Re: SuSE: migrating tot linux software RAID?

From: bubba (magpie_at_cornfield.dyndns)
Date: 07/25/04 

Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 03:31:42 -0500

On Sat, 24 Jul 2004 20:51:29 -0700, Stephen Loeckle wrote:

> TJ <tj@getlostspammers.com> wrote in message news:<Jd_Hc.37110$Fy.5904@twister.socal.rr.com>...
>> Your experience is due to your lack of experience. Here are the reasons you
>> had issues (listed in no particular order):
>
> Not likely. Been working with linux for 6 years now.
>
>>
>> The reason that you couldn't boot after your kernel upgrade is because when
>> a filesystem is expected to be mounted, and is no longer there to mount,
>> your kernel panics. It is certainly possible to rollback a "kernel update"
>> without losing your data.
>
> Yes, but the system does not act the same. I went through this on my
> third machine with a megaraid that crashed because of this kernel
> update.
>

Edit /etc/sysconfig/kernel remove the I2O references under INITRD_MODULES
then save and exit and run MKINITRD.

I had lockups and other odd behavior when the I2O drivers were loaded with
a MegaRaid.

Also make sure the megaraid2 or whatever is in the INITRD_MODULES. As this
will be needed. Also make sure that reiserfs is included.

>> The reason that the update to your
kernel failed is probably because
>> you used a precompiled kernel or binaries for your raid configuration
>> originally. Guess what - the kernel updates from SuSE's auto-updater
>> are compiled for you, and not necessarily backwards compatible (either
>> by design or by mistake is not relevant). How to work around that is
>> another subject for the forum.
>
> Not backwards compatible by design with two of the most popular
> controllers on the market? LSI MegaRaid and Promise ULTRA/133? That is
> terribly short sighted. By mistake is certainly relevant.
>
>
>> The reason that you had data loss at all... well that was just bad
>> planning on your part - raid is wonderful for keeping a system running
>> when a drive has failed, but is *not* really a data backup system.
>> Backing up your data should always go to an external resource (this can
>> include an internal drive that is not part of your raid cluster).
>
> I had backups and successfully restored the system after a full install.
> Assuming that I didn't is awfully presumptuous don't you think? A full
> reinstall and restore is terribly time consuming and something that
> shouldn't have been necessary if the bugs hadn't goofed things up. I was
> using JFS and the recovery programs only want to support Reiser. My
> fault there for assuming.
>
>
>> I don't mean to give you a hard time about it - just to give you some
>> ideas how to use the tools better in the future. There are several of
>> us, like myself and the other posters here on your article, that have
>> used the software raid very successfully for long periods of time...
>> and we wouldn't want you to discourage the new users based upon an
>> problem that was presented emotionally and without enough supporting
>> facts.
>
> The newbies should be forwarned not to install such a buggy kernel. Alot
> of people rely on the stability of the system and don't make regular
> backups. You and I seem to make those backups. Some folks don't.
>
> Stephen

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