] to [[Beginner's Guide#Prepare the storage drive|prepare the storage drive]]. | ||
===Copy the partition table=== | ===Copy the partition table=== | ||
− | Once you have a properly partitioned | + | Once you have a properly partitioned the disk copy the partition table to the other disks in the RAID. |
Verify your partitions meet basic requirements: | Verify your partitions meet basic requirements: | ||
− | {{bc|1=# sfdisk -lRV /dev/ | + | {{bc|1=# sfdisk -lRV /dev/<drive>}} |
Dump the partition table from the formatted disk to a file: | Dump the partition table from the formatted disk to a file: | ||
− | {{bc|<nowiki># sfdisk -d /dev/ | + | {{bc|<nowiki># sfdisk -d /dev/<drive> > ~/partitions.dump</nowiki>}} |
− | Copy the partition table from the | + | Copy the partition table from the dump file to all other disks in the array: |
− | {{bc|<nowiki># sfdisk /dev/ | + | {{bc|<nowiki># sfdisk /dev/<drive> < ~/partitions.dump</nowiki>}} |
− | After repeating the command for every | + | After repeating the command for every other disk of the array, verify that the disks are identical with {{ic|fdisk -l}} or {{ic|sfdisk -l -u S}}. |
− | |||
− | or | ||
− | |||
===Build the array=== | ===Build the array=== | ||
− | + | Use {{ic|mdadm}} to build the array. | |
{{Warning|Make sure to change the '''bold values''' below to match your setup.}} | {{Warning|Make sure to change the '''bold values''' below to match your setup.}} | ||
− | {{bc| <nowiki># mdadm --create --verbose | + | {{bc| <nowiki># mdadm --create --verbose --level=</nowiki>'''5''' <nowiki>--metadata=</nowiki>'''1.2''' <nowiki>--chunk=</nowiki>'''256''' <nowiki>--raid-devices=</nowiki>'''5 /dev/<raid-device-name> /dev/<disk1> /dev/<disk2> /dev/<disk3> /dev/<disk4> /dev/<disk5>''' }} |
− | |||
− | |||
+ | The array is created under the virtual device {{ic|/dev/md/<array>}}, assembled and ready to use (in degraded mode). You can directly start using it while mdadm resyncs the array in the background. It can take a long time to restore parity. Check the progress with: | ||
{{bc|$ cat /proc/mdstat}} | {{bc|$ cat /proc/mdstat}} | ||
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or write it to {{ic|rc.local}}. | or write it to {{ic|rc.local}}. | ||
− | |||
===Add to kernel image=== | ===Add to kernel image=== | ||
− | + | Add {{ic|mdadm_udev}} to the [[Mkinitcpio#HOOKS|HOOKS]] section of the [[Mkinitcpio]] file before the {{ic|filesystems}} hook. This will add support for mdadm directly into the init image. | |
+ | {{bc|1= HOOKS="base udev autodetect block '''mdadm_udev''' filesystems usbinput fsck"}} | ||
− | Add | + | Add the {{ic|raid456}} module and the filesystem module created on the RAID (e.g. {{ic|ext4}}) to the [[Mkinitcpio#MODULES|MODULES]] section. This will build these modules into the kernel image. For example, |
− | {{bc| | + | {{bc|<nowiki>MODULES="ext4 raid456"</nowiki>}} |
− | + | Next regenerate the initramfs image (see [[Mkinitcpio#Image creation and activation|Image creation and activation]]). | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
== Mounting from a Live CD == | == Mounting from a Live CD == | ||
If you want to mount your RAID partition from a Live CD, use | If you want to mount your RAID partition from a Live CD, use | ||
− | # mdadm --assemble /dev/ | + | # mdadm --assemble /dev/<disk1> /dev/<disk2> /dev/<disk3> /dev/<disk4> |
− | |||
− | |||
− | {{Note | Live CDs like [http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page SystemrescueCD] assemble the | + | {{Note|Live CDs like [http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page SystemrescueCD] assemble the RAIDs automatically at boot time if you used the partition type {{ic|fd}} at the install of the array.}} |
==Removing device, stop using the array== | ==Removing device, stop using the array== | ||
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===Recovering from a broken or missing drive in the raid=== | ===Recovering from a broken or missing drive in the raid=== | ||
− | You might get the above mentioned error also when one of the drives breaks for whatever reason. In that case you will have to | + | You might get the above mentioned error also when one of the drives breaks for whatever reason. In that case you will have to force the raid to still turn on even with one disk short. Type this (change where needed): |
# mdadm --manage /dev/md0 --run | # mdadm --manage /dev/md0 --run | ||
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{{ic|hdparm}} should '''NOT''' be used to benchmark a RAID, because it provides very inconsistent results. | {{ic|hdparm}} should '''NOT''' be used to benchmark a RAID, because it provides very inconsistent results. | ||
− | == | + | == See also == |
* [http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/wiki/RAID/Software RAID/Software] on the Gentoo Wiki | * [http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/wiki/RAID/Software RAID/Software] on the Gentoo Wiki | ||
* [http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/wiki/Software_RAID_Install Software RAID Install] on the Gentoo Wiki | * [http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/wiki/Software_RAID_Install Software RAID Install] on the Gentoo Wiki | ||
Line 313: | Line 296: | ||
* [http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7924/ Introduction to RAID], [http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7931/ Nested-RAID: RAID-5 and RAID-6 Based Configurations], [http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7928/ Intro to Nested-RAID: RAID-01 and RAID-10], and [http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7932/ Nested-RAID: The Triple Lindy] in Linux Magazine | * [http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7924/ Introduction to RAID], [http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7931/ Nested-RAID: RAID-5 and RAID-6 Based Configurations], [http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7928/ Intro to Nested-RAID: RAID-01 and RAID-10], and [http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7932/ Nested-RAID: The Triple Lindy] in Linux Magazine | ||
* [http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/linux-raid-increase-resync-rebuild-speed.html HowTo: Speed Up Linux Software Raid Building And Re-syncing] | * [http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/linux-raid-increase-resync-rebuild-speed.html HowTo: Speed Up Linux Software Raid Building And Re-syncing] | ||
+ | * [http://fomori.org/blog/?p=94 RAID5-Server to hold all your data] | ||
'''mdadm''' | '''mdadm''' | ||
Line 321: | Line 305: | ||
'''Forum threads''' | '''Forum threads''' | ||
* [http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=865333 Raid Performance Improvements with bitmaps] | * [http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=865333 Raid Performance Improvements with bitmaps] | ||
− | * | + | * [https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=125445 GRUB and GRUB2] |
− | * | + | * [https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=123698 Can't install grub2 on software RAID] |
− | * | + | * [http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-888624-start-0.html Use RAID metadata 1.2 in boot and root partition] |
'''RAID with encryption''' | '''RAID with encryption''' | ||
* [http://www.shimari.com/dm-crypt-on-raid/ Linux/Fedora: Encrypt /home and swap over RAID with dm-crypt] by Justin Wells | * [http://www.shimari.com/dm-crypt-on-raid/ Linux/Fedora: Encrypt /home and swap over RAID with dm-crypt] by Justin Wells |
Revision as of 22:08, 7 July 2013
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Contents
Introduction
Template:Wikipedia Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) devices are virtual devices created from two or more real block devices. This allows multiple devices (typically disk drives or partitions thereof) to be combined into a single device to hold (for example) a single filesystem. RAID is designed to prevent data loss in the event of a hard disk failure. There are different levels of RAID.
Standard RAID levels
- RAID 0
- Uses striping to combine disks. Not really RAID in that it provides no redundancy. It does, however, provide a big speed benefit. This example will utilize RAID 0 for swap, on the assumption that a desktop system is being used, where the speed increase is worth the possibility of system crash if one of your drives fails. On a server, a RAID 1 or RAID 5 array is more appropriate. The size of a RAID 0 array block device is the size of the smallest component partition times the number of component partitions.
- RAID 1
- The most straightforward RAID level: straight mirroring. As with other RAID levels, it only makes sense if the partitions are on different physical disk drives. If one of those drives fails, the block device provided by the RAID array will continue to function as normal. The example will be using RAID 1 for everything except swap. Note that RAID 1 is the only option for the boot partition, because bootloaders (which read the boot partition) do not understand RAID, but a RAID 1 component partition can be read as a normal partition. The size of a RAID 1 array block device is the size of the smallest component partition.
- RAID 5
- Requires 3 or more physical drives, and provides the redundancy of RAID 1 combined with the speed and size benefits of RAID 0. RAID 5 uses striping, like RAID 0, but also stores parity blocks distributed across each member disk. In the event of a failed disk, these parity blocks are used to reconstruct the data on a replacement disk. RAID 5 can withstand the loss of one member disk.
- Note: RAID 5 is a common choice due to its combination of speed and data redundancy. The caveat is that if 1 drive were to fail and before that drive was replaced another drive failed, all data will be lost. For excellent information regarding this, see the RAID5 Risks discussion thread on the Ubuntu forums. The best alternative to RAID5 when redundancy is crucial is RAID 10.
Nested RAID levels
- RAID 1+0
- Commonly referred to as RAID 10, is a nested RAID that combines two of the standard levels of RAID to gain performance and additional redundancy.
Redundancy
RAID does not guarantee that data is safe. A RAID will not protect data if there is a fire, the computer is stolen or multiple hard drives fail. Therefore it is important to make backups (see List of backup software).
RAID level comparison
RAID level | Data redundancy | Physical drive utilization | Read performance | Write performance | Min drives |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | No | 100% | Superior | Superior | 1 |
1 | Yes | 50% | Very high | Very high | 2 |
5 | Yes | 67% - 94% | Superior | High | 3 |
6 | Yes | 50% - 88% | Very High | High | 4 |
10 | Yes | 50% | Very high | Very high | 4 |
Installation
Install mdadm and parted, available in the Official Repositories.
Prepare the device
To prevent possible issues each device in the RAID should be securely wiped. Additionally, the following steps can be taken.
Erase any old RAID configuration information on the device:
# mdadm --zero-superblock /dev/<drive>
Verify that the kernel clears old entries:
# partprobe -s
With a software RAID, disabling the hard disk cache will help prevent data loss during power loss, as long as you do not use a UPS. Repeat the command for each drive in the array. Note however, that this decreases performance.
# hdparm -W 0 /dev/<drive>
Create the partition table
It is recommended to format the disks you want in your array. It is also possible to create a RAID directly on the raw disks (without partitions), but not recommended because it can cause problems when swapping a failed disk.
When replacing a failed disk of a RAID, the new disk has to be exactly the same size as the failed disk or bigger — otherwise the array recreation process will not work. Even hard drives of the same manufacturer and model can have small size differences. By leaving a little space at the end of the disk unallocated one can compensate for the size differences between drives, which makes choosing a replacement drive model easier. Therefore, it is good practice to leave about 100 MB of unallocated space at the end of the disk.
Partition code
The two partition types that are applicable to RAID devices are Non-FS data and Linux RAID auto. Non-FS data is recommended, as your array is not auto-assembled during boot. With Linux RAID auto one may run into trouble when booting from a live-cd or when installing the degraded RAID in a different system (maybe with other degraded RAIDs in worst case) as Linux will try to automatically assemble and resync the array which could render your data on the array unreadable if it fails.
da
type to denote Non-FS data and fd
for Linux RAID auto.Once you have selected a partition type follow the Beginner's Guide to prepare the storage drive.
Copy the partition table
Once you have a properly partitioned the disk copy the partition table to the other disks in the RAID.
Verify your partitions meet basic requirements:
# sfdisk -lRV /dev/<drive>
Dump the partition table from the formatted disk to a file:
# sfdisk -d /dev/<drive> > ~/partitions.dump
Copy the partition table from the dump file to all other disks in the array:
# sfdisk /dev/<drive> < ~/partitions.dump
After repeating the command for every other disk of the array, verify that the disks are identical with fdisk -l
or sfdisk -l -u S
.
Build the array
Use mdadm
to build the array.
# mdadm --create --verbose --level=5 --metadata=1.2 --chunk=256 --raid-devices=5 /dev/<raid-device-name> /dev/<disk1> /dev/<disk2> /dev/<disk3> /dev/<disk4> /dev/<disk5>
The array is created under the virtual device /dev/md/<array>
, assembled and ready to use (in degraded mode). You can directly start using it while mdadm resyncs the array in the background. It can take a long time to restore parity. Check the progress with:
$ cat /proc/mdstat
Update configuration file
Since the installer builds the initrd using /etc/mdadm.conf
in the target system, you should update the default configuration file. The default file can be overwritten using the redirection operator, because it only contains explanatory comments.
Redirect the contents of the metadata stored on the named devices to the configuration file:
# mdadm --examine --scan > /etc/mdadm.conf
mdadm.conf
file:# mdadm --examine --scan > /mnt/etc/mdadm.conf
Once the configuration file has been updated the array can be assembled using mdadm:
# mdadm --assemble --scan
Configure filesystem
The array can now be formatted like any other disk, just keep in mind that:
- Due to the large volume size not all filesystems are suited (see: File system limits).
- The filesystem should support growing and shrinking while online (see: File system features).
- The biggest performance gain you can achieve on a raid array is to make sure you format the volume aligned to your RAID stripe size (see: RAID Math).
Assemble array on boot
If you selected the Non-FS data partition code the array will not be automatically recreated after the next boot. To assemble the array issue the following command:
# mdadm --assemble --scan /dev/your_array --uuid=your_array_uuid
or write it to rc.local
.
Add to kernel image
Add mdadm_udev
to the HOOKS section of the Mkinitcpio file before the filesystems
hook. This will add support for mdadm directly into the init image.
HOOKS="base udev autodetect block mdadm_udev filesystems usbinput fsck"
Add the raid456
module and the filesystem module created on the RAID (e.g. ext4
) to the MODULES section. This will build these modules into the kernel image. For example,
MODULES="ext4 raid456"
Next regenerate the initramfs image (see Image creation and activation).
Mounting from a Live CD
If you want to mount your RAID partition from a Live CD, use
# mdadm --assemble /dev/<disk1> /dev/<disk2> /dev/<disk3> /dev/<disk4>
fd
at the install of the array.Removing device, stop using the array
You can remove a device from the array after you mark it as faulty.
# mdadm --fail /dev/md0 /dev/sdxx
Then you can remove it from the array.
# mdadm -r /dev/md0 /dev/sdxx
Remove device permanently (for example in the case you want to use it individally from now on). Issue the two commands described above then:
# mdadm --zero-superblock /dev/sdxx
After this you can use the disk as you did before creating the array.
Stop using an array:
- Umount target array
- Stop the array with:
mdadm --stop /dev/md0
- Repeat the three command described in the beginning of this section on each device.
- Remove the corresponding line from /etc/mdadm.conf
Adding a device to the array
Adding new devices with mdadm can be done on a running system with the devices mounted.
Partition the new device /dev/sdx
using the same layout as one of those already in the arrays /dev/sda
.
# sfdisk -d /dev/sda > table # sfdisk /dev/sdx < table
Assemble the RAID arrays if they are not already assembled:
# mdadm --assemble /dev/md1 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdc1 # mdadm --assemble /dev/md2 /dev/sda2 /dev/sdb2 /dev/sdc2 # mdadm --assemble /dev/md0 /dev/sda3 /dev/sdb3 /dev/sdc3
First, add the new device as a Spare Device to all of the arrays. We will assume you have followed the guide and use separate arrays for /boot
RAID 1 (/dev/md1), swap
RAID 1 (/dev/md2) and root
RAID 5 (/dev/md0).
# mdadm --add /dev/md1 /dev/sdx1 # mdadm --add /dev/md2 /dev/sdx2 # mdadm --add /dev/md0 /dev/sdx3
This should not take long for mdadm to do. Check the progress with:
# cat /proc/mdstat
Check that the device has been added with the command:
# mdadm --misc --detail /dev/md0
It should be listed as a Spare Device.
Tell mdadm to grow the arrays from 3 devices to 4 (or however many devices you want to use):
# mdadm --grow -n 4 /dev/md1 # mdadm --grow -n 4 /dev/md2 # mdadm --grow -n 4 /dev/md0
This will probably take several hours. You need to wait for it to finish before you can continue. Check the progress in /proc/mdstat
. The RAID 1 arrays should automatically sync /boot
and swap
but you need to install Grub on the MBR of the new device manually. Installing_with_Software_RAID_or_LVM#Install_Grub_on_the_Alternate_Boot_Drives
The rest of this guide will explain how to resize the underlying LVM and filesystem on the RAID 5 array.
If you are have encrypted your LVM volumes with LUKS, you need resize the LUKS volume first. Otherwise, ignore this step.
# cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/md0 cryptedlvm # cryptsetup resize cryptedlvm
Activate the LVM volume groups:
# vgscan # vgchange -ay
Resize the LVM Physical Volume /dev/md0
(or e.g. /dev/mapper/cryptedlvm
if using LUKS) to take up all the available space on the array. You can list them with the command "pvdisplay".
# pvresize /dev/md0
Resize the Logical Volume you wish to allocate the new space to. You can list them with "lvdisplay". Assuming you want to put it all to your /home
volume:
# lvresize -l +100%FREE /dev/array/home
To resize the filesystem to allocate the new space use the appropriate tool. If using ext2 you can resize a mounted filesystem with ext2online. For ext3 you can use resize2fs or ext2resize but not while mounted.
You should check the filesystem before resizing.
# e2fsck -f /dev/array/home # resize2fs /dev/array/home
Read the manuals for lvresize and resize2fs if you want to customize the sizes for the volumes.
Monitoring
A simple one-liner that prints out the status of your Raid devices:
awk '/^md/ {printf "%s: ", $1}; /blocks/ {print $NF}' </proc/mdstat
md1: [UU] md0: [UU]
Watch mdstat
watch -t 'cat /proc/mdstat'
Or preferably using tmux
tmux split-window -l 12 "watch -t 'cat /proc/mdstat'"
Track IO with iotop
The iotop package lets you view the input/output stats for processes. Use this command to view the IO for raid threads.
iotop -a -p $(sed 's, , -p ,g' <<<`pgrep "_raid|_resync|jbd2"`)
Mailing on events
You need a smtp mail server (sendmail) or at least an email forwarder (ssmtp/msmtp). Be sure you have configured an email in /etc/mdadm.conf
# mdadm --monitor --scan --test
When it is ready you can enable the service
# systemctl enable mdadm.service
Troubleshooting
If you are getting error when you reboot about "invalid raid superblock magic" and you have additional hard drives other than the ones you installed to, check that your hard drive order is correct. During installation, your RAID devices may be hdd, hde and hdf, but during boot they may be hda, hdb and hdc. Adjust your kernel line accordingly. This is what happened to me anyway.
Start arrays read-only
When an md array is started, the superblock will be written, and resync may begin. To start read-only set the kernel module md_mod
parameter start_ro
. When this is set, new arrays get an 'auto-ro' mode, which disables all internal io (superblock updates, resync, recovery) and is automatically switched to 'rw' when the first write request arrives.
mdadm -r
before the first write request, or resync can be started without a write using mdadm -w
.To set the parameter at boot, add md_mod.start_ro=1
to your kernel line.
Or set it at module load time from /etc/modprobe.d/
file or from directly from /sys/
.
echo 1 > /sys/module/md_mod/parameters/start_ro
Recovering from a broken or missing drive in the raid
You might get the above mentioned error also when one of the drives breaks for whatever reason. In that case you will have to force the raid to still turn on even with one disk short. Type this (change where needed):
# mdadm --manage /dev/md0 --run
Now you should be able to mount it again with something like this (if you had it in fstab):
# mount /dev/md0
Now the raid should be working again and available to use, however with one disk short! So, to add that one disc partition it the way like described above in Prepare the device. Once that is done you can add the new disk to the raid by doing:
# mdadm --manage --add /dev/md0 /dev/sdd1
If you type:
# cat /proc/mdstat
you probably see that the raid is now active and rebuilding.
You also might want to update your configuration (see: #Update configuration file).
Benchmarking
There are several tools for benchmarking a RAID. The most notable improvement is the speed increase when multiple threads are reading from the same RAID volume.
Tiobench specifically benchmarks these performance improvements by measuring fully-threaded I/O on the disk.
Bonnie++ tests database type access to one or more files, and creation, reading, and deleting of small files which can simulate the usage of programs such as Squid, INN, or Maildir format e-mail. The enclosed ZCAV program tests the performance of different zones of a hard drive without writing any data to the disk.
hdparm
should NOT be used to benchmark a RAID, because it provides very inconsistent results.
See also
- RAID/Software on the Gentoo Wiki
- Software RAID Install on the Gentoo Wiki
- Software RAID in the new Linux 2.4 kernel, Part 1 and Part 2 in the Gentoo Linux Docs
- Linux RAID wiki entry on The Linux Kernel Archives
- Arch Linux software RAID installation guide on Linux 101
- Chapter 15: Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Documentation
- Linux-RAID FAQ on the Linux Documentation Project
- Dell.com Raid Tutorial - Interactive Walkthrough of Raid
- BAARF including Why should I not use RAID 5? by Art S. Kagel
- Introduction to RAID, Nested-RAID: RAID-5 and RAID-6 Based Configurations, Intro to Nested-RAID: RAID-01 and RAID-10, and Nested-RAID: The Triple Lindy in Linux Magazine
- HowTo: Speed Up Linux Software Raid Building And Re-syncing
- RAID5-Server to hold all your data
mdadm
- Debian mdadm FAQ
- mdadm source code
- Software RAID on Linux with mdadm in Linux Magazine
Forum threads
- Raid Performance Improvements with bitmaps
- GRUB and GRUB2
- Can't install grub2 on software RAID
- Use RAID metadata 1.2 in boot and root partition
RAID with encryption
- Linux/Fedora: Encrypt /home and swap over RAID with dm-crypt by Justin Wells