HP DL380 RAID Migration (G8 -> G9)

So long as you keep the disks in the same numbered bays you should be able to move them all to the new server and it will pick up the RAID config without problem since newer Smart Array controllers are guaranteed to be able to read and understand the RAID metadata from older cards. Note I m assuming proper Smart Array controllers and not "dynamic" Intel chipset based ones. It may try to boot from the RAID 10 rather than the RAID 1, there is an option during POST to enter ORCA and select the boot array.

That doesn't mean it will boot the OS without problems since several drivers will be wrong. Smart Array drivers are similar for all recent controllers but chipset, CPU and NICs may be different.

Interesting, so I don't need to setup the disk arrays in the new machine to match the old. I should be able to transpose the disks and that's it. Many thanks.

As far as I understand and have tested extensively the configuration is only stored on the disks, and nothing is stored on the card except for perhaps the boot order, They tell you in courses that the config is stored on both disks plus card but if it is then the card is always ignored so I think they are making crap up.  You never have to pick whether to use disk or controller stored config to use it is disk stored config from the RAID Information Sectors every time.

We used to say back in the COMPAQ days you could take the disks out of the shelf, juggle them (coz u can) and stick them back in the new shelf and the Smart Array would create the virtual disks and work out the access order

Can they do it now?? It’s been a long time since  I did that sort of thing

Awaiting another part for the server and will report back (either way) at the end of the week when I have run the live test. Luckily nothing on the server is critical if it barfs.

Its always been a boasting point for Compaq/HP/HPE. In the Quickspecs for the controller under Smart Array Advantage it said "Data Compatibility among all models of Smart Array controllers allows simple and easy upgrades any time needs for higher performance, capacity, and availability increase. Even successive generations of Smart Array controllers understand the data format of other Smart Array Controllers". This statement has gone from the latest controller specs but I suspect it's still true.

Have ported the RAID sets to the new server, in order. All 8 lights have been spinning for the last 30 minutes.

Screen shows a generic:

>> Booting embedded LOM 1 Port 1 : HPE Ethernet 1Gb 4-port 3311 Adapter - NIC (PXE IPv6)

>> Booting PXE over IPv6

I presume I let this process run until the disks stop spinning, and then reboot?

p.s. Apologies for the delay but needed to reserve a slot to swap the servers out.

Need POST messages from controller, reboot and hit a key to get rid if the splash screen or turn slash screen off in BIOS.

How do I send POST message from Controller?  Did a reboot and came back to the same prompt.

Please do not hesitate to spoon feed me.

You have to press any key while it is booting to see the POST messages. Keep pressing the space bar as soon as as it starts to reboot to get rid of the stupid splash screen and see the text.

Been pressing keys ad nauseum with no joy?

The intelligent provisioning is picking up on 2 arrays with the correct number of disks. What should I be seeing in the Intelligent Provisioning?

It's probably set to boot from the wrong logical disk, in HPE SSA select the P440ar and then under Actions click Configure to access the configuration tasks and set the boot volume/logical disk.

Hmm, I feel that it should have worked but it hasn't??? The new server has found both arrays but asks to point a bootable disk and not the bootable array? I hope the attached pictures might explain something I haven't. Very many thanks.

I'll check in a couple of days when I'm back on that site. Many thanks.

No joy. I'll rebuild the server from scratch later, there was nothing material on it. It would be nice if transferring the RAIDs actually worked as I'm sure I'll have to do it at some point and would be so much saner and faster than a base build and a restore...

Very many thanks for your help.

At least the arrays transferred so if you reinstall the OS on the RAID 1 the data volume will still be there. For safety you can pop those drives out so you don't accidentally install the OS on top of it.