Expanding xServe RAID Array - updated info sought.

I don't want to have to reformat the RAID and I don't want to lose data because...
1) The organization will suffer extended downtime.
2) I don't have ready access to 3TB of empty storage to back up the entire contents of the RAID.
These and Apple's documentation are a few of the many different sources of info on this topic I've sought.
With apologies in advance to William Lloyd, who has answered many of these questions.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/3330193
https://discussions.apple.com/message/3643384
https://discussions.apple.com/message/4543149
My (familiar) situation.
I inherited administration responsibilities for an xServe RAID using the latest firmware (1.5.1).
The xServe is an intel xeon dual 2 GHz, running Mac OS X Server 10.6.8
The RAID had six (sigh) drives in the left controller. None in the right.
When I became admin, one of these six was dead. So I went on eBay and got three refurb ADM's.
--one to replace the dead drive.
--another to expand the RAID 5 to a full seven drives. (from 2.5T to 2.73T)
--a third to put on the shelf as a spare.
Now then.
The replacement drive rebuilt beautifully. Happy 6 drive RAID.
I put in the 7th drive and expanded. It took several days.
I'm at the point of "merging" slices that gives everyone pause about losing data.
Much discussion here about whether this can result in added capacity without destroying data relates to earlier versions of Mac OS X Server and G5 not Intel xServes. So that's a point that I think I could use some clarity on. Can Intel Macs can expand the file system with this slice-merging function without data loss whereas Power PC Macs cannot?
Next, my RAID as I inherited it was one slice. That is to say, one volume. One partition. In RAID Admin under "Arrays and Drives" all the little drives display a [1]. They did when the RAID was degraded to 5 drives. They did when I added the 6th drive replacement. They do now, having used the Expansion function under "Advanced" to add the 7th drive.
So, next question. WAS IT EVER SLICED?
That seems to be a deal-breaker for merging slices without data loss.
For this, I looked in RAID Admin to my Events tab which dates all the way back to 2008.
I see exactly zero mentions of slicing anywhere. Come with me on a journey, won't you?
You'll see my expansion and verification up top.
The drive failure in October 2013.
Other exciting things. But no slicing.
Upper Controller
02/23/14 02:35:56 AM
RAID Set 1 Verify Complete (0)
Upper Controller
02/22/14 10:32:15 AM
RAID Set 1 Verify Started
Upper Controller
02/22/14 02:29:21 AM
RAID Set 1 Expansion Complete (0)
Upper Controller
02/20/14 12:43:43 AM
RAID Set 1 Expansion Started
Upper Controller
02/19/14 09:57:18 AM
Disk 7 Online
Upper Controller
02/19/14 09:56:38 AM
Disk 2 Online
Upper Controller
02/19/14 09:56:20 AM
Disk 2 Failed
Upper Controller
02/19/14 09:53:06 AM
Disk 2 Offline
Upper Controller
02/12/14 03:57:13 PM
Disk 2 Online
Upper Controller
02/12/14 03:56:55 PM
Disk 2 Failed
Upper Controller
02/04/14 03:57:12 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
02/04/14 03:47:55 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
01/30/14 12:04:34 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
01/30/14 11:30:56 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405570)
Upper Controller
01/30/14 05:35:42 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
01/30/14 04:20:52 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Lower Controller
01/30/14 04:16:48 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
01/30/14 03:52:39 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Lower Controller
11/19/13 01:26:54 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
11/19/13 01:19:56 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Warning
Lower Controller
11/19/13 08:53:21 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
11/19/13 08:53:21 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
11/19/13 08:53:20 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
11/19/13 08:53:20 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
11/19/13 08:53:01 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
11/19/13 08:53:00 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
11/19/13 08:52:59 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
11/19/13 08:52:59 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
11/19/13 08:46:49 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
11/19/13 08:46:49 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
11/19/13 08:46:49 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
11/19/13 08:46:49 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
11/19/13 08:46:25 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
11/19/13 08:46:25 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
11/19/13 08:46:23 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
11/19/13 08:46:23 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
11/17/13 11:05:27 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
11/17/13 10:18:06 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Lower Controller
11/17/13 06:52:08 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
11/17/13 06:37:37 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Warning
Upper Controller
11/14/13 07:27:36 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
11/14/13 07:27:36 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
11/14/13 07:27:36 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
11/14/13 07:27:36 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
11/14/13 07:27:17 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
11/14/13 07:27:17 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
11/14/13 07:27:15 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
11/14/13 07:27:15 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
11/04/13 04:07:31 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
11/04/13 03:59:53 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
10/29/13 02:27:01 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
10/29/13 02:19:08 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Warning
Upper Controller
10/20/13 09:17:30 AM
Disk 2 Failed To Recover After Reset. Retrying. RETRY COUNT:0
Upper Controller
10/20/13 09:17:30 AM
Disk 2 Offline
Warning
Upper Controller
10/20/13 09:16:11 AM
Disk 2 Failed To Respond. Retrying. RETRY COUNT:0 LBA:0x1B458
Upper Controller
10/19/13 10:16:20 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
10/19/13 10:01:02 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
09/10/13 11:16:31 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
09/10/13 11:09:49 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
07/02/13 03:30:07 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
07/02/13 02:52:22 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
06/02/13 07:36:14 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
06/02/13 07:15:46 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
06/02/13 12:29:10 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405570)
Upper Controller
06/02/13 11:53:54 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405570)
Upper Controller
05/30/13 02:27:02 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
05/30/13 02:18:54 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Warning
Lower Controller
01/31/13 02:16:04 PM
Coprocessor 2 Temperature Problem Occurred
Lower Controller
01/25/13 12:04:09 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
01/25/13 12:03:19 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
01/24/13 11:31:16 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405570)
Lower Controller
01/24/13 10:42:40 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405570)
Upper Controller
01/23/13 08:12:06 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
01/23/13 08:04:44 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
01/15/13 12:50:01 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
01/15/13 12:36:31 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Lower Controller
01/08/13 09:41:00 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
01/08/13 09:33:59 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
01/06/13 11:15:21 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
01/06/13 11:00:28 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
12/31/12 09:30:09 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
12/31/12 09:22:41 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Lower Controller
12/31/12 08:46:42 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
12/31/12 08:32:11 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Lower Controller
12/21/12 11:42:51 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
12/21/12 11:34:19 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
12/20/12 10:01:05 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
12/20/12 09:20:19 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405570)
Lower Controller
12/16/12 10:12:58 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
12/16/12 10:05:23 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Lower Controller
12/09/12 08:06:47 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
12/09/12 08:00:19 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
12/06/12 10:04:35 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
12/06/12 09:58:14 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
11/17/12 08:10:17 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
11/17/12 08:02:33 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Lower Controller
11/15/12 03:33:56 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
11/15/12 03:24:25 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Lower Controller
11/15/12 05:16:54 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
11/15/12 05:07:27 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
11/14/12 08:16:42 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
11/14/12 08:03:16 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Lower Controller
11/13/12 09:04:27 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
11/13/12 08:49:25 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
11/13/12 02:36:33 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
11/13/12 02:28:47 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
11/12/12 09:02:07 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
11/12/12 08:56:46 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
11/12/12 03:40:58 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
11/12/12 02:28:48 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405570)
Upper Controller
11/06/12 12:02:51 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
11/06/12 11:46:30 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Lower Controller
11/06/12 11:24:06 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
11/06/12 11:14:39 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
11/05/12 01:35:07 PM
RAID Controller 1 Online
Warning
Upper Controller
11/05/12 01:35:06 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
11/05/12 01:35:06 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Upper Controller
11/05/12 01:35:03 PM
Disk 6 Online
Upper Controller
11/05/12 01:35:02 PM
Disk 4 Online
Upper Controller
11/05/12 01:35:02 PM
Disk 5 Online
Upper Controller
11/05/12 01:35:01 PM
Disk 2 Online
Upper Controller
11/05/12 01:35:01 PM
Disk 3 Online
Upper Controller
11/05/12 01:35:00 PM
Disk 1 Online
Lower Controller
11/05/12 01:34:44 PM
RAID Controller 2 Online
Warning
Lower Controller
11/05/12 01:34:43 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
11/05/12 01:34:43 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Upper Controller
11/05/12 01:34:39 PM
Enclosure Powered On
Lower Controller
11/05/12 01:34:38 PM
Enclosure Powered On
Lower Controller
11/05/12 10:42:35 AM
Service ID Turned On
Lower Controller
11/05/12 10:42:24 AM
Service ID Turned Off
Lower Controller
11/05/12 10:32:12 AM
Service ID Turned On
Upper Controller
11/05/12 01:43:41 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
11/05/12 01:38:27 AM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Lower Controller
11/04/12 03:06:10 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
11/04/12 02:42:15 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405571)
Upper Controller
11/02/12 05:54:11 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Lower Controller
11/02/12 05:51:38 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
11/14/10 01:53:19 PM
Coprocessor Offline
Upper Controller
11/14/10 01:53:17 PM
RAID Controller 1 Restarted
Upper Controller
11/14/10 01:53:17 PM
RAID Controller 1 Offline
Warning
Upper Controller
11/14/10 01:53:17 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Upper Controller
11/14/10 01:53:17 PM
Coprocessor Restarted
Lower Controller
11/14/10 01:52:51 PM
Coprocessor Offline
Lower Controller
11/14/10 01:52:50 PM
Coprocessor Restarted
Lower Controller
11/14/10 01:52:40 PM
RAID Controller 2 Restarted
Lower Controller
11/14/10 01:52:40 PM
RAID Controller 2 Offline
Warning
Lower Controller
11/14/10 01:52:40 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
11/14/10 01:51:08 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
11/14/10 01:51:08 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
11/14/10 01:50:30 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
11/14/10 01:50:30 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
11/14/10 01:31:48 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
11/14/10 01:31:10 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Lower Controller
10/21/10 03:16:53 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405570)
Lower Controller
10/21/10 11:57:57 AM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Upper Controller
10/16/10 04:25:11 AM
RAID Set 1 Expansion Complete (0)
Warning
Upper Controller
10/14/10 11:24:27 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
10/14/10 11:24:27 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
10/14/10 11:24:27 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
10/14/10 11:24:27 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
10/14/10 11:24:00 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
10/14/10 11:24:00 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
10/14/10 11:23:58 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
10/14/10 11:23:58 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
10/14/10 07:17:27 PM
Time Synchronization Failure with "time.apple.com" (7405570)
Upper Controller
10/14/10 02:55:08 PM
RAID Set 1 Expansion Started
Lower Controller
10/14/10 02:49:04 PM
Time Synchronized with "time.apple.com"
Warning
Upper Controller
05/18/10 05:48:00 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
05/18/10 05:48:00 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
05/18/10 05:47:41 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
05/18/10 05:47:39 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
05/18/10 05:38:38 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
05/18/10 05:38:38 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
05/18/10 05:38:19 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
05/18/10 05:38:17 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
05/18/10 04:01:45 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
05/18/10 04:01:45 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
05/18/10 04:01:26 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
05/18/10 04:01:24 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
05/18/10 03:52:22 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
05/18/10 03:52:22 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
05/18/10 03:52:03 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
05/18/10 03:52:01 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
01/05/10 07:28:30 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
01/05/10 07:28:30 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
01/05/10 07:28:12 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
01/05/10 07:28:10 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
01/05/10 07:22:29 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
01/05/10 07:22:29 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
01/05/10 07:22:10 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
01/05/10 07:22:08 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
12/18/09 05:58:08 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
12/18/09 05:58:08 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
12/18/09 05:57:49 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
12/18/09 05:57:47 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
12/18/09 05:52:36 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
12/18/09 05:52:36 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
12/18/09 05:52:17 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
12/18/09 05:52:15 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
12/03/09 07:28:01 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
12/03/09 07:28:01 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
12/03/09 07:27:42 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
12/03/09 07:27:41 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
12/03/09 07:22:52 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
12/03/09 07:22:52 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
12/03/09 07:22:34 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
12/03/09 07:22:32 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
11/05/09 06:52:35 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
11/05/09 06:52:35 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
11/05/09 06:52:16 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
11/05/09 06:52:14 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
11/05/09 06:48:11 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
11/05/09 06:48:11 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
11/05/09 06:47:52 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
11/05/09 06:47:50 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
10/19/09 11:07:54 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
10/19/09 11:07:54 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
10/19/09 11:03:57 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
10/19/09 11:03:57 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
10/17/09 03:16:47 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
10/17/09 03:12:54 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
10/08/09 06:25:37 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
10/08/09 06:25:37 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
10/08/09 06:25:17 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
10/08/09 06:25:15 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
10/08/09 06:21:56 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
10/08/09 06:21:56 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
10/08/09 06:21:37 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
10/08/09 06:21:35 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
08/20/09 06:09:41 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
08/20/09 06:09:41 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
08/20/09 06:09:06 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
08/20/09 06:09:04 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
08/20/09 06:07:58 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
08/20/09 06:07:58 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
08/20/09 06:07:39 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
08/20/09 06:07:37 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
08/20/09 06:07:17 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
08/20/09 06:07:17 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
08/20/09 06:06:42 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
08/20/09 06:06:40 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
08/20/09 06:05:35 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
08/20/09 06:05:35 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
08/20/09 06:05:15 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
08/20/09 06:05:13 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
05/22/09 06:08:32 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
05/22/09 06:08:32 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
05/22/09 06:08:31 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
05/22/09 06:08:31 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
05/22/09 06:08:01 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
05/22/09 06:07:59 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
04/23/09 04:33:57 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
04/23/09 04:33:57 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
04/23/09 04:33:28 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
04/23/09 04:33:26 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
04/23/09 04:33:12 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
04/23/09 04:33:12 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
04/23/09 04:32:43 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
04/23/09 04:32:41 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
04/23/09 04:32:32 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
04/23/09 04:32:32 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
04/23/09 04:32:12 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
04/23/09 04:32:10 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
04/23/09 04:31:47 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
04/23/09 04:31:47 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
04/23/09 04:31:27 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
04/23/09 04:31:25 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
04/08/09 01:05:56 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
04/08/09 01:05:56 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
04/08/09 01:05:29 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
04/08/09 01:04:47 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
04/08/09 01:04:47 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
04/08/09 01:04:20 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
01/09/09 10:16:41 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
01/09/09 10:16:41 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
01/09/09 10:16:22 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
01/09/09 10:16:20 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
01/09/09 10:13:10 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
01/09/09 10:13:10 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
01/09/09 10:12:51 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
01/09/09 10:12:49 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
12/22/08 02:59:03 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
12/22/08 02:59:03 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
12/22/08 02:58:36 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
12/22/08 02:55:02 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
12/22/08 02:55:02 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
12/22/08 02:54:35 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
08/14/08 05:09:32 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
08/14/08 05:09:32 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
08/14/08 05:09:13 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
08/14/08 05:09:11 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
08/14/08 05:02:01 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
08/14/08 05:02:01 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
08/14/08 05:01:41 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
08/14/08 05:01:39 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
07/08/08 01:13:28 PM
Error Status Cleared Using Service ID Button
Upper Controller
07/08/08 01:12:49 PM
Power Supply 1 Failed
Upper Controller
07/08/08 01:06:59 PM
Disk 5 Online
Upper Controller
07/08/08 01:06:52 PM
Error Status Cleared Using Service ID Button
Upper Controller
07/08/08 01:06:15 PM
Disk 6 Online
Lower Controller
07/08/08 09:06:57 AM
Error Status Cleared Using Service ID Button
Lower Controller
07/08/08 09:06:19 AM
Power Supply 1 Failed
Lower Controller
07/08/08 09:00:21 AM
Error Status Cleared Using Service ID Button
Warning
Upper Controller
06/22/08 02:35:46 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
06/22/08 02:35:46 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
06/22/08 02:34:32 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
06/22/08 10:29:38 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
06/22/08 10:29:38 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
06/22/08 10:28:24 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
06/18/08 01:07:37 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
06/18/08 01:07:37 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
06/18/08 01:07:37 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
06/18/08 01:07:30 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
06/18/08 01:07:29 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
06/18/08 12:59:35 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
06/18/08 12:59:34 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
06/18/08 12:59:34 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
06/18/08 12:59:28 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
06/18/08 12:59:26 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
06/18/08 12:58:35 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
06/18/08 12:58:34 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
06/18/08 12:58:34 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
06/18/08 12:58:26 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
06/18/08 12:58:24 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
06/18/08 12:50:32 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
06/18/08 12:50:32 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
06/18/08 12:50:32 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
06/18/08 12:50:23 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
06/18/08 12:50:21 PM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
06/09/08 12:43:50 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
06/09/08 12:43:50 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
06/09/08 12:43:31 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
06/09/08 12:43:30 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
06/09/08 12:37:20 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
06/09/08 12:37:20 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
06/09/08 12:36:52 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
06/09/08 12:36:50 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
06/09/08 12:35:51 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
06/09/08 12:35:51 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
06/09/08 12:35:31 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
06/09/08 12:35:30 AM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
06/09/08 12:34:30 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
06/09/08 12:34:30 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
06/09/08 12:34:11 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
06/09/08 12:34:09 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
06/09/08 12:27:59 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
06/09/08 12:27:59 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Upper Controller
06/09/08 12:27:32 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Upper Controller
06/09/08 12:27:30 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Warning
Upper Controller
06/09/08 12:26:30 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre LIP
Upper Controller
06/09/08 12:26:30 AM
RAID Controller 1 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 09:01:38 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
06/08/08 09:01:38 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 09:01:19 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 09:01:17 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:24:35 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:24:35 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:24:14 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:24:13 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:17:06 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:17:06 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:16:42 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:16:40 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:14:13 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:14:13 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:13:52 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:13:50 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:05:42 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:05:42 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Up
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:05:23 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre Link Down
Warning
Lower Controller
06/08/08 08:05:21 PM
RAID Controller 2 Fibre LIP
Warning
Low

Here I am, at the precipice. Would you click Merge?

Similar Messages

Expanding XServe RAID set - stuck at 99%

We have an XServe RAID. One side had a RAID 5 set consisting of 6x500GB HDD's. We came to within 60Gb of filling it up and therefore initiated expansion of RAID set to 7th drive on Saturday. This was progressing 1% / 40 mins. We calculated that it would not complete before Monday when users would start hammering it, but after testing it, it seemed to be working perfectly fine while expanding. Writing/reading speed did not seem to be noticeably affected and we decided that all seemed well.
Monday started off well. Not not a single user noticed reduced speed or any other problems - This was until about 3pm when the file server hosting AFP & SMB crashed! Not good! Upon restart, the RAID set would not mount again.
RAID Admin shows the expansion at 99%.   I was hoping that the RAID set could be mounted again once it completed to 100%, but it does not seem like this will be happening anytime soon - it has been stuck on 99% for about 6 hours now and I don't know when/if it will ever finish. (Previously 1% every 40mins)
The fibre channel preference pane shows "Link Established" to the XServe RAID, similarly the RAID Utility shows "Link Up" to server. The RAID, however, does not appear in Disk Utility - even after restarts.
Does anyone out there have experience expanding a RAID Set on an XServe RAID? Does it usually stall at 99%? How long does it take to finish once it has reached 99%?
Is there anything I can do to try and get the RAID Set mounted before it finishes its expansion? It's now 8pm here (GMT+8) and users have finished for the day, but we only have about 12 hours before it needs to be up and running again!
I am out of ideas to try. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Curiously, more output from the above-mentioned 3rd party tool gives:
$ ./xserve-raid-info
Use of uninitialized value in string at ./xserve-raid-info line 655.
Use of uninitialized value in string at ./xserve-raid-info line 655.
Use of uninitialized value in string at ./xserve-raid-info line 655.
Use of uninitialized value in string at ./xserve-raid-info line 655.
Name: Xserve-RAID
States:
RAIDs: optimal
Components: optimal
Fibre Channel: optimal
Network: warning
Warnings:
The top network link is down.
Upper Controller Info:
Status: ok
Firmware Version: 1.5.1f2/50
Up Time: 262 days 1 hr
Temperature: 75.2 deg F
Write Cache: disabled
Prefetch Size: 8 stripes (512 KB/disk)
Fibre Channel: link up
    Topology: arbitrated loop
    Speed: 2Gb/sec
Network: link down
    IP Address: 192.168.30.11
    Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Lower Controller Info:
Status: ok
Firmware Version: 1.5.1f2/50
Up Time: 262 days 1 hr
Temperature: 82.4 deg F
Write Cache: disabled
Prefetch Size: 8 stripes (512 KB/disk)
Fibre Channel: link up
    Topology: arbitrated loop
    Speed: 2Gb/sec
Network: link up
    IP Address: 192.168.30.21
    Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
In RAID Admin, I've added systems using 192.168.30.11 (supposedly - link down).
I can NOT connect using 192.168.30.21 - it says incorrect password even though I know I am entering the correct one...

Disk utility doesn't show xServe RAID Array

I have a new (to me) xServe RAID box and I'm stuck, the stays lights are green the fiber link light is green on the RAID and not lit on the PCI card but shows up as green in the fiber link section of the settings tool but the RAID array doesn't show up in Disk Utility so I can't format the drives.
I set up the disks as Enhanced JBOD using RAIDadmin and I've deleted and created it a couple of times, I'm just not sure what else I should try, I've read the manual but. Can't find any suggestions of what's going wrong.
Thanks

If you have tried restarting a few times and it still doesn't show up I'm afraid you are gonna have to go back in and check the connections. I know they just slot into the carriage, but possibly it is not in tight. I can only suggest you open it up and check everything thoroughly. If after a thorough check, if it still does not mount you may want to take the hard drive back and swap it. Are you sure it was only a hard drive failure in the first place? I only ask this because WD hard drives have quite a solid reputation.

Xserve-RAID array intialising

An established array on my RAID has sudddenly begun the intilising process. Is this normal? Why would it be doing this now - it was initialised when I set it up so why now?
Also - why does the initialising proces take so incredibly long?!

Initializing? that sounds like a problem. Unless you mean either scrubbing/conditioning or rebuilding.
The former can be initiated via RAID Admin, and makes the XServe RAID check every block on the disk.
The latter may happen if a disk fails and the data needs to be replicated/rebuilt on a spare drive.
Initializing, as its name implies, involves setting up an new array. This doesn't usually (ever?) happen on its own, but only at the behest of someone using RAID Admin to manipulate the array.
As for the duration - if you're using RAID 5, creating the array performs a scrub of each disk to verify its integrity, as well as creating the initial parity data. If you enable the background option, the array is available for use immediately, even while the scrub is progressing.

Expanding XServe RAID on 10.5 for 10.4.11 Server?

We have an XServe RAID on an XServe G5 running Mac OS X Server 10.4.11. We recently added three more drives to our Raidset, but I now see that Mac OS Server 10.4.11 is unable to use the additional space though I did the expansion and slice merging with the Raid Admin tool. If I boot this server off of a Mac OS X 10.5 client system will I be able to complete the expansion and they could I reboot the server as Mac OS X 10.4.11 and have the additional space available? Or must I upgrade to Mac OS X Server 10.5. I know I can always back up the data reformat the drive and copy the data back, but am attempting to avoid that if possible.

If I boot this server off of a Mac OS X 10.5 client system will I be able to complete the expansion
No.
Or must I upgrade to Mac OS X Server 10.5
Won't make any difference. The issue is not with the OS version, but the disk partition/format.
I know I can always back up the data reformat the drive and copy the data back, but am attempting to avoid that if possible.
That's your solution, I'm afraid.

Remote sync between two RAID arrays

We have two Xserve RAID arrays. One is here in our local office, the other at a remote site which hosts a few of our servers as well. Does anyone have any suggestions for keeping the two synced? I would like to not have to deal with tape backups in the office, but the files being stored here are pretty valuable. I've dealt with this on the Windows side with a tool called Tacit. Essentially that was a Windows box that had proprietary software that would continually update remote Tacit boxes. Anything like that on the Mac side? Possibly free? Would Automator be able to sync me up?
Cheers!

I made a 400.rsync script in /etc/periodic/daily:
#!/bin/sh -
# @(#)daily 8.2 (Berkeley) 1/25/94
PATH=/bin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local/bin
log=/var/log/rsync.log.`date -u ''+%y-%m-%d''`
date > $log
mountpoint=`mount | grep '/Volumes/EOFILMsan'`
if [ "X$mountpoint" == "X" ]
then
echo "Oh Oh, Filmsan not yet mounted" >> $log
/bin/mkdir -p /Volumes/EOFILMsan >> $log
/sbin/mount -t acfs EOFILMsan /Volumes/EOFILMsan >> $log
fi
echo "START VIDEOsan" >> $log
rsync -av --delete /Volumes/EOVIDEOsan/ /Volumes/EOFILMsan/EOVIDEOsan >> $log
echo "END VIDEOsan" >> $log
date >> $log

Dropped Frames w/Xserve RAID: Solution

We were having problems with capturing DV footage onto our new Xserve RAID and having dropped frames or even image freeze during the capture. Found some threads on the Xserve RAID forum regarding the issue and after following some of the suggestions (summed up in the article below) we can now report the problem has been solved. However, there are some reports the remedy may need to be reimplemented if the Xserve RAID is powered down. But I hope this helps those out there experiencing similar problems between FCP and Xserve RAID.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302780

every night I shut down my xraid unless it's rendering or copy ing. I use raid admin to shut it down. Every morning I start the array from the button on the back, boot the G5, and launch raid admin and uncheck "allow host cache flushing" It's like brushing your teeth and having a shower tho those personal habits don't have to follow the same order

Unable to expand volume on array

I've got a Mac Pro (Early 2008, 8x2.8Ghz, 6GB memory) with a Highpoint RocketRaid 3522 card in it. I started out with a raid 5 array of 3 1TB WD GreenPower drives in a SuperMicro CSE-M35T-1B sata cage. Partitioned it as GUID HFS+ (1.8TB) and it works great.
However, I added two more disks and expanded the raid array to a 2.7TB Raid 6 array. Mac OS sees that I have a 2.7TB drive with a 1.8TB partition on it, but when I try to expand the partition I get the error "MediaKit reports partition (map) too small".
When I try to resize it on the command line using diskutil it complains that the volume size is too large. running "diskutil resizeVolume /dev/disk4s2 limits" tells me I can only expand the volume up to 2TB. But even running "diskutil resizeVolume /dev/disk4s2 1.9TB" fails
Apple states that the maximum volume size is 8 Exabytes as of 10.4 and later and i'm running 10.5.2.
Any suggestions? I'm trying to avoid having to back up all the data and reformatting the drive. I plan to eventually expand the array to a full 8 1TB drives, i.e. 5.4TB and backup up 1.5TB of data is rough - but backing up more than that is nearly impossible.
And yes, I do know that RAID is not a substitute for backing up. I'm comfortable with the level of protection that RAID 6 gives me given the files that I store on this drive.
Message was edited by: Scott_DC

Have you tried a PRAM reset?
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379
Ciao.

Oracle and XServe RAID

I wonder if anyone have tried setting up an XServe RAID array for tablespaces with Oracle 10g running off an XServe G5. I'm interested in knowing how well (or bad) it performs.
Cheers,
Dan.

I've been thinking about how an Xserve RAID could be used in a RAC configuration under 10g on OS X. It looks like you'd need to connect your hosts and the Xserve RAID to a fibre channel switch and use Xsan to get a clustered file system.
I thought about using the drives in the RAID as raw devices but this won't work as ATA drives cannot have more than one 'login' to them ... Firewire and SCSI can.
I'd like to get RAC working over Firewire just to experiment ... I don't know if Cluster Ready Services will work on OS X yet though - the binaries seem to be there. Anyone tried?

Using Xserve RAID as NAS

We have a serious need for a NAS system in our studio. And coincidentally, we have a 3 yr old XSERVE 5.6 TB RAID - just sitting around, unused.
The Xserve has the standard Fibre Channel ports for mounting it onto a your computer (as well as the Ethernet ports for admin).
My question is, has anyone used their XSERVE as NAS? I know I could hook-up a CPU to my xserve and make it work that way, but I don't have an extra G5 laying around.
Thanks,
Tom

Use some caution on the terminology here, as there are Xserve and Xserve RAID widgets, and these are quite different.
There needs to be a computer or controller here to act as a router between clients expecting to have Network Attached Storage (NAS) and a Fibre Channel Storage Area Network (FC SAN) widget such as the Xserve RAID.
There are controllers which allow SAN storage to be served via network, but these typically operate by providing a complete separate path (NAS) into the storage. Via iSCSI or AFP or SMB into the controller, for instance. (And I'd expect there isn't much in this product space for an Xserve RAID array; I am aware of a few vendors that do offer storage arrays that can be acquired with one or both of iSCSI and SAN bus interfaces, but Apple doesn't AFAIK offer this with Xserve RAID.)
I'd probably look to sell the Xserve RAID and (if you have it) the FC SAN Host Bus Adapter (HBA) you were using, and use any profits to offset the cost of acquiring a replacement NAS storage array widget, or to acquire a Direct Attached Storage (DAS) storage array that can be served off one of your existing host(s). A SCSI or SAS shelf hanging off FireWire 800 or a SAS controller can do quite well in this regard.
I'd tend to guess you'll spend more - if you don't already have a Mac Pro or Xserve and FC SAN giblets you can connect to the Xserve RAID - than wholesale replacement with a DAS or NAS widget. 5.6 TB is approximately three current-generation disks, or four of the previous 1.6 GB generation disks. A four- or eight-bay Drobo is in this range, as are many other solutions. Or "just a SCSI or SAS storage shelf" configured as DAS can work fine, too. (And disk storage shelves are available from various vendors.)

Xserve RAID lost RAID 5 array on right/bottom controller

I cleanly shut down an Xserve G5 with an Xserve RAID attached and then powered off the Xserve RAID this morning. I replaced a failing memory module in the Xserve and moved the rack 6". I then powered on the Xserve RAID, waited for a couple minutes until it was fully booted, and then booted the Xserve. When it came up, my RAID 50 volume failed to mount. Upon further investigation, it appears that the RAID 5 array on the right hand disks is "gone". In RAID Admin (Disks and Drives tab), the left side array is visible, but all disks on the right side list status as "OK" and Type: as "Spare".
Configuration: Xserve RAID with 14 250 GB disks. Each side was configured with 6 disks in a RAID 5 array and one spare. These were striped using Software RAID on the Xserve into RAID 50 and mounted as a single volume. The RAID firmware is currently 1.5 and the Xserve is running OS X Server 10.4.3.
To summarize today's activities: under Apple's guidance (as this entire system is covered under a Premium Support contract), I swapped the (bottom) controller for the right side, updated firmware (from v1.3/1.20a to 1.5/1.50), multiple resets of both controllers, repeated forced firmware updates, etc.
Also, I swapped the left set of disks for the right set, and the array from the left set now shows up on the right side, and the missing array from the right is still missing with the disks on the left side. I replaced the disks to their original positions with the same results.
RAID Admin's Utility "Recognize Array" will not perform any operations on the rigth side disks and Apple tells me that there's nothing further that I can do with it.
None of this has solved the problem or substantially changed the issue, and the disks on the right side are still missing their associated array. Apple is unable/unwilling to offer any further help except to refer me to 3rd party data recovery services.
Does anyone have any suggestion at all that might possibly recover the missing array? Is anyone aware of any tools that I might use to recreate the RAID 5 array on the right controller? I was hoping that there might exist some low-level tools with which the disks could be recreated into an array by hand? Are there any commercial products that would work on this? Any other ideas?
Many thanks for any suggestions.
- Martin
Xserve RAID (14 250GB disks) on Xserve G5 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Not sure why you swapped the controllers back and forth
William, I don't think I was clear on this. I swapped the controller with a new controller that I had in a spare parts kit. This was at Apple's request.
really, RAID is not a backup...
I'm well aware, but despite my incessant warnings, users will become lulled in to a false sense of security when something "just works" for a very long time. This array wasn't intended to store valuable data that couldn't be lost, but...
It may be possible for Apple to re-create the RAID set, did you ask AppleCare about the possibility?
Apple has told me more than once that there's nothing else that they can do for me...and yet I keep calling back.
I was surprised that this array was lost when there were absolutely no prior signs of a problem and the system was merely shutdown and restarted cleanly. I'm more surprised and quite disappointed to learn that Apple will do nothing else for me (under a Premium Support contract) to attempt to repair a damaged array. When I asked questions about where the RAID information is stored, I received the answers: "I can't tell you that" and "Apple doesn't release that information". I did not get the feeling that they were working with me, but rather holding my hand while they walked me through published documentation.
I expected that there would be utilities (analagous to filesystem repair utilities) such as RAID Admin's "Recognize Array" that could help repair and recover damaged array data. I think that the lesson that I've leanred today is that I was naive to have expected such a thing without actually having investigated it ahead of time.
Anyway, thanks for your input, William.

Added a 2nd Array on my Xserve RAID, Though it's not appearing in disk utilityt

I have an Xserve RAID unit. Up until now I have just been running 1 side of it with 7 drives on RAID 5 = about 4TB. I recently picked up another identical RAID unit with 7 drives to fill out the right hand bay of the unit doubling our capacity. I have installed these and initialised the array which took about 48 hours, it's now showing as online and green lights all the way.
Now I've gone to make use of the extra space but it is not showing as available in the mounted RAID icon on the desktop, nor will the new array appear in disk utility. When I access server admin however, on the overview screen it shows I have 8TB on offer. Contrary to this in the system profiler the 'Fibre Channel Domain 2' is not reporting any SCSI devices unlike 'Fibre Channel Domain 0' - Not sure this is related.
If anyone can help me gain access to the new found 4TB I would be greatly appreciative.

it is not showing as available in the mounted RAID icon on the desktop
It won't.
The XServe RAID is really built as two independent RAID controllers and drive sets in one enclosure.
The 7 left-most drives are connected to the top controller, and the 7 right-most drives are connected to the bottom controller. They are independent. There's no way to build a single 14-drive array - the best you can do is build two 7-drive arrays.
What you should find is that if you connect the bottom controller to your server, the second array should appear on the desktop, separate and distinct from your existing volume.
If you really need to expand your volume to cover all 14 drives then you'll need to use software RAID 0 (striping) on the server to meld both of the 7-drive arrays into a single logical volume.

Need to expand Original Xserve Raid

Greetings
since my model M9721LL/A is no longer available. What should I do about expanding my current system?
Will the new VTrak system work with my current array ? or am I going to have to frog it all out ?
-j

I'm not sure what you're asking.
The XServe RAID isn't expandable past 14 drives, so if you were looking to add another array it would appear as a separate entity (e.g. new volumes on your desktop).
Sure, you could create a software RAID (e.g. RAID 0) that combined the old and the new array, but you can do that anyway - it doesn't require anything specific about the XServe RAID. Therefore you could combine a Promise RAID and an XServe RAID quite easily.

Expanding a XServe RAID and Striping

Greetings!
I have an XServe RAID with four 250 GB ADMs inside the 1-4 slots of the Upper or left controller. This one array totals 701.27 GB at RAID 5 showing up on my Desktop as one RAID.
I recently acquired two ADMs, a 750 GB and 500 GB, and I'd like to install them in my vacant second controller on the right, slots 8-9. I'm pretty sure I can create another array with these two drives setting them at RAID 5. Then what I'd like to do is stripe the two arrays, using Disk Utility, and create a software RAID that will show up on my desktop as one RAID. (I currently use this RAID as my Final Cut Pro media drive.)
My questions are: Am I on the right path?
If I stripe them together, I will lose my data on my existing array, correct? (I have the data backed up on another external drive so when I'm done I can copy it back)
I feel is best to have one RAID rather than several. Or should I consider having two RAIDs but being cognizant that I will have to stay on top of of my Final Cut Capture Scratch media folders as I edit? (ie, Two RAIDS = two separate Capture Scratch folders. So I'd have to choose what Final Cut media will be on what RAID, etc. rather than one folder where all the media can go)
My goal down the road is to completely populate the left/top controller with 250 GB ADMs. If I do, I would assume I can expand the side with the 250's by merely using the Expansion function? Would this "upset" the prospect of having a single RAID of two striped arrays?
Thanks in advance!
System: PowerMac G5 (June 2004), Mac OS 10.4.11
Xserve: Upper Controller, 4 ADMs, 250 each, 1 Array, 1 Slice, RAID 5, 701.27 GB Total

William Lloyd wrote:
This doesn't sound like a good idea. You're mixing stuff in a variety of configurations that don't match, and if you want to stripe the two sides, they should match for optimal performance.
As in: they should all be 250 GB ADMs, right?
With the 750 GB and 500 GB drives, your options are RAID 0 (with NO protection) giving ~ 1 TB of storage, or RAID 1 (mirror) giving ~450 GB of storage. The latter is probably preferable.
So I could install them into the right side controller and make an array of the two using RAID 1 (mirror) and end up with 450 GB of storage. I'll get the protection but losing the extra storage because it would defer to the smaller size 500 GB ADM. And I can't add them to the other side where the 250 GB ADMs are because you're not supposed to mix different size ADMs on the same controller. (This is the stuff that is not in Apple's fine print when they sell it to you. You find it out either through Discussion threads or Technical Articles.)
If you were to attempt to stripe this with the other side, you'd have either 1.4 TB or 900 GB of storage, respectively. In the former case, if one of the drives on the right side failed, you would lose 100% of your data on the entire volume.
My option(s) would be: install the two non-compatible sized drives into the right side controller, combine them as a RAID 1 array and then have two separate RAIDs on my desktop, with the second RAID being physically larger than the other but actually smaller because of the incompatible 750 and 500 GB sizes. Then, when editing with Final Cut, I'd have to choose which RAID that I wanted to store my media on.
So if I were you, I'd give up trying to make it look like one volume.
Agreed. But are there any other options I can explore? I purchased the 750 and 500 GB drives naively thinking I could expand the storage of my Xserve RAID by buying larger drives. Now I'm finding out I should have purchased only 250 GB ADMs-- but they weren't available from Apple when I was able to purchase additional drives and no one told me otherwise. Until now.
Thanks for your learned reply. I guess I should have consulted with you/Xserve RAID Discussions before buying anything.

XServe Raid lost Array #2 after power outage

Hi..
I've had an unfortunate incident with my XServe RAID.. it lost power, and when restarted array 1 came up, but #2 is showing the drives' status as all "spare" and no configured array.
Our first thought was to use the "recognize array" utility in Raid Admin, but (after upgrading to the latest firmware) when choosing either controller the recognize button is greyed out, as if it doesn't want to. If i'm reading the support docs correctly, the drives might actually need to be showing as "available" rather than "spare" - but I'm understanably hesitant to just issue the make drive available command in case that hoses the data that (we hope) is still on the drives.
other details are that array 1 is connected to an Xserve and array 2 (should be) talking to a win2k3 box, via their respective FC interfaces. the power outage was uncontrolled and affected all machines (UPS failure) and startup was also unattended which is worrying me that the 2k3 box might have done something to array 2 on the way back up.
naturally i'm googling this one like crazy but haven't yet found any relevant info. hoping a suggestion or two here might set me in the right direction?
not a nice way to spend a weekend - but at least i have until monday morning to sort it..
thanks in advance..

Thanks for the feedback - unfortunately we'd already tried the complete power-down solution and no go. One thing i found out in the process was that we don't have the battery backup units installed, I think that might be a wise investment for next time.
We found a number of similar posts on the subject.. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1471056&tstart=165 and http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5949583&#5949583 and in the end just went with recreating the array and restoring from backup - it seems like the only option in this case... so i'll mark this thread closed.

Expanding xServe RAID Array - updated info sought.

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