Hi Terry, > I'd like to use Clonezilla to clone an SSD based RAID 1 array of disks > running Win XP. Anyone have any relevant experience?
Nope. :-) > The setup is using a hardware based RAID Controller (Intel) with two > 100 GB discs. Does it support a third? Plugging it in for as long as it takes to become a good copy would be another option. > I'm assuming that this will work, but would like answers to the > following: > 1. Confirmation that there are no known problems with cloning RAID 1 > arrays? > 2. Confirmation that there are no known problems with cloning SSDs? I don't know Clonezilla, but the only issue I can see with a dd(1)-style clone is that they may be under more stress than normal and that may show problems that would have popped up the next time things got a bit heavy anyway. Or perhaps Linux can just demand more of the controller than XP. ;-) That assumes Linux supports the controller BTW; if not, you've got to stick with XP or duck below Intel to the drives. > 3. Confirmation that I should clone the array, not the individual > discs? I'd have guessed so, especially considering it's hardware RAID so its workings are unknown and it may be unhappy being presented later with a different disk containing identical data, e.g. a bit of it doesn't match the drive's serial number. Also, a clone of the RAID 1 as Linux sees it should be a normal drive image, stripped of hardware-controller oddities, if any. One you can put on another drive and use without matching RAID hardware or just mount filesystems directly from the image with -o ro,loop,offset=...,sizelimit=... > 4. Confirmation that I should then restore to the array, not an > individual disc? Would make sense if you do 3. > With respect to questions 3 and 4, I read in some forums that people > clone a single disc and then let the RAID rebuild itself when they > restore. That sounds a bit fraught to me, so it makes me nervous. Why's that? Are you concerned about putting your one good copy under the care of the controller whilst you hope it does the right thing? > One final question; I've never played around with RAID before. What > happens if I remove one disc from the array and then power the machine > up? Is this a reasonable simulation of a failing disc? I'd have thought so. Good idea to back it up BTW; "RAID is not backup", as the mantra goes. Cheers, Ralph. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2013-03-05 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread on mailing list: mailto:[email protected] How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
