Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:00:00 +0000 From: Barnaby Scott <bds@waywood.co.uk> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Dell PE4600 RAID5 server failing Message-ID: <473B0D70.7020307@waywood.co.uk>
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I suspect I already know the answer to this, which is that the trouble I am having is nothing to do with the OS at all, but I have to ask, because I am otherwise up against a total brick wall! I bought a second-hand Dell Poweredge 4600 and installed FreeBSD 6.2 earlier this year. I had it set up with RAID5 using its PERC3/DC controller, with 7 x 73GB disks (+ 1 hot spare). So far so good, and it worked faultlessly as a Samba server for several months. At the beginning of October, it went down, reporting a mismatch between the configuration on the NVRAM and the disks. With help from Dell support, I managed to recreate the RAID array and it worked again for a month. In early November it happened again, and has kept happening since. At one point it appeared that the backplane was faulty, so I replaced that, but I cannot keep the server up for more than a day or so without this 'mismatch' poblem. What about diagnostics on the hardware you may ask? I have run all the diagnostic tools that Dell can supply - several times - and the server declares itself to be totally fault-free. My specific questions therefore: Is there any way at all that FreeBSD could be invloved with this problem? (I did notice for example that the Dell PERC3/DC controller was not in the list of supported hardware - but then again, why did it work for several months?) Can I use FreeBSD to tell me anything about the fault that Dell's diagnostic tools haven't found? (I do hope someone might be able to help - Dell are trying to get me to switch to a 'supported' OS!) Thanks Barnaby Scott
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