SLES 15 SP5 Software RAID (UEFI)

The following procedure incorporates software RAID into an NCR supported terminal running NCR SLES 15 SP5 distribution. The software RAID configuration is set to RAID1 mode.

Note

The succeeding screenshots are from a CX7ii terminal with two 480GB NVMe hard disks:

  • nvme0n1—disk 1
  • nvme1n1—disk 2

The five partitions are as follows:

  • 1—MBR
  • 2—boot/efi
  • 3—boot
  • 4— swap
  • 5—root

The procedure may need to be modified for use in other OS, when using SATA drives, or using a different terminal. It is also assumed that two drives of the same type are used. At all times, it is assumed that the commands are run as a root user.

  1. Determine the terminal’s current OS partitions. In this case, the current OS is on /dev/nvme0n1 and its partitions are:
    • /dev/nvme0n1p1
    • /dev/nvme0n1p2
    • /dev/nvme0n1p3
    • /dev/nvme0n1p4
    • /dev/nvme0n1p5

    Note

    If using a SATA drive, the drive may be mounted at /dev/sda and its partitions are /dev/sda1, /dev/sda2, and so on.

  2. Create the same partitions for the second disk (/dev/nvme1n1).
    1. Run the following command:
      Copy
      sfdisk -d /dev/nvme0n1 | sfdisk --force /dev/nvme1n1

    2. Verify the copied partitions for the second disk (/dev/nvme1n1). Run the following command:
      Copy
      fdisk -l
       

  3. Change the partition types on the second disk (/dev/nvme1n1) to Linux RAID.
    1. Run the following commands:
      Copy
      sfdisk --part-type /dev/nvme1n1 2 A19D880F-05FC-4D3B-A006-743F0F84911E
      Copy
      sfdisk --part-type /dev/nvme1n1 3 A19D880F-05FC-4D3B-A006-743F0F84911E
      Copy
      sfdisk --part-type /dev/nvme1n1 5 A19D880F-05FC-4D3B-A006-743F0F84911E
    2. Verify the partitions are now Linux RAID. Run the following command:
      Copy
      fdisk -l

  4. Create the RAID arrays.
    1. Run the following commands:
      Copy
      mdadm --create /dev/md2 --run --level=1 --metadata=1.0 --raid-devices=2 missing /dev/nvme1n1p2
      Copy
      mdadm --create /dev/md3 --run --level=1 --metadata=1.0 --raid-devices=2 missing /dev/nvme1n1p3
      Copy
      mdadm --create /dev/md5 --run --level=1 --metadata=1.0 --raid-devices=2 missing /dev/nvme1n1p

    2. Verify the created RAID arrays. Run the following command:

      Copy
      cat /proc/mdstat

  5. Format the RAID arrays with the same file systems as the current OS partitions. Run the following commands:
    Copy
    mkfs.fat -F 16 -n "EFI" /dev/md2
    Copy
    mkfs.fat -F 16 /dev/md3
    Copy
    mkswap -L "SWAP" /dev/nvme1n1p4
    Copy
    mkfs.ext4 -L "ROOT" /dev/md
     

  6. Edit the /etc/grub.d/40_custom file and add a RAID boot entry.
    Copy
    menuentry 'RAID - NCRSLES15 SP5' {
            load_video
            set gfxpayload=keep
            insmod gzio
            insmod part_gpt
            insmod mdraid1x
            insmod fat
            set root='md/3'
            echo 'Loading Linux 5.14.21-150500.53-default raid ...'
            linuxefi /vmlinuz-5.14.21-150500.53-default root=/dev/md5 noresume splash=silent mitigations=auto
    quiet net.ifnames=0 8250.nr_uarts=2 i915.invert_brightness=-1 tpm_tis.interrupts=0
            echo 'Loading initial ramdisk raid...'
            initrdefi /initrd-5.14.21-150500.53-default
    }
    Note

    • md/3 should be the partition where the /boot is located

    • 5.14.21-150500.53-default should be replaced with the vmlinuz and initrd version of the kernel being used

    Example

    Before

    After

  7. Update boot configurations. Run the following commands:
    Copy
    grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
    Copy
    mkinitrd -m "dm-raid"
    Copy
    grub2-install --modules=mdraid1x.mod /dev/nvme0n1

  8. Mount the RAID arrays (except the Swap array) to a temporary mount point. In this case, run the following commands:
    Copy
    md /mnt/md2
    Copy
    md /mnt/md3
    Copy
    md /mnt/md5
    Copy
    mount /dev/md2 /mnt/md2
    Copy
    mount /dev/md3 /mnt/md3
    Copy
    mount /dev/md5 /mnt/md5

  9. Copy the current EFI and OS partition data to the mounted RAID arrays. In this case, run the following commands:
    Copy
    cp -dpRx /boot/* /mnt/md3
    Copy
    cp -dpRx /boot/efi/* /mnt/md2
    Copy
    cp -dpRx / /mnt/md5

  10. Edit the /etc/fstab file in the RAID array and replace necessary partitions to its equivalent RAID arrays. At this point, the file is located at /mnt/md5/etc/fstab.

    Example

    Before

    After

  11. Create the RAID configuration file. Run the following command:
    Copy
    mdadm --examine --scan > /etc/mdadm.conf
  12. Chroot to the mounted RAID array that contains the OS data and update the boot configurations. Run the following commands:
    Copy
    cd /mnt/md5
    Copy
    mount /dev/md3 boot
    Copy
    mount /dev/md2 boot/efi
    Copy
    mount --rbind /dev dev
    Copy
    mount --rbind /sys sys
    Copy
    mount --rbind /proc proc
    Copy
    chroot .
    Copy
    grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
    Copy
    mkinitrd -m "dm-raid"
    Copy
    grub2-install --modules=mdraid1x.mod /dev/nvme1n1
    Copy
    grub2-install --modules=mdraid1x.mod /dev/nvme0n1
    Copy
    exit
    Copy
    umount boot/efi boot dev sys proc

  13. Reboot the terminal and choose the RAID - NCRSLES15 SP5 boot entry.
    Note

    • Remove any bootable usb/flash drive at this point.

    • EFI boot manager will reset the default boot options. Wait for this operation to finish.

    • A start job for dev-md*.device is expected. Wait for this operation to finish.

    At this point, the terminal should be able to boot the RAID configuration. To verify this, run the following command:

    Copy
    df -h

  14. Change the partition types of the current OS that are on /dev/nvme0n1 to Linux RAID.
    1. Run the following commands:
      Copy
      sfdisk --part-type /dev/nvme0n1 2 A19D880F-05FC-4D3B-A006-743F0F84911E
      Copy
      sfdisk --part-type /dev/nvme0n1 3 A19D880F-05FC-4D3B-A006-743F0F84911E
      Copy
      sfdisk --part-type /dev/nvme0n1 5 A19D880F-05FC-4D3B-A006-743F0F84911E
    2. Verify that the partitions are now Linux RAID. Run the following command:
      Copy
      fdisk -l

  15. Add the partitions from the preceding step (current OS) to the RAID arrays accordingly. Run the following commands:
    Copy
    mdadm --manage /dev/md2 --add /dev/nvme0n1p2
    Copy
    mdadm --manage /dev/md3 --add /dev/nvme0n1p3
    Copy
    mdadm --manage /dev/md5 --add /dev/nvme0n1p5

  16. Wait for RAID to sync the disks. Run the following commands:
    • To view progress:
      Copy
      watch cat /proc/mdstat
    • To quit watching the progress:
      Copy
      Ctrl+C

  17. Create the RAID configuration file. Run the following command:
    Copy
    mdadm --examine --scan >> /etc/mdadm.conf
  18. Edit the /etc/grub.d/40_custom file and remove the RAID boot entry.
  19. Edit the /etc/grub.d/10_linux file and replace necessary partitions to its equivalent RAID arrays.

  20. Update the boot configurations of the two disks. In this case, /dev/nvme0n1 and /dev/nvme1n1. Run the following commands:
    Copy
    grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
    Copy
    mkinitrd -m "dm-raid”
    Copy
    grub2-install --modules=mdraid1x.mod /dev/nvme0n1
    Copy
    grub2-install --modules=mdraid1x.mod /dev/nvme1n1

  21. Reboot the terminal and expect that there is no RAID boot entry. The terminal should now boot on RAID1 configuration.
    Note

    It is possible to test if RAID1 is working by shutting down and removing one of the drives, the system should still boot as normal. When that happens, one of the drives may be disconnected from the RAID1 array. Add the drive back to the array using the following commands:

    Copy
    mdadm /dev/md2 -a /dev/nvme1n1p2
    Copy
    mdadm /dev/md3 -a /dev/nvme1n1p3
    Copy
    mdadm /dev/md5 -a /dev/nvme1n1p5