Matt Garman <matthew.garman@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
> On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 8:21 AM, Steven Haigh <netwiz@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> On 28/01/2010, at 1:18 AM, Jan Ceuleers wrote:
>>
>>> Matt Garman wrote:
>>>>> Is there a way to identify what drive is what?
>>>>
>>>> Sometimes you can infer from dmesg. E.g., type "dmesg | less" then
>>>> scroll until you see where sdb is initialized; it might show the model
>>>> and serial number of the drive.
>>>>
>>>> Another approach is to use smartctl, i.e.: "sudo smartctl -a
>>>> /dev/sdb". This will definitely show you the model and serial number.
>>>> You can also use hdparm for the same effect: "sudo hdparm -I
>>>> /dev/sdb".
>>>>
>>>> I'm sure there's more ways, but those are the first that come to mind.
>>>
>>> I'm guessing that the OP is looking for ways to identify disks without disassembling them all.
>>>
>>> In the networking world, you can ask the system to tell you which network interface is which, by blinking the network LEDs (using ethtool -p). Is there something similar for disks?
>>
>> I used a similar method. I have a SATA enclosure that takes 3 x 5.25" bays and gives me 4 x hot swap SATA bays.
>>
>> As each bay has a power and an activity LED I can do something simple like:
>> dd if=/dev/sdb of=/dev/null
>>
>> The bay that has sdb will have a constantly on activity light.
>>
>> If you don't have enclosures, then this becomes somewhat difficult.
>
> Depending on how the drives are mounted and their proximity to one
> another, in the absence of LEDs, you might be able to listen to and/or
> feel the drives will running dd, and possibly determine which is
> which.
Shut down the raid arry (or just don't access it), set the spin down
time to 10s with hdparm and run dd if=/dev/sdb of=/dev/null. All but sdb
should spin down and then you should be able to hear/feel the activity.
Some drives also have a small led onboard which you see if you run the
system opened.
MfG
Goswin
PS: If you have to take the system offline and disassemble the drives to
find the right one then write down the serial number for each drive and
stick is some place visible when reassembled. If you lack space a color
coded dot or a number combined with a lookup table for color/numer ->
serial is also helpfull.
MfG
Goswin
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