Managing RAID on Linux

Managing Arrays

You can manage arrays using the DAC960/DAC1100 driver’s /proc entry, but its functionality is limited. To manage all aspects of your Mylex controller without bringing down the system, you will also need to use the Mylex Global Array Manager.

/proc/rd

The DAC960/DAC1100 driver uses the /proc/rd directory to report information about the status of Mylex controllers and to provide a user interface for performing some online management functions.

/proc/rd/status provides a simple interface for determining the status of all Mylex controllers connected to the system. When all controllers are operating normally, the status file returns OK:

$ cat /proc/rd/status
OK

If an array is degraded or failed, or a physical disk has failed, /proc/rd/status reports an alert:

$ cat /proc/rd/status
ALERT

Detailed status information is provided in controller-specific directories named /proc/rd/cN, where N is the controller number. Each controller subdirectory contains three files: current_status, initial_status, and user_command. Examine current_status using cat or a file pager to view the controller state of a controller and its arrays. A lot of information is displayed. The initial output is similar to what is provided by the controller’s startup banner and is found in the controller configuration menu under EzAssist:

***** DAC960 RAID Driver Version 2.4.11 of 11 October 2001 ***** Copyright 1998-2001 by Leonard N. Zubkoff <[e-mail]> Configuring Mylex AcceleRAID 352 PCI RAID Controller ...