Question

Difficulty: EasyStorage Drives and RAID Array Issues

A technician needs to replace a failed hot-swappable drive in a server's RAID 5 array. Place the recovery steps in the correct order from first to last to safely restore full array redundancy.

  1. 1Verify that a recent, successful backup of the server data exists.
  2. 2Locate the specific failed disk bay using the RAID management utility and chassis status LEDs.
  3. 3Remove the faulty drive from the hot-swap bay and insert a replacement drive of equal or greater capacity.
  4. 4Initiate or monitor the array rebuild process until the storage status returns to optimal.

Answer

The proper sequence to replace a failed drive in a hot-swappable RAID 5 array is: verify a valid data backup exists, identify the failed drive using software and LEDs, replace the faulty drive with a compatible unit, and monitor the RAID rebuild process until completion.
Standard CompTIA troubleshooting methodology requires prioritizing data safety first (verifying backups), correctly isolating the failed hardware component using diagnostic tools and status LEDs, physically replacing the failed component with compatible hardware, and confirming complete operational recovery by monitoring the rebuild process.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Verify current data backups
Protects against catastrophic data loss during array recovery operations.
RAID 5 can only sustain a single drive failure; if a second drive encounters errors during replacement, unbacked-up data will be unrecoverable.
2
Identify the faulty drive bay
Confirms the exact physical drive that has failed.
Pulling a functional drive from a degraded RAID 5 array breaks the array and causes total data loss.
3
Swap the failed drive
Replaces the dead hardware with a functional, equal-or-larger disk.
A healthy disk of appropriate size is required to store the reconstructed data blocks and parity.
4
Monitor array rebuilding
Verifies that parity reconstruction completes successfully.
The system remains degraded until the RAID controller completes recalculating parity onto the replacement disk.

Key Concept

RAID 5 Drive Replacement and Rebuild Sequence
Rate this question