Hello,

I've acquired a Dell Poweredge T320 with the PERC H310 controller and 8 bays. I currently have a Dell Poweredge T100 running 6.3.2, and has 4 disks that has been fine for a while now. I've decided to upgrade it to the new server. 

I've followed the advice to disable auto-start of the array, and stopped/shut down the old server. I moved the disks into the new server and booted from the existing USB drive. This is where I run into problems.

The PERC H310 is configured to not handle any of the disks and passes through all 4 as standalone drives.

I took a screenshot of the original disks, yet when I try to reassign them, every one comes up as 'Wrong'. 

I've tried disabling the PERC H310 BIOS as well with no luck.

Attached are the screenshots and the system log... any advice on how I can get this configured without losing any data or configuration?

Thanks!

nas-syslog-20170618-1904.zip

Edited June 19, 20179 yr by t0r0
Solved!

I am pretty sure you just need to do a 'new config' with the disks in the Dell T320 in the same positions as they were on the old server which from your screen shot they appear to be, and you should be good to go.

Thanks, I did notice another post that said to do something similar (and the FAQ) but the options didn't appear the same:

 

https://wiki.lime-technology.com/Make_unRAID_Trust_the_Parity_Drive,_Avoid_Rebuilding_Parity_Unnecessarily

 

For unRAID v6

These instructions assume you are using unRAID v6

Sometimes, in some situations, you can get away without having to do a New Config (which requires reentering ALL drives). It may not work in all unRAID versions, and it clearly doesn't work in all situations. It often does work however, if all you have done is reassign drives, or swapped drive assignments. It may not work if you have empty slots within your array assignments. That is, drive assignments should be contiguous (e.g. 3 drives should be 1,2,3; not 1,3,4 or 1,2,9).

So how do you know if it will work for you? Just try starting the array! If it works, you're done! There's nothing more to do (although a full parity check is a very good idea, to ensure that parity really is good, for every parity bit). If however the array refuses to start, shows an error instead, use the following procedure.
 

This procedure starts by removing all drive assignments. You will then need to reenter all of them from your notes, making any changes you desire.

1. Take a screenshot of your current array assignments, or make good notes of them
2. Stop the array (if it is started)
3. Go to <Tools> and click <New config>
4. Reassign all disks using your notes or screen shot
5. Double check that your Parity disk is assigned correctly!
6. Click the check box "Parity is already valid" (make sure it is checked)
7. Start the array
8. Done!
9. It is strongly recommended to do a parity check now, to make sure parity is fine
    

For unRAID v6.2, there's word of a simpler way, that avoids having to use New Config. Just unassign the parity drive, start and stop the array (to make it forget the parity drive assignment), reassign the parity drive, and start the array after clicking the "Parity is already valid" checkbox.

 

Here's the issue, after Step 3 it is not clear what to select, and I was not sure that this procedure would lose my information or retain it.

 

I also notice that some of the drive strings appear differently as well, if you notice the WD drives are missing an '8PB0' in the drive description and once of the Seagate drives is missing a '66'. But I don't know if that makes a difference, as the other drive that is also being reported as 'Wrong' matches.

It should be noted that the PERC H310 is the stock firmware; do I need to flash it with IT firmware? I wasn't sure if that was only needed for non-Dell systems or not.

2 hours ago, t0r0 said:

do I need to flash it with IT firmware?

Yes, as you found out, unraid needs to see the drives directly using IT mode, not handled by the RAID firmware IR mode on the card.

Using the New Config method, the array became live without issue and I've already re-checked parity with no data loss. As a side note, I did not need to flash the RAID firmware whatsoever and performance is excellent. unRAID is working well with the stock firmware, as the card is definitely matched to the server.

32 minutes ago, t0r0 said:

Using the New Config method, the array became live without issue and I've already re-checked parity with no data loss. As a side note, I did not need to flash the RAID firmware whatsoever and performance is excellent. unRAID is working well with the stock firmware, as the card is definitely matched to the server.

Yes, but now if you move the drives off of that card to another card or to a motherboard port, the drives will no longer be found correctly. If you experience a drive failure while moving drives around, that will seriously hamper what should be a seamless recovery.

Glad things worked out for you.