Home Lab Off-Host Backup Device
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@Dashrender said:
This is your backup repository. The same could be said if you were using a Drobo - what happens if the Drobo mobo dies?
There was a discussion recently, can't recall here or SW, where someone asked if the boot setup died, how do I recover my software based RAID. Assuming the drives are still good, when you reinstall the OS that created the RAID, you should be able to import the RAID back into the system with no data loss.I prefer to clone my running state USB.. but that's just my thinking.
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@DustinB3403 said:
How is the VM Array protected in this case?
RAID 10 via the same MD software RAID system you would use with any Linux, Xen or KVM platform. As determined by your stated requirements in the OP.
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@Dashrender said:
what happens if the Drobo mobo dies?
I really hope that when you open one of those up that their hardware revision is called Bobo and the board has a big label that says Drobo Bobo Mobo on it.
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There actually are cases where you would not virtualize a file server, but not at this scale or type. Typically it would be massive systems where you are doing special case stuff like massive physical scale, Gluster, CEPH, etc.
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@DustinB3403 said:
@Dashrender said:
This is your backup repository. The same could be said if you were using a Drobo - what happens if the Drobo mobo dies?
There was a discussion recently, can't recall here or SW, where someone asked if the boot setup died, how do I recover my software based RAID. Assuming the drives are still good, when you reinstall the OS that created the RAID, you should be able to import the RAID back into the system with no data loss.I prefer to clone my running state USB.. but that's just my thinking.
I definitely agree - saves you from having to start over, not that it's that big a deal if you do.
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So the recommended solution is setup another XenServer host with this box, and build a VM that has full access to the RAID 10.
I'm curious, how would I build the array on a VM, since I don't have a hardware RAID controller to do it at the Host level.
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You would configure the RAID 10 using XenServer's gui at the Hypervisor level...
Then just install the File Server VM as a regular single disk vm.
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@DustinB3403 said:
So the recommended solution is setup another XenServer host with this box, and build a VM that has full access to the RAID 10.
I'm curious, how would I build the array on a VM, since I don't have a hardware RAID controller to do it at the Host level.
No, do nothing of the sort. This is what I call "being weird." I can't define it but you can feel it. In SE it's called "smelling bad."
Why are you doing anything abnormal here? Install XenServer on a RAID 10 array, make a VM. Done. Never give VMs access to make RAID arrays. That's fundamentally not how virtualization is meant to work.
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@dafyre said:
You would configure the RAID 10 using XenServer's gui at the Hypervisor level...
Then just install the File Server VM as a regular single disk vm.
Exactly. Same way you would do this in any other instance. The problem comes, I assume, but feeling like this is a special case ... but it is not. It is just a normal VM on a normal hypervisor doing a normal task. Treat it like an normal VM.
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OK than how do you build the Software Array at the host level using XenServer? Any guides I can follow?
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@DustinB3403 said:
OK than how do you build the Software Array at the host level using XenServer? Any guides I can follow?
Identical to normal CentOS, as you will be doing it from the CentOS CLI.
Here are some guides:
https://blog.linuxnet.ch/xenserver-software-raid/
https://major.io/2012/01/16/xenserver-6-storage-repository-on-software-raid/ -
@scottalanmiller said:
@dafyre said:
You would configure the RAID 10 using XenServer's gui at the Hypervisor level...
Then just install the File Server VM as a regular single disk vm.
Exactly. Same way you would do this in any other instance. The problem comes, I assume, but feeling like this is a special case ... but it is not. It is just a normal VM on a normal hypervisor doing a normal task. Treat it like an normal VM.
Uh, I don't know about Dustin, But I've never used a hypervisor to make the array, I've always used hardware to make the array, and the hypervisor sees what the hardware presents as a single large disk.
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@Dashrender said:
Uh, I don't know about Dustin, But I've never used a hypervisor to make the array, I've always used hardware to make the array, and the hypervisor sees what the hardware presents as a single large disk.
Maybe because you are coming from the VMware world where that is the only option? The lack of enterprise software RAID is unique to VMware.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
Uh, I don't know about Dustin, But I've never used a hypervisor to make the array, I've always used hardware to make the array, and the hypervisor sees what the hardware presents as a single large disk.
Maybe because you are coming from the VMware world where that is the only option? The lack of enterprise software RAID is unique to VMware.
But you wouldn't use MS's software RAID either, right?
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@Dashrender said:
But you wouldn't use MS's software RAID either, right?
No, but that's a unique case in software RAID.
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Well, that's two of the three common hypervisors that don't have viable software RAID solutions.
It's easier to say that only XenServer has this function, than to say the others don't.
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@Dashrender said:
It's easier to say that only XenServer has this function, than to say the others don't.
I suppose. Except it is XenServer and KVM that have full enterprise software RAID and if you are on HyperV and don't have hardware then this is what you do regardless, so effectively it has it in the same way that Windows does. It's uniquely VMware that lacks software RAID conceptually.
People do HyperV software RAID quite commonly and Microsoft is pushing it hard. That's the entire drive behind Storage Spaces and Storage Spaces Direct.
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I've successfully used Windows Software raid on data drives on a number of servers... But I've had boot drives get out of sync somehow, I never did figure out what happened. But I never had a single issue with Windows Software Raid on Data drives.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@DustinB3403 said:
OK than how do you build the Software Array at the host level using XenServer? Any guides I can follow?
Identical to normal CentOS, as you will be doing it from the CentOS CLI.
Here are some guides:
https://blog.linuxnet.ch/xenserver-software-raid/
https://major.io/2012/01/16/xenserver-6-storage-repository-on-software-raid/Sorry playing catch up. So the first link is to build a Software RAID out of an existing system, correct? The second link is to create a new Array on XenServer.
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@DustinB3403 said:
The second link is to create a new Array on XenServer.
He takes an installed XenServer system (installed to the first disk) and makes a RAID array using that with additional disks.
If you install to USB, the steps are that much easier.
