Raid Recovery Tips

Overview: The standard configuration for a NAS 6000 base unit includes two user volumes, each supporting up to 960GB of raw storage capacity for a total of 1.9TB. In a RAID 5 configuration, the usable capacity is 723 GB on the first volume and 768 GB on the second. This document describes the optimal way to reconfigure this user space into a single 1.5 TB user volume (base unit only), or up to a 4.43 TB user volume on a fully configured MaxAttach NAS 6000 (base unit plus two expansion units).

The NAS 6000 base unit contains twelve 160GB hard disks. This table describes the standard factory configuration.

In the procedure outlined below, the Windows Logical Disk Manager is used to span the disk space for existing drives E: and F: into a larger single E: drive on a base unit or all of the user space on the base plus expansion units.

Procedure(s):

Part 1: Protect User Data

1. This procedure assumes:
   • The NAS 6000 is installed and running with Terminal Services access to the Server Desktop
   • That the two-user volumes on the NAS 6000 base unit (E: and F:) will be reconfigured into a single user volume.

   In order to span multiple arrays into a single volume, each physical array must be configured in the identical RAID type. If expansion units are present, this procedure assumes that each expansion unit has the same RAID configuration as the base unit.

   This procedure destroys all user data on drives E: and F:. Please make sure to backup all user data.

2. Gain administrator access to the MaxAttach NAS 6000 desktop via Terminal Services.
3. Create a backup version of the MaxAttach OS on the server desktop:
   • Select "Start" → "Run"
   • In the Run Window, type “C:\BackupMaxAttach6000.bat” and click the “OK” button or press “Enter”. The backup OS creation process takes about 10 minutes.
4. Backup all user data volumes using an appropriate backup system.

Part 2: Uninstall Microsoft QFE Q286733

There is an issue that arises when spanning user volumes on the NAS 6000 due to a Microsoft QFE (Quick Fix Engineering) that is currently installed on the system. Microsoft QFE Q286733, (Potential Data Loss Because of Lack of Shutdown Notification) will prevent a NAS 6000 with spanned user volumes from automatically turning off the power at the end of a system shutdown. As a consequence, the NAS 6000 hardware watchdog timer will initiate a system reboot 655 seconds (approximately 11 minutes) after a system shutdown. This problem is eliminated when QFE 286733 is removed with the Windows Add/Remove programs interface.

1. Access the NAS 6000 through Terminal Service Client
2. From the Terminal Window click “Start” → “Settings” → “Control Panel” → “Add/Remove Programs”
3. Select “Windows Hot Fix (Pre-SP3) [Refer to Q286733 for more information]” and click the “Remove” button. The NAS 6000 will reboot within a minute.

The removal of QFE 286733 has absolutely no impact on the functionality of the NAS 6000 server.

Part 3: Run the Logical Disk Manager

1. On the server desktop, right click on “My Computer“ and select “Manage“ from the menu.
2. In the Computer Management window, double click on the Disk Management Item under Storage. This starts the Logical Disk Manager (LDM) with three windows:
   • The Console Tree
   • The Volumes List
   • The Disks window (in the lower right of the window)

Part 4: Decommission the existing User Volumes

Please note that the following procedures will delete all existing user data, including Persistent Storage Manager (PSM) snapshots.

1. From the Disks Window, locate “Disk2”.
2. Right click on the blue bar over the disk information area and select "Delete Partition" from the menu. Click on "Yes" when prompted.
3. Locate “Disk3”.
4. Right click on the blue bar over the disk information area and select "Delete Partition" from the menu. Click on "Yes" when prompted.
5. If there are user volumes on the expansion unit drives (presumably Disk4, Disk5, Disk6 and Disk7), delete them.

Part 5: Convert the Volumes to Support Spanning and Create the New User Volume

1. From the Disks Window, locate “Disk2”.
2. Right click on the Disk 2 status box (with the Disk2 name and the “online” status) and select "Upgrade to Dynamic Disk" from the menu.
3. In the window that appears with the heading “Upgrade to Dynamic Disk”, select “Disk2“and “Disk3” then click on the “OK” button. If this is a base plus two expansion units configuration, upgrade “Disk4“, “Disk5“, “Disk6“ and “Disk7“ as well.
4. In the Disks window, locate “Disk2”. Right click on the black bar over the disk information area and select “Create Volume“ from the menu. A Create Disk Volume Wizard will appear.
5. In the Create Disk Volume Wizard, click “Next”
   • Select “Spanning” and click “Next”
   • Select all the disks in “Available dynamic disks” list and click the "Add" button to include them in the “Selected dynamic disks” list, and click “Next”
   • Assign drive letter E: and click “Next”
   • Select “quick format”, label the volume as desired, select the “NTFS“ file system, select the default block size and click “Next”

   The volume creation and quick formatting process will take about 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of disks that are being spanned.

Part 6: Special Considerations and Limitation: PLEASE READ!

1. The new volume will not be visible or usable (after the creation and formatting are complete) until the current Terminal Services session and Administrator login session has ended. Close the LDM and logout user Administrator from the MaxAttach NAS 6000 server desktop. This action will also end the Terminal Services session.
2. The QFE Q286733 described earlier may be included in the upcoming Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) Release. The installation of SP3 makes the spanned volume-QFE interaction permanent. Seagate has informed Microsoft of this limitation and a resolution is in process.