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The Question is:
Hi, Can an existing disk drive be transferred from one Alpha box and installed
in another Alpha ? What steps of software configuration are needed ? Many
Thanks.
The Answer is :
This is often possible, but there are dependencies on the particular
disk drive(s) involved -- disks have specific thermal cooling and
power requirements that are required of the enclosure, on the mountings
available in the enclosure, and on the particular disk format used
by the host controller(s) involved.
RAID-capable disk controllers in particular can be configured to use
transportable or non-transportable on-disk block structures, and
depending on the setting involved the data on these disks may or may
not be addressable after the drive is hooked to another (different)
disk controller.
If the particular requirements of the disk are not met within the new
configuration, problems can range from immediate to eventual failure.
Failures due to insufficient cooling are particularly known for having
a delayed onset. Failures due to insufficient available power are known
to trigger disk lock-ups and drop-outs, and problems spinning up disks.
With StorageWorks, the StorageWorks "brick" (disk) might fit into another
StorageWorks enclosure, the target enclosure may not have the appropriate
SCSI capabilities or the necessary power and cooling. Older enclosures in
particular tend to lack cooling and power for 7200 RPM and faster (hotter)
disks. Cooling and power supply upgrades are available for some of these
older StorageWorks enclosures, and not for others.
Also consider the prices of newer disks and newer enclosures -- the effort
of relocating and debugging a disk in a new configuration might not be
particularly economical, given the costs and capabilities of the newer
storage enclosures and the newer, larger, and faster disks.
Without very specific details on the disks and the controllers and the
storage enclosures involved, no specific feasibility answer is possible.
Related topics include (3258) and (6449).
Please contact your hardware service organization for assistance.
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