Recovering and Restoring the System

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Dell™ PowerVault™ 745N NAS Systems Administrator's Guide

Software-RAID Recovery and Restoration Procedures

Hardware-RAID Recovery and Restoration Procedures

External Storage Configuration Recovery and Restoration Procedures

Reinstalling the Operating System

Restoring System-State Data After Reinstallation

Restoring Initial System Setup

This section provides instructions on how to recover and restore your NAS system. Depending on the RAID configuration of your NAS system, see one of the following recovery and restoration procedures as appropriate:

•If your NAS system uses software RAID, see "Software-RAID Recovery and Restoration Procedures."

•If your NAS system uses hardware-RAID, see "Hardware-RAID Recovery and Restoration Procedures."

•If your NAS system uses an external storage configuration, see "External Storage Configuration Recovery and Restoration Procedures."

For instructions on how to determine if you have a software-RAID or a hardware-RAID NAS system, see "Determining a NAS System's Configuration" in "NAS Manager."

NOTICE: Ensure that you use the correct recovery and restoration procedures for your NAS system RAID type.

Software-RAID Recovery and Restoration Procedures

NOTICE: Do not use the following procedures to recover and restore a hardware-RAID NAS system or an external storage configuration system. If your NAS system uses hardware RAID, see "Hardware-RAID Recovery and Restoration Procedures." If your NAS system uses software RAID with external storage, see "External Storage Configuration Recovery and Restoration Procedures." For instructions on how to determine the configuration of your NAS system, see "Determining a NAS System's Configuration" in "NAS Manager."

This subsection provides instructions on how to recover the software-RAID NAS system if the operating system or a hard drive fails. Additionally, this section provides information for possible solutions that do not require restoring the operating system or hard drives.

Because your NAS system is designed to have redundancy, it can recover from certain hardware and software failures. In some situations, it can recover automatically, and in others, you must have administrator privileges and manually intervene to recover the NAS system.

Use the following methods in the order listed to restore your software-RAID NAS system:

1.Check all of the items in "Troubleshooting Software-RAID NAS Systems."

2.Follow the procedures described in "Booting From the Software-RAID NAS System Recovery Operating System Mirror Hard Drives."

3.Reinstall the operating system as described in "Recovering From a Software-RAID Operating System Failure."

Troubleshooting Software-RAID NAS Systems

This section provides checks and solutions to try before you reinstall your operating system or replace a hard drive. Some of the checks require you to observe the LEDs on the front and back of the NAS system. For more information about the LEDs, see your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.

•Does the power LED show that the NAS system is turned on?

Ensure that the power cable is connected to the NAS system and a power source and that the NAS system is turned on.

•Are the link LEDs on the back of the NAS system and any network switches to which it may be connected illuminated?

Ensure that the Ethernet cable is securely connected to the NAS system and a functioning Ethernet jack.