# RAID

First thing let's check if we have Raid already on our machine: `cat /proc/mdstat`

md stands for : multiple disk, used to stand for mirror disk since there was only RAID0

The tool we use is called : `mdadm` ‘multiple disk administration’

So make sure it is installed on the system!

`sudo apt-get install mdadm`

It is going to take a quite of time since it will generate a new initramd.

In my setup i have this :

```bash
root@k8snode:/home/touk# ls /dev/sd*
/dev/sda  /dev/sda1  /dev/sda2  /dev/sda5  /dev/sdb  /dev/sdc  /dev/sdd
```

The main disk which is sda and a couple of partitions sda1, sda2 we will use sdb, sdd, sdc for this lab

And for that lets partition them

Using fdisk do these steps for all of them and partition them all, for example using : `fdisk /dev/sdb`

the disk signature should be changed to fd ‘linux raid auto’, by default linux assigns linux signature to it

Make sure to write changes!

```bash
root@k8snode:/home/touk# ls /dev/sd*
/dev/sdb  /dev/sdb1  /dev/sdc  /dev/sdc1  /dev/sdd  /dev/sdd1
```

Now for the Creation time:

`mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md0 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdc1`

It will ask you if you want to continue creating the array type ‘y’ and press enter

As you can see, we specified the mirror level wich is RAID1, and for simplicity purpose, i have chosen two disks

Now you can start partitioning the /dev/md0 as a regular disk `fdisk /dev/md0`

and you can proceed with the regular partitioning Don’t forget:

`mkfs.ext4 /dev/md0`

And now if we check /proc/mdstat again:

```bash
root@k8snode:/home/touk# cat /proc/mdstat
Personalities : [raid1]
md0 : active raid1 sdc1[1] sdb1[0]
      1046528 blocks super 1.2 [2/2] [UU]

unused devices: <none>
```

and TRA, sure enough, we have a raid device

Last but not least, wee need to make a configuration file and this is very easy :

```bash
mdadm --detail --scan
ARRAY /dev/md0 metadata=1.2 name=k8snode:0 UUID=5e31cabf:b1c9a14f:85a0e135:642f10a4
```

let’s redirect this to

```bash
mdadm --detail --scan > /etc/mdadm.conf
```

And now when the system boots i will auto create that device

Now, you can mount this drive and start creating some data

If you want to simulate a disk failure :

1. **Simulate a Disk Failure**: To simulate a disk failure, you can mark one of the disks as faulty using the **`mdadm --fail`** command. For example, to mark **`/dev/sdb1`** as faulty in the **`/dev/md0`** array, you can use the following command:

```bash
sudo mdadm /dev/md0 --fail /dev/sdb1
```

1. **Check the RAID Array**: After simulating the disk failure, you can check the status of the RAID array with the **`cat /proc/mdstat`** command:

```bash
cat /proc/mdstat
```

This command will show the status of all active RAID arrays on your system. You should see that **`/dev/sdb1`** is marked as faulty (F).

1. **Remove the Faulty Disk**: After marking the disk as faulty, you need to remove it from the array using the **`mdadm --remove`** command. For example, to remove **`/dev/sdb1`** from the **`/dev/md0`** array, you can use the following command:

```bash
sudo mdadm /dev/md0 --remove /dev/sdb1
```

1. **Re-add the Disk**: To recover the disk, you need to add it back to the RAID array using the **`mdadm --add`** command. For example, to add **`/dev/sdb1`** back to the **`/dev/md0`** array, you can use the following command:

```bash
sudo mdadm /dev/md0 --add /dev/sdb1
```

This command will add **`/dev/sdb1`** back to the **`/dev/md0`** array, and the data will start to be mirrored to the disk.

### Summary:

The cool thing about RAID, we can unplug these drivers out and put them in another system, and we could use the `mdadm --assemble`

`sudo mdadm --assemble /dev/md0 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdc1`


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