Replacing HDDs in MAX Servers
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MAX Servers: HT Home Theater and MMS Multimedia Servers
Replacing HDDs in MAX Servers
Overview
MAX MMS and HT servers support hot-swappable hard disk drives (HDDs), accessible behind the
removable faceplate, on the front panel. Typically a new HDD will be required only if an existing one
has failed.
The MMS-01S, MMS-02S, MMS-04S and MMS-12S servers all utilize 250GB hard drives,
and require the MMS-HDD250G 250GB drive (FG 2178-250) for replacements.
The MMS-900 server utilizes 300GB hard drives, and requires the
MMS-HDD300G 300GB drive (FG 2178-300) for replacements.
MAX-HT servers utilize 400GB hard drives, and require the 400GB drive (FG 2178-400) for
replacements.
Only HDDs provided by AMX can be used as replacements in MMS servers, and in order to replace a
HDD in an MMS server, the drive must be installed and authenticated according to the steps outlined in
this document.

Replacing HDDs in MMS Servers

There are several operations that are required to successfully replace an HDD in a MMS server, all of
which are described in the following subsections:
1. Identify the drive that needs to be replaced.
2. The physical removal of the damaged HDD, and the subsequent installation of the replacement
HDD.
3. A rebuild of the RAID array on the new HDD (required in order to add it to the server’s RAID
array).
4. Authentication of the new HDD with the MMS server. Note that before the HDD can be
authenticated to the server it must first be added into the array.

Step 1: Identify the Drive That Needs To Be Replaced

To identify the drive that needs to be replaced, you’ll use the server’s built-in Disk Management Utility
tool. This requires that you have a PC connected to the MMS:
If you intend to connect to the MMS via a LAN connection, verify that the PC is
communicating properly with the network.
Use an RJ-45 twisted pair cable to connect the Ethernet port on the MMS to the LAN that your
PC is on.
Once you have established communication between the MMS server and your PC, you’ll use your web
browser to access the server’s Disk Management Utility interface to see which port has failed. You’ll
need this information to identify the physical HDD that needs to be pulled from the unit and replaced:
1. Launch a web browser (i.e. Internet Explorer).
2. Enter the IP address of the target MMS server in the address bar (example:
http://192.168.1.30:1080). You can use the WinMAX program to determine the server’s IP address
(displayed in the System Information tab).
The MMS-01S server does not utilize a RAID disk-drive system. In this case there is
no need to rebuild the array (as described below), but the replacement HDD still
needs to be authenticated (see “Step 4: Authenticate the New HDD” below).