Arch Linux

martinnj

Member

Registered: 2011-05-28

Posts: 28

Migrating software RAID from other distro

Hey,

I'm currently runing a server using Debian, but sorely miss Arch linux' rolling release system.
The server is running a 4 disk mdadm RAID array which I would be veru sorry to loose or corrupt.
Is it possible to just install arch and then have arch assemble the array as is, or will it
need to delete the content on the disks in order to assemble a new array?

I know it is possible to assemble the array in the same system even if it gets weirded out,
but is it possible to assemble a debian mdadm array in Arch? I'm a little concerned about versioning maybe.

//Martin

johni

Member

Registered: 2012-02-03

Posts: 102

Re: Migrating software RAID from other distro

It should be possible.   You would probably have to manually configure the array from the install media using mdadm tools.  Once installed on the array, you may need to configure the array in /etc/mdadm.conf.  Also be sure to add the "mdadm" hook to /etc/mkinitcpio.conf if your root is on the raid.

Check the arch wiki entry for useful info:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/So … ID_and_LVM

martinnj

Member

Registered: 2011-05-28

Posts: 28

Re: Migrating software RAID from other distro

It should be possible.   You would probably have to manually configure the array from the install media using mdadm tools.  Once installed on the array, you may need to configure the array in /etc/mdadm.conf.  Also be sure to add the "mdadm" hook to /etc/mkinitcpio.conf if your root is on the raid.

Check the arch wiki entry for useful info:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/So … ID_and_LVM

Hey,

Already read that article twice before setting up the array back then. The Arch wiki is a lot more thorough than the Debian documentation.
I can tell that the liveCD was unable to locate the array, but as soon as I bootedinto the new system, it could assemble the array without problems.