On Wed, 11 Jan 2023 at 11:21, Robert Moskowitz <rgm@htt-consult.com> wrote:

On 1/11/23 10:56, Stephen John Smoogen wrote:

On Wed, 11 Jan 2023 at 10:36, Robert Moskowitz <rgm@htt-consult.com> wrote:

I have a new HPE Prioliant gen10plus that I will be setting up with RAID1.

I have been asking questions on the Centos-user list, but my plan is to
install AlmaLinux 9.1

And I have been following comments about problems with RAID support in it.

Meanwhile in my digging into RAID on my gen10+ install I find:

https://downloads.linux.hpe.com/SDR/project/lsrrb/

And lsrrb.

Why do you need this lsrrb? What is your eventual goal for the system? What is the hardware exactly (number and type of drives, memory, etc) and what kind of RAID are you trying to use? What are the problems you say that are said about RAID support that you are trying to avoid. I think people need a lot more info before anyone can try to answer you.

Fair questions. I really don't know. I have never implement RAID directly. Oh I have it working on my QNAP NAS, but that is a closed system as far as managing the RAID, and I know the RAID works, as I had to replace a failing drive last month.

My goal is that ALL of the software and data is RAIDed. Not just a data store.

I bought the gen10+ for my new mail server. The goal is AlmaLinux and iRedMail for a system that I can expect to run at least 10 years with minimum maint. I am skating on thin ice with my current mail server. I am getting up in years, and don't want to futz so much.

So how, with a software RAID platform, do I make things so that I have complete recovery if even the dist with /boot fails and is replaced? I just don't have the background.

Point me to a guide of how to do this other than what HPE provides. I would be happy to use what is built into AL, but given some recent postings here on RAID problems with 9.1, I need to educate myself.

So as far as I can tell the lsrrd is just making a lot of decisions in the kickstart which could be done at scale for a datacenter which is why it is requesting to set up a PXE server, etc. For a single server, you can do everything but the RAID of EUFI partitions from the graphical installer in the EL 8 or 9 system. [The EUFI is problematic because it was never really 'raided' but sort of done so.] Basically determine how many drives you have in the server. If you want to use hardware RAID, go through the HP system to set up the drives to be RAID set up that way. [I haven't done this in years so you will need to scour youtube, etc for instructions.). If you want to use software RAID, then what I do is go into the installer and when going into the disk layout go to the 'advanced' or blivet mode. I usually then have to fool around a couple of times to 'remember' what is needed to set things up. I would probably set it up as follows:

/boot/EUFI (EUFI format) on /dev/sda or if the installer allows it 'choose' raid in a submenu and RAID1 it across. {otherwise it may need doing a CONTROL-ALT-F2 and then running fdisk on each drive to set things up the way you want.. I have done that.}

Then /boot RAID1 over the N drives you have and then a LVM (look for a dropdown semi-hidden which allows you to specify the LVM drive layout RAID5 or RAID6 if you have enough drives). Then put the partition layout you want in the LVM.

My apologies that this is sort of ragged instructions. I am split between work and breaks on writing this.

Stephen J Smoogen.
Let us be kind to one another, for most of us are fighting a hard battle. -- Ian MacClaren