RE: RAID failure (Was: RE: Cost of tape drives)

[Neil Palmer <npalmer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

When I run into a potential disk failure situation I usually try the
pump from DST myself while waiting for the CE to arrive.  If they run it
themselves and it fails, I make them try it again while I'm watching.

I did have one occasion several years ago where they came to me and said
they had tried the pump but it failed.  When I went to look it had
failed because of a media error on the tape.  I cleaned the drive, used
another tape, and the pump was successful the next time.

... Neil Palmer                                     AS/400~~~~~      
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        -----Original Message-----
        From:   qappdsn@ibm.net [SMTP:qappdsn@ibm.net]
        Sent:   Tuesday, January 27, 1998 2:35 AM
        To:     MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
        Subject:        Re: RAID failure (Was: RE: Cost of tape drives)



        Neil Palmer wrote:

        > If your controller failed, it should simple have been a case
of
        > replacing that and the system would have come back up.

        <<snip>>

        > I have seem a case where someone ordered a system with all the
hardware
        > for RAID-5, then no one activated it via DST.   :-(
        >

        Been there..done that...  I wish I had a buck for each time I
had to instruct the
        CE to replace the controller and NOT reformat the drive!  FWIW,(
For what it's
        worth)  just as an anecdotal testimony, in my personal
experience, controller
        failures have occurred more often than drives.  If you can get
the person to not
        super size the fries (I.E.: not work their script) you can
retain the drive
        data.  Sad but true. To R&R (remove and replace) is a quick and
dirty way of
        solving a maintenance call, it may not be to your best
interests.  MAKE them at
        least try a controller replacement first..hey what's to
lose...it's a 2 hour
        minimum on the service call! :)


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