[SLL] SATA S.M.A.R.T. error in raid

[Rob Smith]

On Dec 7, 2007 10:08 AM, Ryan Allen <ryan at the-summit.net> wrote:
> Hi SLL,
>
>    I have a 6 disk raid 5 array that started reporting a SMART error on
>    one disk.  I've never seen this before, so I did some searches.  The
>    only advice I could find said the disk was about to die and should be
>    replaced.

That all depends on the error which you didn't provide. Relocated
sectors once in awhile tends to mean nothing, lots of them however
tends to mean bad things...


>    So I've got a few questions, if anybody knows:
>
>    Are there utilities out there to get more information about the
>    error?  Maybe fix the error condition with software?  Or, maybe nor
>    even worry about it, depending on the error.

smartmontools?

Smart is hardware monitoring. You can likely clear the error, but that
doesn't 'fix' whatever caused it.

>    If I replace the drive, does it need to be the exact same
>    make/model/size?  The controller is a dell Cerc 6 port SATA (Adaptec
>    chipset), and the drives are about 3 years old.

Likely just the same size or larger, but your specific card will have
info about that in it's manual.

~Rob