How to access MD RAID via Live CD?

Question

We are currently trying to run access the data on a server running a HP Ml110 G5 SATA raid controller, using the latest Ubuntu Live CD. We need to delete a few files to let the server boot into Windows but are unable to mount the partitions.

We can see the individual disks via the disk management program but can not mount the partitions, does anyone have any suggestions?

Solution

For a software raid I'd do the following (but it might work for your controller too?):

Install mdadm (should be on the cd):

sudo apt-get install mdadm
sudo mdadm --assemble --scan

I think this will recognize your raid automatically and it should pop up in nautilus.

Edit: tried it myself on a new system (Ubuntu 11.04 alpha 1 :) and adapted answer

Comments

[poolie]

The answer depends entirely on whether you are using hardware or software raid. Do you know? You may have a hardware-raid-capable controller, but be doing it in software.

[poolie]

This won't work for hardware raid, but running something like mdadm -Q /dev/sd[a-f][1-9] should tell you whether or not they're using software raid.

[poolie]

Also, just installing mdadm won't automatically recognize the arrays, and --auto-detect is deprecated. What I would do in a recovery situation is use -Q to understand what disks are present, then mdadm --assemble /dev/md0 /dev/sda1 .... giving the component partitions by hand. It's safer than trying to reproduce normal auto assembly.

[sBlatt]

I just had to use it myself, I just installed mdadm, then I did '''sudo mdadm --assemble --scan''' and the software raid poped up in nautilus

[user260881]

Bear in mind that after the mdadm --assemble command it may take a long time to becoume available the drive, because it might be synchronizing the disks