Drive Module Removal

This may be a stupid question, but this seems like a very un-Apple like behavior to me...
I have an Xserve G5 with 3 x 250Gb drives in a RAID 5 configuration using the PCI RAID card. With the security lock engaged, if I even push on one of the drive module coverplates (i.e. so that the 'handle' pops out) without removing the drive, it completely trashes the RAID, sets off the audible alarm, etc. Note that I never actually remove the drive, and I can't since the security lock is engaged. But just popping out the handle and then pushing it back in again results in the RAID having to go through a complete rebuild sequence which takes hours.
Is this normal?

We have the same setup. Most of what you are saying is normal.
In a 3 drive RAID 5 configuration if 1 drive becomes disengaged it should not destroy the whole RAID. It just makes the 1 drive unreadable by the RAID. The data on the RAID should still be accessible and usable, but I would avoid making too many changes during the rebuild. Too many changes during a rebuild could extend the rebuild time. However you can only lose 1 drive in a 3 drive RAID 5 configuration and still rebuild the RAID. If you lose 2 drives the RAID will be completely destroyed. We have also ran into problems with Drive 0 in the RAID. If the server gets rebooted during the rebuild of Drive 0 it may not reboot properlly and may cause the RAID to be destroyed which would mean a reinstall and restore from backup. So be careful when rebuilding Drive 0.
If you open Terminal and go to the man pages for megaraid you can silence the alarm (megaraid -alarm -silence). This will at least make the procedure less painful since it takes a 250 GB drive a minimum of 4 hours to rebuild depending on the amount of data in the RAID. The RAID alarm will sound if a drive fails too even if it is not disengaged so it is nice to know how to silence the alarm and find out which drive failed through the megaraid tools.
There is very good documentation on the Apple Server Support page
http://images.apple.com/server/pdfs/UsingHardwareRAID.pdf
Happy RAIDing

Similar Messages

External Enclosure for Drive Module?

We are setting up an emergency contingency strategy and we would like to be able to remove a drive module from our Xserve, then use it on another computer. Ideally we would like an external Firewire drive enclosure that would accept the Apple Drive Module as is. That's vs. unscrewing the drive from the module and installing it in an enclosure or in another computer. Has anyone seen anything like this? A carry bag or case for the drive module would be handy also. Thanks for any pointers.
Xserve G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Joseph-
Not trying to be an arse, but what about another XServe? I do not know how backwards compatible your drive modules are (as in a used G4 XServe), but certainly even a single processor node with no license would probably end up costing about the same as a specialty-type external housing.
Heck, that would possibly give you an entire contingency strategy in a box.
Just a thought. I know a nice case in the 300 dollar or less range would be superb, but I think they get you on that Apple proprietary thing.
-DaddyPaycheck

Finding replacement xServe RAID Drive Modules for sale

I've just started a new IT job and inherited an xServe (snow leopard) and xServe RAID
I'm not an expert on either. I've some experience with OS X Server, but I've never been a full on server admin.
One drive is dead. I believe they're 500GB units in the first six bays.
I also believe this is the most recent xServe RAID hardware. Purchased in 2008 or so.
So, first, where on earth would I buy a replacement?
And assuming that's possible, what are people's suggestions for buying drive modules for the other bays, and replacement parts for the xServe itself (power suppies, etc.).
Thanks!

first of all i don't have experience with proprietary Apple products, but typically i believe you can buy any hard drive so long as the interface is compatible (SATA or SAS for example) and the size is the same. there should not be a need to buy 'special Apple xserve hard drives'. if you buy a drive larger than 500 GB then the extra space beyond 500 GB will just be ignored depending on the type of RAID you have setup. definitely do not buy a disk smaller than 500 GB. pull out the disk that is bad and see what the make/model is. my xserve uses Seagate drives so you could probably just search eBay or whatever for the model number of the drive and use that. the hard drive should be able to be removed from the caddy so you don't really need a whole new "module".
as for power supplies those are proprietary and will need to be purchased thru apple or somewhere else like eBay, just search for the part number...

Apple Drive Module shows blue activity light permanently

We bought a spare ADM together with a G5 XServe and 3 80 GB drive modules. I just inserted the spare for the first time yesterday and whenever it is in the bay, it displays the blue light. To remove it safely I shut down the XServe. The original 3 modules behave exactly as expected. Is there any explanation for this behaviour? Thanks.

David Holt4-
Duh! The blue light! I had to get off me arse and go take a look. Man, my memory is not so hot.
Is the drive under warranty still? If it is I would consider contacting Apple and see if they will replace it. I would expect it to work properly.
If not I guess it is what it is which is annoying at least.
Luck-
-DaddyPaycheck

How to load linux driver module in java

Hi
I am currently trying to load a Linux driver module dynamically from java to enable some kind of wireless communication using the System.load() method. But unfortunately, the module is a .ko file rather than a dynamic loadable library .so file in Linux, So that when I try to load this module, I get an error:
Can't load IA 32-bit .so on a IA 32-bit platform
at java.lang.ClassLoader$NativeLibrary.load(Native Method)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadLibrary0(ClassLoader.java:1751)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadLibrary(ClassLoader.java:1647)
at java.lang.Runtime.load0(Runtime.java:769)
at java.lang.System.load(System.java:968)
at test.main(test.java:10)
I wonder if this error is caused purely by the type of file or there might be some other reasons? It seems that all the linux drivers are .ko files, can any one help me to figure out a way of loading such linux drivers?
Thank you
Song

Can any one give me some hint?
I am thinking about one possible solution: write a c program to load this module, then compile the c program to be a shared object library, and use jni to load this shared object library.
Does this work?
Thank you

I have about 130 gigs of movies on my iTunes and was wondering if I can just put them on my backup hard drive and remove them from my main computer to free up the space

I have about 130 gigs of movies on my iTunes and was wondering if I can just put them on my backup hard drive and remove them from my main computer to free up the space.

I haven't done this with an external drive, but I would imagine it works the same way as if you have multiple internal drives. Also hopefully it works with less headache in OSX than in windows.
Anyway, move all your music over to your external, and then go into itunes -> preferences -> advanced -> iTunes media folder location. Navigate to your drive, and pick the folder you want. Ensure that your folders are set up like they are in your ~/Music/iTunes folder, or wherever your iTunes is currently pointing. Then quit and restart itunes. If your music doesn't show up, try dragging your music folder from your external onto itunes, and it will hopefully update your library.xml.
As far as Jerry's problem goes, you could try adding another music folder to your library.xml, but I really have no idea whether this will work or not. If you want to give it a try (can't promise you won't corrupt your library.xml, so make a copy beforehand) you can find the music folder xml element right near the top of the xml file (open it with textedit/textmate/whatever text editor you want (NOT WORD)). Curious to know if this works, and if it doesn't I have other ideas so let me know.

DVD Drive Module, Identify?

I got one of these
http://cgi.ebay.com/APPLE-POWERBOOK-G3-4X-DVD-ROM-DRIVE-MODEL-SR-8173-C_W0QQitem Z130018660882QQihZ003QQcategoryZ31565QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
on eBay, for my Lombard, because it said G3 and I could see it wasn't the one for a Wallstreet. But it doesn't fit. When I emailed the seller, he said he got these and was told they would fit a Powerbook G3 so that's what he listed.
On the back it says 4x dvd-rom drive. On the side with the yellow sticker it says manufactured: December 1999 and model number among other things.
Does anybody recognize it?
Mac OS X (10.4.3)

From what I understand, the Wallstreet is indeed fatter (I have a couple) but the drive modules for the Lombard and Pismo are interchangeable, a drive for the Lombard will fit a Pismo, a battery for the Pismo is also for the Lombard, etc. The Wallstreet's DVD drive module is just rectangular, the one for the Lombard/Pismo has an irregular polygon shape, which is why from the picture, I concluded that must be the one I could use on a Lombard.
**Sure those weren't named after Carole Lombard and the Pismo clam?**:)

Array degraded but all drive modules are OK

Hi !
The Xserve RAID is a 14 x 250 Gb P-ATA model. One of the module went bad 3 months ago; I had no spare and the applecare replacement took a whole month to arrive. In the mean time, I bought an Apple 400 Gb P-ATA module and used it without any problem (had to upgrade to 1.5).
Once I received the replacement 250 Go and since I had to reformat the array anyway (purpose of the RAID changed), I swapped the 400 for the 250 and kept the former as a spare.
Sorry for the looong intro, but now, the problem :
Another drive went bust and had to be replaced. Swapped the bad 250 for the "spare" 400 module. A yellow light appeared on the module instead of the green one. No rebuilding was done.
RAID admin says that the array is degraded but if I look at the drives, they are all OK. The only "problem" is that the Drive Cache is disabled for this module and enabled for the others in the array. I tried to re-enable it through the settings but if I restart the array, It switches back to disabled.
I tried to force a parity rebuild. Took almost 5 seconds and did not work. the event log states :
Timestamp: 06/03/06 06:58:42 PM
Priority: Error
Controller: Lower Controller
Type: 47
Event ID: 799
Event: RAID Set 1 Rebuild Complete (-200001)
Description: The RAID set finished rebuilding.
Last thing I tried was to shut down, unplug, wait, replug, restart. done nothing.
I would like to reformat the drive module but I have no P-ATA xserve here. I thought It might have come from the fact It was used before in the same array.
Any ideas ?
Thx.
Eric.

Me again. I backup up the data and deleted the array. When I try to create a new one, the drive module in question is unselectable and a message states :
Drive 12 already belongs to a RAID set. (except it doesn't). I more and more wish I had a P-ATA xserve to format the drive in, but I don't. Any idea on how to format directly a drive module in a Xserve RAID?

Where to buy a xserve RAID drive module in the UK?

Hi does anyone know anywhere that still sells xserve RAID drive modules for a 2005 RAID
we have 400 GB drives but can use a 500 GB because we have the latest firmware.
If modules are unavailable can I take the failed drive out of the module and replace with a new one.
The current drive is a Hitachi Deskstar HDS724040KLAT80

Just sold our complete xsan setup (42 400Gb modules included) for 2500 euro... (so 60 euro per drive) and that included 4 XServes as well

Proper drive modules for a G5 Xserve?

Hi all,
We need up upgrade the drive modules in a G5 Xserve. I checked in the apple store, and the 750 GB SATA modules have this line:
"These Serial ATA Apple Drive Modules are qualified for use only with the new Intel-based Xserve. For Xserve RAID or older Xserve (G4 based) products, use the Apple Drive Module with Ultra ATA (parallel) support only. For Xserve G5 systems, use the previous generation Serial ATA drive modules."
The problem is, I don't see this "previous generation Serial ATA drive modules" anywhere. Similarly, the Ultra ATA drives have this line:
"These Ultra ATA drives are qualified for use with Xserve RAID only. For Xserve G5 or Intel-based products, use the Apple Drive Module with Serial ATA only. "
My question is, what drive modules should I be using?!
Also, does anyone think Apple will be coming out with 1 TB modules in the near future, and if so, what are the odds of compatibility with the G5 Xserves?

Hey guys,
A heads up.. I've had 4 flavors of SATA ADM:
1. 80GB SATA Hitachi (xserve g5 gen)
2. 80GB SATA Seagate (intel gen)
3. 250GB SATA (xserve g5 gen)
4. 750GB SATA (intel g5 gen)
Needless to say, all 4 work in either the xserve g5 or intel, and either can boot as long as the partioning is setup appropriately (guid or apple). With that said, there actually is a GB size difference between the 2 80GB models, which does make life complicated if you have an only xserve g5 and want to get a new 80GB to make a raid 1 (either the solution is to look for an older model on ebay or to wipe both drives).

My MacBook died and my hard drive was removed, are my existing files only compatible with Apple products?

My MacBook died and my hard drive was removed, are my existing files only compatible with Apple products? Are the files encrypted with Apple OS or am I able to import my files to Microsoft programs?

The drive as a whole can’t be read on a PC without installing software such as MacDrive on it.
The answer varies for individual document files; some file formats can be read by Windows software, while others can't.
(111559)

Third Party SSD Drive Modul

Hi Community,
is it possible to install a third party SSD (512GB; 3,5") drive modul in a new Mac Pro (build 2011) as system drive?
Thx & Bye Tom

The hatter wrote:
There are lots of fud and misconceptions when it comes to SSDs in particular.
There are also more than enough problems with S3 mode (sleep, and hibernation), with firmware, with shipping products too soon to know. Rush to recoup investments and to sell to bleeding edge customers only too happy to beta test for them.
Doesn't excuse the lack of TRIM in OS X after more than two years though. And no, BGC isn't TRIM and isn't a substitute. But constantly stirring the pot to add salt to the wounds doesn't help either.
If I had investment in SSDs and was using OS X I'd want to have SoftRAID 4 as well.
Sorry I have read your post a few times but I will not be wiser. Maybe you can explain it a bit easier for a none english native speaker ;-)
But what I understood is your hint for the missing TRIM support in Mac OSX 10.6.x. I had the biggest doubt in the loss of performance when the disc running out of empty space. Yes I know the problem that the disc have to delete marked free segments explicitly before it can use them again and yes I didn't know also, that Mac OSX doesn't support the TRIM command but I spoke to a lot of people who are using SSD modules for a longer period of time and none of them could confirm a decline in performance.
But the post of Grant Bennet-Alder concerns me more than a loss of performance. Why it is dangerous to clone a normal disk to a SSD module?
Thx & Bye Tom

Installing PCI-6052E having trouble loading driver module - Switch Soft Panel

I'm having trouble installing my PCI-6052E card in a Windows 2000 environment. After installing the card in the computer I boot up the computer, from there I click on the Start button, programs, NI Switch and cannot get the NI-Switch Soft Front Panel to work. When I click on the icon I get an error message returned that says "Failure Loading Driver Module". Any ideas?

Hi PCI Card Problems,
Thank you for posting on the National Instruments forums.
If you are trying to use the NI-Switch Soft Front Panel, please make sure that you have a switch module installed.
If you are trying to bring a test panel for the PCI 6052E, then you will need to open the Measurement and Automation Explorer which is found in Start >> National Instruments >> Measurement & Automation. Right click NI PCI-6052E under Devices and Interfaces >> NI-DAQmx Devices and select Test Panels...
If you only have a PCI-6052E installed, then what you are seeing is expected behavior since the NI-Switch driver is only for National Instruments Switch modules.
Thank You,
Nick F.
Applications Engineer

Buying drive modules

We are looking for two 80 GB drive modules used in a G5... some questions I hope for assistance:
1. Are all drive modules suited for all XServes, mainly the ones not specifically listed either suited for an Intel or G5 XServe ?
2. Are there compatible drive modules from 3rd party manufacturers ?
While a 80 GB SATA harddisk from Hitachi costs around 50 Euro, Apple charges for the same capacity 220 Euro including the drive enclosure. Anyway, I need the ability to check the SMART status using "Server Monitor"... I got told in a thread before that Apple neither sells the drive enclosures alone nor may non-Apple drives allow displaying their SMART status displayed in Apple tools.

Thank you for your reply.
Has that 50 Euro drive been tested and burned in?
You got me. I must confess that it is a common harddrive, not explicitly designed for a server environment. Checking this against Hitachi's website, the model is a Deskstar 7K80.
I shortly looked for a server harddisk from the same manufacturer, an UltraStar costs around 170 Euro, so when adding the value of the drive enclosure, we more or less come to the 220 Euro Apple charges.
Okay, so finally seeing all that trouble, I guess it is more convenient to buy an Apple part; the savings are not worth the needed time for finding a matching harddrive and dealing with the SMART issue (furthermore the fact that I would need to get a drive enclosure).
Each drive has their own parameters for SMART monitoring. Apple cannot
predict what parameters other drive manufacturers have set.
Not sure about, but I assumed that there is a list of standard (or at least widely-accepted) SMART parameters each manufacturer may extend with own specific parameters optionally.
Regarding Apple and SMART I understood that the drive's BIOS has a flag like "I'm from Apple" used by Apple's utilities to show the SMART status. Otherwise, they ignore SMART (little pushing to buy Apple original drives But maybe I'm totally wrong.
Also, consider warranty and support.
Have you an idea if Apple provides an insurance against data loss that ships with the drive ?

Older Drive Modules

Recently made the Intel transition after years of steadfast performance from my XServe G5. My new Intel XServe is using two drive bays with mirrored RAID. I've wanted to keep the old XServe G5 boot volume around just in case I need an old config file or log, but there isn't really a convenient way to mount it.
Supposedly, the XServe G5's drive modules are not supposed to work with the Intel XServe, but I popped one into the spare drive bay and it mounted immediately. I'm guessing that Apple says they're unsupported due to lack of hardware monitoring and so forth? That said, I see no harm in temporarily parking my old drive module in my new XServe, as long as I'm not actively using it for boot/write.
What is people's experience with using old drive modules in new machines or vice-versa?

DaddyPayCheck? I know you have some input on this... I accept links to old posts that didn't show up in my search results.
Pretty please?

Drive Module Removal

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for