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Thread: Installing Kubuntu 7.10 on Software RAID5

  1. #11
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    Smile Re: Installing Kubuntu 7.10 on Software RAID5

    Quote Originally Posted by LNK View Post
    Rgotten,

    Let me be sure I understand something. From your explanation, my understanding is that you tried some other guides you found on the Internet before you tried the one I created. That is what I understand from the first paragraph of your reply. If this is not correct, please tell me. If I'm correct, then that part of your experience is the same as mine. The problem is that even though the installer appears to support RAID5, it doesn't really support it. The files are installed on a standard non-RAID partition. So it will boot. But if that partition goes away, like when you removed a drive, it will no longer boot.
    You are correct, i try other guides with no succes, and tehn i follow your instructions

    Quote Originally Posted by LNK View Post
    I will need to know the specific errors you received when running rsync in order to help you. It is probably something simple. But it could be any of a large number possibilities. Do you remember the errors? Are you running all the commands as "root"? If not, you'll get all kinds of "permission denied" errors.
    Well like i mention, i am comletely new to all this and doing my best, I believe i am running all the commands as a root since I am doing the following: "sudo cat/ proc/mdstat", with the sudo command on the fornt. At this point i do not recall the erros, but i am happy to write them back if i get them again

    Quote Originally Posted by LNK View Post
    To answer another question, I'm running Kubuntu because I prefer the KDE desktop. No other reason. That's all that makes Kubuntu different from Ubuntu.

    --Lloyd

    Well i have read on the forum and came to the conclusion of using the ubuntu server, one of my plans was to then probably install the GUI with kubuntu. what are your thougths in relation ot this. I just want something ligth and stable

    Thanks

    rgotten

  2. #12
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    Re: Installing Kubuntu 7.10 on Software RAID5

    Rgotten,

    Yes, if your are prefacing each command with "sudo", then you are running the commands as root. If you happen to forget it on a command, you will likely get some errors.

    If you try the installation again and get some errors, post them back here and I'll see if I can deduce what is happening.

    If you think you will want the KDE GUI, my advice is to simply install that from the start. I think it will be more work later to install it on the server version. If you install it and then decide you don't want the GUI running, I'm sure you can change the startup process so it doesn't start the GUI. I believe that is simply a matter of specifying a different init level for the startup process. This is just my opinion. Others might disagree. If you do want Kubuntu, just be sure you use the "alternate" version which contains RAID support.

    --Lloyd

  3. #13
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    Re: Installing Kubuntu 7.10 on Software RAID5

    Quote Originally Posted by LNK View Post
    Create the RAID array.

    Now it's time to create the final RAID5 array and its file system.
    Create the RAID5 array for /home with the following command:

    Code:
    root@ubuntu:~# mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md6 --level=5 --raid-devices=5 /dev/sda10 /dev/sdb10 /dev/sdc10 /dev/sdd10 /dev/sde10
    mdadm: /dev/sda10 appears to contain an ext2fs file system ...
    Continue creating array? yes<ENTER>
    mdadm: layout details to left-symmetric
    mdadm: chunk size defaults to 64K
    mdadm: size set to 45798086K
    mdadm: array /dev/md2 started
    root@ubuntu:~#

    .

    So far so good. I am in the process of reconfiguring the raid 5 and waiting for it to finish to install the /home. During the above part of the installation i just want to be sure if this is a typo error or I have an error on my side, if you see above you are creating this command for md6, and at the end i got a message"
    "mdadm: array /dev/md6 started" when you posted "mdadm: array /dev/md2 started"

    Thanks
    rgotten

  4. #14
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    Re: Installing Kubuntu 7.10 on Software RAID5

    Rgotten,

    Yes! That's a typo. Nice catch! I edited the original and corrected it.

    --Lloyd

  5. #15
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    Re: Installing Kubuntu 7.10 on Software RAID5

    Quote Originally Posted by LNK View Post
    Edit /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf and remove the commented out array defintions.
    Edit /boot/grub/menu.lst and remove the menu entries for the non-raid boot options. These are no longer valid.
    So far everything is well, and i am at the last part, since i am so new, i do not want to screw it up, can you be more specific in this last 2 steps. In teh fist one what exactly i have to remove? and in the second part do you refer to the parragraph that you mention before: "On the two original entries (now the third and fourth entries), append "(non-RAID)" to the title line. When the menu displays, you'll be able to tell which ones will boot from original installation"...I should remove the 3rd and 4th parragraph?

    Thanks

    rgotten
    Last edited by rgotten; April 25th, 2008 at 02:55 AM.

  6. #16
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    Re: Installing Kubuntu 7.10 on Software RAID5

    .

  7. #17
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    Re: Installing Kubuntu 7.10 on Software RAID5

    While waiting to do the last 2 steps( see my next question) , i decided to disconect one of the hard drives trying to simulate a failure and when i boot it, this is what i got:

    Loading, please wait...
    stdin: error 0
    kinit: name_to_dev_t(/dev/md1) = md1(9,1)
    kinit: trying to resume from /dev/md1
    [ 237.474863] Read-error on swap-device (9:1:
    kinit: No resume image, doing normal boot...
    Usage modprobe [-v] [-V] [-C config-file] [-n] [-i] [-q] [-Q] [-b] [-o <modname>] [ --dump-modversions ] <modname> [parameters...]
    modeprobe -r [-n] [-i] [-v] <modulename> ...
    modeprobe -l -t <dirname> [ -a <modulename> ...]
    mount: Cannot read /etc/fstab: No such file or directory
    mount: Mounting /root/dev on /dev/ .static/dev failed: No such file or directory
    mount: Mounting /sys on /root/sys failed: No such file or directory
    mount: Mounting /proc on /root/proc failed: No such file or directory
    Target filesystem doesn't have /sbin/init

    BusyBox v1.1.3 (Debian 1:1.1.3-5ubuntu7) Built in shell (ash)
    Enter 'help'for a list of build-in commands

    (initramfs)


    After this if i turn of the computer and reconect the hard drive it turns on normally...Any idea???

    rgotten

  8. #18
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    Re: Installing Kubuntu 7.10 on Software RAID5

    Rgotten,

    First, your questions about cleaning up. In the section "Reconfiguration for RAID5", subsection "Create the RAID5 partitions", step 7, I said to comment out the current ARRAY definitions in the mdadm.conf file and paste the new definitions into the file. You should remove the ARRAY definitions you commented out at that point. On the second question, yes remove the 3rd and 4th menu entries that were tagged "non-RAID".

    On the errors you get when disconnecting a drive, it could be several things. First, did you check mdstat before doing this to be sure the that all the arrays were completely built? If it's still in the process of syncing data to all the drives, you'd have a big problem if one of them went away!

    It is sometimes difficult to determine which drive is zero, one, or two, i.e. hd0, hd1 or hd2. If you disconnected hd0, then it will not boot with the default menu entry, because hd0 isn't present. You have to tell it to boot from one of the other drives. I'm not in front of my system, so I can't be specific. But when your system starts up, you will see an opportunity to interrupt the boot process to bring up the boot menu. Do that. It will present a menu of what it can boot. Select the primary menu entry, and "edit" it. Tell it to boot from hd(1,0) instead of hd(0,0). Then continue booting. I think this is probably your problem. But I can't be sure because I haven't seen that specific error.

    --Lloyd

  9. #19
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    Re: Installing Kubuntu 7.10 on Software RAID5

    Quote Originally Posted by LNK View Post
    Rgotten,

    First, your questions about cleaning up. In the section "Reconfiguration for RAID5", subsection "Create the RAID5 partitions", step 7, I said to comment out the current ARRAY definitions in the mdadm.conf file and paste the new definitions into the file. You should remove the ARRAY definitions you commented out at that point. On the second question, yes remove the 3rd and 4th menu entries that were tagged "non-RAID".
    Well i just realize one problem here, i just learn that comment out means to place a # before a definition instead i deleted what you mention to comment out...Di i have to do the whole process again ( i follow all you steps but instead of commente out i delete what was suppose to be comment out. If i have to redo this do i have to do the complte process from scratch (including partition and RAID???

    Quote Originally Posted by LNK View Post
    On the errors you get when disconnecting a drive, it could be several things. First, did you check mdstat before doing this to be sure the that all the arrays were completely built? If it's still in the process of syncing data to all the drives, you'd have a big problem if one of them went away!
    Yes i checked and all the RAID's were built...

    Quote Originally Posted by LNK View Post
    It is sometimes difficult to determine which drive is zero, one, or two, i.e. hd0, hd1 or hd2. If you disconnected hd0, then it will not boot with the default menu entry, because hd0 isn't present. You have to tell it to boot from one of the other drives. I'm not in front of my system, so I can't be specific. But when your system starts up, you will see an opportunity to interrupt the boot process to bring up the boot menu. Do that. It will present a menu of what it can boot. Select the primary menu entry, and "edit" it. Tell it to boot from hd(1,0) instead of hd(0,0). Then continue booting. I think this is probably your problem. But I can't be sure because I haven't seen that specific error.
    I will check that tomorrow also, but if the boot area is in RAID 1 isn't suppose to boot from the mirror area??, and if i keep on having problems how ligth is kubuntu to worl as a server???..Thanks

  10. #20
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    Re: Installing Kubuntu 7.10 on Software RAID5

    Rgotten,

    You do not need to redo the installation. It is okay that you deleted those lines from mdadm.conf. The only reason to comment things out as you go is so you don't lose any previous configuration. But it sounds like you made it through okay and there's no need for those lines at this point. So you are okay.

    The boot partition is RAID1. But that is simply to keep all the disks in sync. Remember, the boot PROM knows nothing about RAID. It simply assumes the individual partition on the boot drive contains what it needs to boot. And it reads that. The RAID software doesn't run until AFTER the kernel is up. You could have set up identical partitions for /boot on each drive and not put them in a RAID array. That would work too. But you'd have to keep them in sync manually (make a change to one, then sync the others). With RAID1 you can let the RAID implementation do that work for you. But it still boots without RAID. And that's why you have to change the boot parameters in the menu if the boot drive is the one that fails. Once your failed boot drive is replaced and the /boot RAID array is in sync again, you can boot with the default parameters again.

    --Lloyd

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