2.3 Adding and Replacing Hard Disks

The following procedures explain how to add or replace conventional hard disks in the NetWare server and how to load or replace disk drivers.

2.3.1 Adding a Hard Disk to the NetWare Server

Use the following procedure to install an additional hard disk in a functioning NetWare server.

Prerequisites

  • All users logged out of the server

  • Access to the documentation that came with the hard disk

  • Access to the documentation that came with the computer

Procedure

  1. Follow the instructions that came with your hard disk to install the disk and associated hardware, such as a disk adapter and cable.

    Refer to the documentation that came with the computer for more information about configuration methods and requirements.

  2. Start the server.

  3. If you have installed a new disk adapter along with the hard disk, install the driver for the adapter. For instructions on loading drivers, see Loading Disk Drivers.

  4. If the disk is larger than 2 TB, use a third-party disk manager to carve the device into logical disks of less than 2 TB each, which is the largest disk size that NetWare recognizes.

  5. Log in to iManager by entering the following URL in a Web browser:

    http://server.example.com/nps/iManager.html
    

    Replace server.example.com with the actual DNS name or IP address of your iManager server.

  6. In Roles and Tasks, click Storage > Scan for Devices, then select the server you want to manage.

    Scanning for new devices can take a several seconds, depending on the number of disks on the server.

  7. When the scan is complete, new devices should be listed under Devices.

    For more information about configuring the disk, see Managing Devices in the OES 2 SP1: NSS File System Administration Guide.

2.3.2 Replacing a Hard Disk

If a hard disk becomes unreliable or unusable, follow this procedure to remove the disk from the network.

  1. If the bad disk was part of a software RAID 1 (mirror), check the sys$log.err file to see which disk in the mirrored set failed.

    The error log contains a message stating that a device has been deactivated due to a device error. It includes the device name, which is a series of letters and numbers within brackets. See Device Names.

  2. If possible, make a backup copy of the data on the hard disk.

    Make sure the backup copy contains uncorrupted versions of all files and directories on the hard disk. If you have been backing up your data consistently and verifying its integrity, you can reload data for the volumes affected by the disk failure.

  3. Log in to iManager by entering the following URL in a Web browser:

    http://server.example.com/nps/iManager.html
    

    Replace server.example.com with the actual DNS name or IP address of your iManager server.

  4. Dismount volumes on the disk you are replacing.

    1. In Roles and Tasks, click Storage > Volumes, then select the server you want to manage.

    2. For each volume on the disk you are replacing, select the volume, then click Dismount.

      To dismount multiple volumes at a time, press and hold the Ctrl key while selecting multiple volumes from the list, release the Ctrl key, then click Dismount.

  5. Remove the segment from the mirror group.

    1. In Roles and Tasks, click Storage > Software RAID, then select the RAID device you want to manage.

      When the page refreshes, it lists segments on the specified RAID device.

    2. Select the segment of the device on the disk you are replacing, then click Remove.

    3. Repeat these steps for each segment that is on the disk you are replacing.

  6. Stop the server. If the server does not support hot-replacement of devices, shut down the server.

  7. Remove the problem hard disk and install its replacement.

    Use the instructions that came with the hard disk.

  8. Restart the server. If the server was shut down, turn on the power to start the server.

  9. If the disk is larger than 2 TB, use a third-party disk manager to carve the device into logical disks of less than 2 TB each, which is the largest disk size that NetWare recognizes.

  10. After you install the new hard disk, use iManager to scan and configure the disk.

    For more information about configuring the disk, see Managing Devices in the OES 2 SP1: NSS File System Administration Guide.

  11. Restore the data by doing one or more of the following:

    • If the failed disk contained the only copy of the server operating system, refer to your backup software to determine whether you can restore NetWare and the file system from a backup or whether you must reinstall NetWare.

    • If you use Storage Management Services™ (SMS) as your backup application, you must reinstall NetWare, then restore files from a backup. See Restore Options in the Open Enterprise Server SBCON Administration Guide.

    • For an unmirrored disk failure, if you have been backing up your data consistently and verifying its integrity, you can reload data for the volumes affected by the disk failure.

    • If this was a segment of a mirrored group, you can simply add the segment back into the mirror and let the data gradually be mirrored to the segment.

2.3.3 Loading Disk Drivers

If you add or replace a hard disk adapter on your NetWare server, you must load the corresponding disk driver.

Loading a disk driver enables communication between the disk controller and the server’s CPU.

Load the disk driver once for each disk adapter you want to support.

Follow the instructions that accompany the driver. Most NetWare disk drivers have a help file that appears on the screen as you select the driver. Refer to these descriptions to determine which driver to load.

IMPORTANT:Some drivers do not have a description file (a configuration file that is appended to the driver). These drivers must be loaded manually at the system console. To load these drivers, follow the screen prompts or press F1 for help.

For general information about .cdm and .ham modules, see Section 1.4, Drivers for Host Adapters and Storage Devices.

2.3.4 Replacing Disk Drivers

The conventional way to replace a disk driver is to unload the driver, thus dismounting all the volumes, then load the new driver and remount the volumes. If you are following this process, be sure you replace a driver only when users do not need to access the volumes.

You can replace one instance of a driver that has been loaded multiple times by using the remove storage adapter command at the server console.

NetWare also supports hot replace disk drivers that can be replaced without dismounting volumes or otherwise interrupting the server’s operation. If you are replacing such a driver, simply load the new driver at the system console prompt. The server loads the new driver immediately and unloads the old driver without dismounting volumes or otherwise interrupting service.

If you are not sure whether your disk driver is a hot replace driver, try loading the new driver without unloading the existing driver. You will receive an error message if the driver cannot be replaced without first unloading the old driver and dismounting volumes.