Xserve 2 x Quad, Raid 5, 3 x 1TB, crashing now daily.

Hi all
I recently installed a friends Xserve, and although it seem fairly stable, it has recently (last 2 weeks) been regularly crashing.
It's a twin processor quad core, with 4Gb ram, 3 x 1Tb HD & Hardware raid card (apple).
I have a screen shot of the last error, but it means nothing to me!
I'm some 120 miles from the machine, so would like not to have keep revisiting it if possible!
Cheers, in advance.
http://smam.net/xserve/IMG_0770.jpg
Az

IIRC the crash log indicates a disk-related problem. Could be some kind of file or directory corruption - those kind of things can cause all sorts of problems an unpredictable times.
Sounds like a candidate for a disk utility like DiskWarrior or TechTool Pro - either that or a reformat/reinstall.

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1. Is it true that we shouldn't mix different size of RAM modules?
I do know that the reason behind matching four identical DIMMs in the bank is that you get memory interleaving which boosts the performance. What amount if performance increase that may be, I don't have a reference for. Nor do I know what the detriment of installing only two DIMMs in the bank would be..
2. Should all RAM modules installed be the same brand and from the same production batch?
It would be best if they were all the same brand to reduce the chance of timing errors. More important is that they come from a reputable maker and are guaranteed to work in the XServe.
Now, since you're not opposed to spending $60 more for the 2x4GB kit, how about a 4x2GB kit for just a little more? 12GB of RAM, interleaved...
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No one can recommend a setup other than yourself, since you're the one that knows what you plan to do with the server. All anyone here can do is tell you the pros and cons of the various options.
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Striping may also be viable if available capacity is your concern - if you need 3TB of space then this is pretty much your only option.
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Hi
If you're asking can OSX Server be reinstalled without a reformat the answer would be no. This assumes you're using the OSX Server Installer DVD. Assuming no other hardware issues you should be able to access any/all data on any of the Drives using Target Disk Mode and another mac. This will at least allow a transfer of important data to another source. Having said that you should be keeping back-ups anyway.
You can export Server Admin's configuration as a series of property lists. You can export Users, Groups and Computer Lists from WorkGroup Manager. You can archive the whole of the LDAP database - which will contain everything except home folder information - using Server Admin.
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adam taylor1 wrote:
As the data is backed up, I am not worried about having to re-format the entire Raid. When (and if) I do - what is the best way to configure the set-up for video work and retain the Raid 5?
That is a loaded question It all depends on a nearly infinite number of details. What type of video are you shooting in? DV, HD compresses or uncompressed, etc. How is the storage used in your workflow? Ingest, editing, play out. How many people are connected to it and how do they connect? Is this direct connect? Is it a reshare over AFP? Are only project files kept there and all ingest/cutting is done on the workstation? And those are just the tip of the iceberg.
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Please click the "Kudos, Thumbs Up" at the bottom of this post if you want to say "Thanks" for helping!
Please click "Accept as Solution" if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
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Quote from: blardyblah on 08-November-08, 05:31:23
Cool, thanks. It wouldn't let me install the exe, was I supposed to change to extension to .inf? Anyway, it did let me install the Promise driver from the floppy, and that now shows properly in the device manager.
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"Cool, thanks. It wouldn't let me install the exe, was I supposed to change to extension to .inf?"
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"Anyway, it did let me install the Promise driver from the floppy, and that now shows properly in the device manager."
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"I will reboot and report back."
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