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Questions - Disk Failure 3u Server

P

paulc

Active member
⭐️⭐️PATRON⭐️⭐️
Hi All,

I am a long term member, but mainly read the posts. Thank you to all who post for members like myself. I do learn a great deal from you.

I currently have a 3u server with 5 1TB disks, upgraded from a 5u server. I know this is small compared to many of your systems, but we have enjoyed our system for many years.

A disk failed on my 3u server last night. I caught it as it was rebuilding. First it indicated it was 70% rebuilt, then 90%. When I checked this morning, there was no longer any status on rebuilding, so I assume this completed successfully.

I plan to call Kaleidescape tomorrow (Monday) and order a 2TB replacement disk. I will probably purchase 2 disks since my understanding is the largest disk is used as the backup, so buying a second disk will provide me with increased capacity. Is that correct?

What should I be doing in the meantime to safeguard the remaining disks? Is it advisable to shut the system down? Or does shutting it down increase the risks to the disks and that the system may fail when it comes back up?

The disk that failed is in the #3 slot. As I said before, it is a 1TB disk. Can I put a 2TB in the same spot? My assumption would be yes, and just add the second 2TB disk in the #6 position. Are these disks hot swappable or should I shut the system down when replacing disks?

I would appreciate the advice and wisdom of those of you who have experience with such a situation.

Thank you very much,
Paul
 
First, no worries, the system is designed to handle these failures, that's the beauty of the hot spare system.:) The only indication you should see after rebuild is the defective drive will be "amber" in color, and you will likely get a message telling you that you are operating without a hot spare (because the one you had was used in the rebuild).

You can continue to use your system, again, that's why we have the hot spare. You are not in danger of losing content with another failure, but if that were to occur, then shutdown would be recommended until the replacement drives were installed.

The first two 2TB drives you install will not result in additional storage. That's because one will be designated as the hot spare (which is always as large as the largest disk in the Server), and the next 2TB will be designated for RAID (KRAID actually spreads the content amongst the drives, but it's easier to explain it this way).

In your case, because a disk failed, buying two new 2TB will only result in 1TB additional storage (not the 2TB additional storage expected) because you lost 1TB with the failed drive. All drives after these first two will increase storage according to the drive's size. If your drives are out-of-warranty you might have your dealer also inquire about "refurbed" drives. If available, you may be able to also replace the defective 1TB with a refurbed drive at a fraction of the cost, and it comes with a one year warranty.

Yes, you normally replace the defective drive with the new drive in the same slot, but just fyi, it doesn't really matter which slot you use for the new drive(s).

Hope that helps!

Jim
 
Hi Jim,

Thanks for the reply!:)

Yes, I do have the amber lights and the message you indicated to call K.

The info was very helpful. I think I understand the increase of storage although somewhat disappointing:(. I may consider 3 disks as a result of what you are saying though, so it is of value to know that upfront.

Are these disks "hot swappable", or should I, to be safe, shut the power off to the server? I tend to the latter.

Thanks again,
Paul
 
No need to shutdown, just pop out the failed drive and replace it with the new drive.

A couple of points:

1. Anytime you remove a drive always be sure that either another drive replaces it, or you place one of the hollow plastic drive cases in the empty slot. This insures proper airflow within the Server. Never have an empty space in a drive slot.

2. Before inserting the new drive, be sure the retention clip at the top of the drive is loose, and free to move up and down without "sticking." You test this by depressing and releasing the K logo button on the drive. It should move freely. This is important because if the clip does not properly "grab" the interior of the Server case when inserted, it might work loose over time and free itself from the Server connection point at the rear of the Server. If this happens, the drive will report as failed and the HS will be engaged and a rebuild will start. Over the years I've seen a couple of drives "fail" that were still good drives but they worked free because they were not properly "seated" in the Server.

If it sticks, the fix is to gently pry off the drive's White faceplate with a flat tip screwdriver (it snaps on /off), and adjust the phillps head screw at the top by turning it (counterclockwise) a little at a time until the clip/hook moves freely, then replace the faceplate. (If the K logo falls out, just put it back in place inside the faceplate.)

Have fun!!

Jim
 
Thanks again, Jim!!

I really appreciate your reply and respect your knowledge. I have read many of your replies and they always appear to hit the mark directly and succinctly.

I will order disks tomorrow and hope not to have to do any retention clip adjustments.

Since I plan to move to Blu-ray later this year, I don't think I will regret a little additional disk space. I have a few Blu-ray disks waiting for this upgrade, so we shall see what happens in this adventure.

Take care and Thanks again,
Paul
 
Happy to help.:)

(I doubt the clips will be an issue, so just fyi.)

Jim
 
Having received an email from a friend/client asking if he should check his drives, I decided to post again regarding the retention tab/clip that is designed to hold the KDISK's in their server slots.

To be clear, this is NOT normally a problem. You should NOT start shutting down Server's and checking drives. If you happen to be installing a new disk yourself, then consider checking as I posted above. It is something I do having had an issue in the past. If you happen to be moving disks between Server's for some other reason, then carefully check the retention tab/clip before reinserting in the Server.

Remember, these disks are not designed to be handled on a reguler basis and removing disks just to check what I mentioned has it's own potential issues (like dropping the disks, or static elect. issue), and is NOT recommended.

Sorry if I created any concern, it was not intended.:eek:

Jim
 
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