Is it safe to transfer RAID 5 disks from one server to another?

Solution 1:

In most cases the array metadata on the disks will work with a controller from the same family. For example, the Mylex DAC-FFX series of SAN controllers would take arrays formatted on an ExtremeRAID 3000 card (which was essentially the same controller on a PCI card). The same is true of HP (nee Compaq) Smartarray 64xx and (I believe) PXXX controllers and MSA1K/2K series SANs.

If your RAID controller is from a different manufacturer/series then it will probably not work, however if it is within the same family from the same manufacturer, then it probably will. It is also quite likely to work on later models from the same manufacturer. Most Adaptec SCSI, SAS and SATA RAID controllers produced in about the past 10 years or so use essentially the same firmware. I guess that kit from LSI or 3Ware is similar in this respect, although I've never used them.

Note that some vendors like IBM and Dell sell OEM versions of controllers from third parties, and the models may come from different manufacturers. You would need to do your homework in this case with (for example) a Dell PERC or an IBM ServerRAID.

Solution 2:

Most likely you won't have to label the drives. I've never seen a RAID controller that stores metadata on the controller only. You should be able to just attach the drives in whatever order, and the RAID controller should be able to see the volumes (if it is compatible). I do this regularly with HP P410 controllers.

If high performance isn't needed, you could also use software RAID. That's what I do with offsite remote backup machines. I don't have spare parts for those old servers, so I configured a Software RAID 5 on a Linux box.