How to Recover an Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC) RAID 5 Volume

Intel VROC array failed with a RAID 5 volume. Can it be recovered?

When an Intel® VROC RAID 5 volume is not working, its state can be either Degraded or Failed. A RAID 5 volume is reported as degraded when one of its member disks is disconnected or has failed. When two or more array disks are disconnected or have failed, the volume is reported as failed. Depending on the state reported, there are recommended actions that may recover the volume:

• Degraded Volume
  • In case of a missing array disk, the user can reconnect the missing disk and attempt to rebuild the volume. The procedure to rebuild the volume would be:
    1. Power off the system.
    2. Reconnect the missing disk.
    3. Turn on the system. The rebuild operation should start automatically.
  • Alternatively, if the user cannot reconnect the missing disk but there is another disk compatible, available and normal, the volume can be rebuilt following this procedure:
    1. Select the disk to use to rebuild the volume. To accomplish this action, consult the Intel® VROC User Guide for your respective operating system: User Guides for Intel® Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel® VROC)
    2. Start the rebuild operation.
  • In case of a failed array disk, the user can rebuild the degraded volume to a new disk to return the volume and overall storage system status to normal. However, the user can also try resetting the disk to normal, which will prompt the volume to start rebuilding automatically. In this case, if the read/write data access consistently fails, the disk will likely return to a failed state immediately and the user will have to rebuild the volume to another disk.
  • If there are no available disks at all that could be used to rebuild the volume, the user will have to power off the system and connect a new disk that is equal or greater capacity than the failed disk. Once the system is back up and running, the user can start a rebuild procedure.
• Failed Volume
  • A failed status happens when two or more member disks failed. In most cases, if the volume is reported as failed, it cannot be recovered and any data on the volume is lost. However, before deleting the volume, the user can try resetting the disks to normal and attempt a data recovery. In this case, if the read/write data access consistently fails, the disks will likely return to a failed state immediately.
  • Follow the procedure below to delete the failed volume and create a new one:
    1. Power off the system.
    2. Replace the failed disks with new ones that are of equal or greater capacity.
    3. Turn on the system and enter into the BIOS. During the system startup, the volume will display as Failed in the Intel® VROC Pre-OS environment.
    4. Navigate to the Intel® VROC menu option within the BIOS menu.
    5. Select the option to delete RAID volumes.
    6. Select the failed RAID volume.
    7. Delete the RAID volume.
    8. Create a new RAID 5 volume using the new disks. If the failed disks were part of the system volume, the user will also have to re-install the operating system.