Will I have to reformat to create a RAID-1 mirror?

[dsc106]

I am using Ubuntu 8.10 + webmin for Samba file sharing server. I currently have 1x1.5tb HDD, NTFS formatted. I would like to add a 2nd 1.5tb HDD, but just use it as a RAID-1 mirror (redundancy). Both NTFS formatted.

My question is, will the software have to rebuilt the original HDD to create a RAID-1 mirror, or is it smart enough to know that adding a mirror drive should just copy/sync all that data?

I would really like to add the 2nd HDD to create the RAID-1 mirror without the hassle of transferring all the 1.5tb of data around... so, anyone know?

 

[zedpol]

you may have better luck over at the ubuntu forums. I could never find great easy info about rebuilding raid arrays, recovering from failures, etc under ubuntu so i just went with a single drive system that I back up.

Z

 

[scotty]

You'd probably be best to try and back the data up anyway, creating RAID arrays even if you can keep the existing data is never a sure thing. It depends on the RAID software and controller though, some will some wont. Since you're doing things via. software in Ubuntu, as Zedpol suggests the Ubuntu forums are probably your best bet. There's probably some way to do it with some command line mojo given that it's Linux, but it could get complicated.

 

[sauce]

This isn't difficult. You don't need to lose any data. Just think about it. Configure a RAID1 array and add the 2nd hard drive. Now you have a working RAID1 array, even if it only has 1 disk so far. Copy all your existing data to it (make sure you use a bootdisk for this step). Make the RAID1 array your boot device. You are now effectively booting off a RAID1 array. Format the original disk for RAID, and add it to the array, now you have 2 disks in RAID1.

Also, running linux on NTFS is kind of (really) stupid. Take this opportunity to format the RAID as ext3.

Use this link as a guide: http://ascendwiki.cheme.cmu.edu/Installing_Raid_1_on_Existing_Ubuntu_Server

 

[dsc106]

I am running Linux on an ext3 formatted HDD as a server. The HDDs I am sharing over the NAS are NTFS formatted, so that if something goes wrong, or I so desire, I can just plug the drive into my Windows based systems (I am a Windows user).

Why is this stupid?

 

[sauce]

I thought you were trying to run the root OS on NTFS. So it sounds less stupid now, but still stupid. It sounds like your mentality is that this is an external hard drive. When you have time you should read up on the benefits of using ext3 over NTFS.

 

[ninevah]

The big risk is that when something goes wrong with setting up a RAID set, it usually means you've lost all of the data on the drives. Being able to hook the drive up as a slave to your Windows box isn't going to get the data back.

Technically, the data is still on the drives most of the time, but the boot record is wiped, so you can normally only recover the data using expensive data recovery services.

I should also mention that SAUCE's suggested way of creating the RAID 1 set is a rather creative approach. It somewhat depends upon the RAID capabilities of your RAID card, though. Many will not allow you to add drives after a RAID set is created. (I'm assuming you're wanting to set this up as a hardware RAID--which will get you MUCH better performance, but has its own limitations)