Server problems since installing larger disks

chrisgeary

chrisgeary

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Got a weird problem here. I've got a Tranquil-PC BBS2 in which I have a 1TB system drive with Ubuntu server 8.0.4 on it. Then I have 2 x 1TB data drives in RAID0. I have another pair as backup that I put in the remaining two slots and take off-site. They are all WD10EADS drives.

So... I'm out of space. I bought 4 Samsung HD154UI 1.5TB drives to replace the 1TBs. In go the first pair, setup RAID0 and fs, mount and copy the source data onto them. No problem. Out come the original 1TBs and in go the second pair of 1.5TBs. I start the copy and after about half an hour or so, the server locks up. Stops responding to ICMP, the keyboard port is dead and the lights are on but nothing is home. Power cycle is my only option.

Nothing is logged.

So I suspect the Samsungs and return them.

I now have 4 2TB Western Digs, WD20EARS. Exactly the same thing has happened. The first copy from the 1TBs to the 2TBs went just fine. But the second copy to the new 2TB backup pair caused the server to lock up.

I'm scratching my head here. Is it a temperature issue? I rebooted the box as soon as it happened and went into the BIOS to examine the CPU temp. 70c. High but not alarmingly so I don't think. Bear in mind this is a tranquil PC, its designed not to have CPU cooling fans. Under no load, its currently 67c. Is it a power issue with the new drives? I'd be surprised, the old ones are 7200rpm and these are 5400rpm.

I'm just sounding ideas out here at the moment. I'm going to attempt a copy of 189GB from the 2TB primary pair to the 1TB system drive to see what happens....
 
How hot are the drives getting? If there is no cooling fan at all then that might be a cause. unlikly but possible. Try running with the lid off and a desk fan providing cooling to check.
 
i'm leaning towards it being a temperature issue too, the WD's have a max operating temp of 60 degrees, with a high ambient temp inside the case and all 4 of them whirring away they may be getting a bit hot
a really simple thing to try is to take the side of case off and aim a desk fan at it while it copies - if it works you can be fairly sure that's your prob
 
48-55c (lowest idle 2TB to highest active 2TB).

The unit does have a case fan, just not a CPU fan. The original 4 1TB drives will sit together just fine, so I'm scratching my head why 4 2TB or 4 1.5TB drives will not.

So far the copy from 2TB pair to 1TB is going ok (all 4 2TB drives are in).
 
If that copy works ook I would reccomend trying a 200gb copy to the second 2tb drives.

Could be a memory issue with the amount of data that you are trying to copy.
 
WD10EADS:
Current Requirements
Power Dissipation
Read/Write 4.86 Watts
Idle 2.82 Watts
Standby 0.38 Watts
Sleep 0.38 Watts

WD20EARS
Power Dissipation
Read/Write 6.00 Watts
Idle 3.70 Watts
Standby 0.80 Watts
Sleep 0.80 Watts

Samsung HD154UI
Read/Write (typical) 6.3W
Idle (typical) 5.1W
Standby (typical) 1W
Sleep (typical) 1W

Looks like the current draw is higher, only slightly.
 
Is there an optical drive? if there is disconnecting it might be a work around.

Ignore the above
 
Solved. it was a temperature issue but not for the drives. Turns out it was CPU temperature. 70c is too high. I ran the case fan a little faster and under full load copying with all four drives fully active and the CPU at 100%, the temp never got above 63c. There was a resistor in series with the case fan (I knew about this) but as the server had never overheated before I dismissed it. This clearly needs a variable speed case fan.
 
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