Moving RAID from one computer to another?

[OrangeSVTguy]

Is it possible to move my RAID0 from one G5 to another? I have 2 500gb drives setup as a RAID0 and just wanted to be sure that I could move the 2 drives into another G5? Is the RAID tie to the computer in any way or is it just with the drives itself?

 

[nanofrog]

It's possible if it's set up under a hardware controller, but extremely rare when it's a software based array.

You'd want to backup the data first, then move the hardware to the new "recipient" system anyway, no matter what it is. It saves you in case there's a problem. And if it's software based, you need to restore the data anyway, as the initialization process will wipe the existing data off the drives.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

OK thanks nano!

I have everything backed up to a third 500gb hard drive so maybe I'll just set it up again. Sucks that it takes 22 hours to transfer it through USB2.0. I think I might pick up an external FW800 enclosure for faster backup. I also seen good eSATA PCI cards for a good price too.

The RAID is software based but I may just try installing the 2 drives into another G5 and see if it still boots.

 

[nanofrog]

OK thanks nano!

I have everything backed up to a third 500gb hard drive so maybe I'll just set it up again. Sucks that it takes 22 hours to transfer it through USB2.0. I think I might pick up an external FW800 enclosure for faster backup. I also seen good eSATA PCI cards for a good price too.

The RAID is software based but I may just try installing the 2 drives into another G5 and see if it still boots.

If both machines are identical (same board components = same drivers; CPU's can be at a different clock) could allow for less time via cloning the OS (OS must be exactly the same; version, drivers,...).

If the OS is contained on the array (boots from it), then a simple transfer can work also, as there's no software to deal with (nothing changes). These are the exceptions that can allow a software RAID to be transfered.

But without further details, I'm not sure, and posted the safest way. Even if you can do a simple transfer, ALWAYS backup the array first before moving it from one system to another.

Good luck.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

OK I wanted to confirm this for everybody.

I got a dual-core g5 today and moved my 2 RAID0 drives from the dual 1.8 to the dual-core 2.3 and everything works great. LOVE