Storage issues: Prolonging the life of a legacy Compaq ML370

I have an original ML370, from before there even were generations (2000). The storage system is comprised of a Smart Array 431 controller, 2 9.1 Gb Ultra3 SCSI (COMPAQ BD009635C3), and 4 146.8 Gb Ultra3 SCSI (COMPAQ BD14687B52).

The two 9 gigs form array A which forms one RAID 1+0 logical which is the OS drive. The four 146.8 gigs form array B which is carved up into about 12 RAID 5 logicals. Regrettably, some of those logicals are mounted by way of "junctions" over system directories; "inetpub", "Program Files", "Database" (SQL Server), and "Message Store" (Exchange)... imagine this were Linux and that would make perfect sense, although on Windows that's questionable.

Also, for what it's worth, the network adapter is a Linksys EG1032.

At this point everything (almost) has been migrated off of this server, however, there is still one legacy application that can't be migrated due to bus architecture and driver support for current operating systems, nor is it in line to be replaced at this time. So, it's necessary to keep this box running for a little while longer.

Enter storage problems; one each of the 9 and 146 gig drives is failed, so the entire storage system is degraded and needs to be addressed ASAP. So the actual question is, what are my options?.. and BTW, the intention is to not spend another dime on this thing.

This server is running Windows 2003. I'm concerned that it may not be possible to reinstall everything from scratch since so much time has passed. I have an iSCSI SAN at my disposal and there would be sufficient space on the remaining three 146 gig drives to run two as a mirror and keep the third around for a spare. The challenge seems to be how to go about reorganizing the existing storage while keeping the server running while doing it. The 431 isn't very smart.

So I'm wondering, can a server of this age be made to do a network boot? My first though was to get it running off of an alternate logical disk of some type so that I could tear the existing arrays apart and reconfigure them. But I'm open to alternate suggestions. I know what I can do with modern servers, but something of its age I know is much more limited and I'm not sure of the options.

TIA

Solution 1:

I totally don't want to discount the rest of your question, but the path of least resistance is to replace the failed disks.

When dealing with legacy equipment, there may be a temptation to devise an esoteric or clever workaround, but your immediate goal is to keep this particular hardware running in the current and stable state until you can migrate everything off of it. Change as little as possible.

This is an original Compaq Proliant ML370 (white). I built and deployed a handful of these systems early in my career, and definitely supported them through the mid-2000's...

The important thing to know is that the original (G1), G2, G3 and G4 ProLiant servers all used variants of parallel SCSI (Ultra-2, Ultra-3 née Ultra-160 and Ultra-320) with 80-pin SCA connectors to the drive cage backplanes. This technology was supplanted by SAS and SATA.

Despite this, SCSI disks are still available. The Smart Array 431 RAID controller is intelligent enough to accept a replacement drive, so there's nothing to worry about there. You can buy the original products (9GB and 146GB) on eBay quite easily for a few dollars.

Do that.

Meanwhile, take the necessary steps to move your legacy application off of the 15 year-old hardware. If that configuration runs the business, then it's a serious operational risk and the business leaders should be prepared to deal with the fallout.