Accessing data on SAS drives if server fails

Question

If my server goes down, how can i access the data on the SAS drives?

I don't have another server to plug them into, and even then connecting the drive to a different controller (while keeping the data) is not a certain thing.

Yes, we have a full backup solution with snapshots, offsite replicas etc., still the backup could be up to 15 minutes behind and in some cases i would need the backup server (which could be down) running to access the data from the backup sets anyway.

Being able to restore from the production drives, or at least access the data on them for recently changed files etc. would be a major advantage, if i could only get to the data.

Other then buying a raid controller and plugging it into a workstation (in which case i still may not be able to connect the drive while leaving the data intact as this is a raid controller, not a simple HBA), what are my options?

Does something like a simple (non raid) PCIe HBA card that just lets you plug in an SAS drive exist? or better yet some sort of external enclosure? I can't find either on google.

Thanks

Solution

I don't have another server to plug them into, and even then connecting the drive to a different controller (while keeping the data) is not a certain thing.

Other then buying a RAID controller and plugging it into a workstation (in which case I still may not be able to connect the drive while leaving the data intact as this is a RAID controller, not a simple HBA), what are my options?

In most cases you can just get an identical or similar RAID card, plug in the drives and access the data. This will just work, and this is something you can test. And if you are concerned about 15 minute delays then make sure you have such a card as a spare.

Does something like a simple (non raid) PCIe HBA card that just lets you plug in an SAS drive exist? or better yet some sort of external enclosure? I can't find either on google.

Yes, ofcourse that exist. They are often the same pysical cards as SAS RAID cards, but with a different firmware.

Did you consider keeping a copy of all the data on the network. Sort of a RAID 1 (mirror) where one part of the RAID is a local drive(s) and one part is on the network?

Comments

[Make it useful Keep it simple]

thanks. i guess since you did not mention an HBA or enclosure, you haven't seen any. it just irks me that the best and fastest to restore data set is sitting right there (on the production drive which is a raid1 in answer to your drive failure point) but i can't get to it... i could live with my backup data. thanks for the spelling correction.

[mfinni]

You can't do a RAID set where some of the drives are network-mounted. Sounds like you're thinking about a distributed filesystem like Isilon or Gluster. In which case : easy or cheap, pick one.

[Hennes]

Aye. Isilon or Gluster. Or windows DFS (if you can get the replication time set to instantenious...not sure if that is possible). Regardless of the implementation: Somewhere off the main server and in an instantly accessibly format.

[mfinni]

No, DFS would not be suitable for what he thinks his needs are.

[Jeter-work]

If the SAS drives are in a RAID set, they only solution is to use the same RAID card down to model and firmware version. Even then you may end up going to recovery specialists. You won't be able to read individual drives from a set, it's all or nothing (putting aside redundancy.)

[Hennes]

That depends on your RAID card(s). In the past I have transplanted drives from a 3ware RAID card to a newer model after the old card failed and backups were >1 month old. It can be done in some cases. I did call 3ware first though to ask which models were compatible.

[Spooler]

You CAN actually have a RAID between an iSCSI LUN and a local disk. It's just not the best solution out there. Regarding Gluster, it's extremely easy to implement and not a bad recommendation in this case.