On 04/12/2013 01:01 AM, David Miller wrote:
You simply match up the Linux /dev/sdX designation with the drives serial number using smartctl. When I first bring the array online I have a script that greps out the drives serial numbers from smartctl and creates a neat text file with the mappings. When either smartd or md complain about a drive I remove the drive from the RAID using mdadm and then pull the drive based on the mapping file. Drive 0 in those SuperMicro SAS/SATA arrays are always the lowest drive letter and goes up from there. If a drive is replaced I just update the text file accordingly. You can also print out the drive serial numbers and put them on the front of the removable drive cages. It is not as elegant as a blinking LED but it works just as well. I have been doing it like this for 6 plus years now with a few dozen SuperMicro arrays. I have never pulled a wrong drive.
It's great the the Supermicro controllers can do this, but I know from experience that in the general case with multiple controllers and on CentOS 6 this will not work. Just a quick caveat on that.....