Managing Arrays; Verifying Arrays - Adaptec AHA-3980 User Manual

Managing Arrays

Use the Administrator utility to verify array data, test spare disks,
reconstruct data on replacement disks, and reactivating off-line
arrays. The Administrator Utility's Scheduler function lets you
schedule most of these tasks to run automatically at a specified time
or interval.

Verifying Arrays

Use the Administrator utility to verify the consistency of data on
mirrored and RAID 5 arrays. If a mirrored or RAID 5 array becomes
inconsistent, you lose data if a drive in the array fails. We recom-
mend that you verify arrays after you set them up and at least
weekly thereafter. Verification works as follows:
Mirrored arrays: Data on the primary drive in a pair is com-
pared block by block with the data on the secondary drive. If
data blocks do not match, the data block on the primary drive
is copied to the secondary drive.
RAID 5 arrays: The parity data is compared with the data
blocks it represents. If an inconsistency is detected, the parity is
updated to be consistent with the data blocks.
Note:
You cannot verify an array that contains a disk that is
down.
Verification runs in the background, so you can continue your work
while verification is under way.
AHA-3980/3980W/3985/3985W User's Guide
Stock Number: 510810-00, Rev. D
Print Spec Number: 493479-00
Current Date: 3/1/99
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Page: 9-1
ECN Date: 3/19/96