MDADM(8)

NAME
mdadm - manage MD devices aka Linux Software Raid.

SYNOPSIS
mdadm [mode] <raiddevice> [options] <component-devices>

DESCRIPTION
RAID devices are virtual devices created from two or more real block devices. This allows multiple devices (typically disk drives or partitions there-of) to be combined into a single device to hold (for example) a single filesystem. Some RAID levels include redundancy and so can survive some degree of device failure. Linux Software RAID devices are implemented through the md (Multiple Devices) device driver. Currently, Linux supports LINEAR md devices, RAID0 (striping), RAID1 (mirroring), RAID4, RAID5, and MULTIPATH. MULTIPATH is not a Software RAID mechanism, but does involve multiple devices. For MULTIPATH each device is a path to one common physical storage device. mdadm is a program that can be used to create, manage, and monitor MD devices. As such it provides a similar set of functionality to the raidtools packages. The key differences between mdadm and raidtools are:

•   mdadm is a single program and not a collection of programs.

•   mdadm can perform (almost) all of its functions without having a configuration file and does not use one by default. Also mdadm helps with management of the configuration file.

•   mdadm can provide information about your arrays (through Query, Detail, and Examine) that raidtools cannot.

mdadm does not use /etc/raidtab, the raidtools configuration file, at all. It has a different configuration file with a different format and an different purpose.

MODES
mdadm has 6 major modes of operation:

Assemble
    Assemble the parts of a previously created array into an active array. Components can be explicitly given or can be searched for. mdadm checks that the components do form a bona fide array, and can, on request, fiddle superblock information so as to assemble a faulty array.

Build
    Build a legacy array without per-device superblocks.

Create
    Create a new array with per-device superblocks.

Manage
    This is for doing things to specific components of an array such as adding new spares and removing faulty devices.

Misc
    This mode allows operations on independent devices such as examine MD superblocks, erasing old superblocks and stopping active arrays.

Follow or Monitor
    Monitor one or more md devices and act on any state changes. This is only meaningful for raid1, raid5 or multipath arrays as only these have interesting state. raid0 or linear never have missing, spare, or failed drives, so there is nothing to monitor.

OPTIONS
Available options are:

-A, --assemble
    Assemble a pre-existing array.

-B, --build
    Build a legacy array without superblocks.

-C, --create
    Create a new array.

-Q, --query
    Examine a device to see (1) if it is an md device and (2) if it is a component of an md array. Information about what is discovered is presented.

-D, --detail
    Print detail of one or more md devices.

-E, --examine
    Print content of md superblock on device(s).

-F, --follow, --monitor
    Select Monitor mode.

-h, --help
    Display help message or, after above option, mode specific help message.

--help-options
    Display more detailed help about command line parsing and some commonly used options.

-V, --version
    Print version information for mdadm.

-v, --verbose
    Be more verbose about what is happening.

-b, --brief
    Be less verbose. This is used with --detail and --examine.

-f, --force
    Be more forceful about certain operations. See the various modes of the exact meaning of this option in different contexts.

-c, --config=
    Specify the config file. Default is /etc/mdadm.conf. If the config file given is partitions then nothing will be read, but mdadm will act as though the config file contained exactly DEVICE partitions and will read /proc/partitions to find a list of devices to scan. If the word none is given for the config file, then mdadm will act as though the config file were empty.

-s, --scan
    scan config file or /proc/mdstat for missing information. In general, this option gives mdadm permission to get any missing information, like component devices, array devices, array identities, and alert destination from the configuration file: /etc/mdadm.conf. One exception is MISC mode when using --detail or --stop in which case --scan says to get a list of array devices from /proc/mdstat.

For create or build:

-c, --chunk=
    Specify chunk size of kibibytes. The default is 64.

--rounding=
    Specify rounding factor for linear array (==chunk size)

-l, --level=
    Set raid level. When used with --create, options are: linear, raid0, 0, stripe, raid1, 1, mirror, raid5, 4, raid5, 5, multipath, mp. Obviously some of these are synonymous. When used with --build, only linear, raid0, 0, stripe are valid.

-p, --parity=
    Set raid5 parity algorithm. Options are: left-asymmetric, left-symmetric, right-asymmetric, right-symmetric, la, ra, ls, rs. The default is left-symmetric.

--layout=
    same as --parity

-n, --raid-devices=
    Specify the number of active devices in the array. This, plus the number of spare devices (see below) must equal the number of component-devices (including "missing" devices) that are listed on the command line. Setting a value of 1 is probably a mistake and so requires that --force be specified first. A value of 1 will then be allowed for linear, multipath, raid0 and raid1. It is never allowed for raid4 or raid5.
    Note that this number cannot be changed once the array has been created.

-x, --spare-devices=
    Specify the number of spare (eXtra) devices in the initial array. Spares can also be added and removed later. The number of component devices listed on the command line must equal the number of raid devices plus the number of spare devices.

-z, --size=
    Amount (in Kibibytes) of space to use from each drive in RAID1/4/5. This must be a multiple of the chunk size, and must leave about 128Kb of space at the end of the drive for the RAID superblock. If this is not specified (as it normally is not) the smallest drive (or partition) sets the size, though if there is a variance among the drives of greater than 1%, a warning is issued.

For assemble:

-u, --uuid=
    uuid of array to assemble. Devices which don't have this uuid are excluded

-m, --super-minor=
    Minor number of device that array was created for. Devices which don't have this minor number are excluded. If you create an array as /dev/md1, then all superblocks will contain the minor number 1, even if the array is later assembled as /dev/md2. Giving the literal word "dev" for --super-minor will cause mdadm to use the minor number of the md device that is being assembled. e.g. when assembling /dev/md0, will look for super blocks with a minor number of 0.

-f, --force
    Assemble the array even if some superblocks appear out-of-date

-R, --run
    Attempt to start the array even if fewer drives were given than are needed for a full array. Normally if not all drives are found and --scan is not used, then the array will be assembled but not started. With --run an attempt will be made to start it anyway.

-U, --update=
    Update the superblock on each device while assembling the array. The argument given to this flag can be either sparc2.2 or super-minor. The sparc2.2 option will adjust the superblock of an array what was created on a Sparc machine running a patched 2.2 Linux kernel. This kernel got the alignment of part of the superblock wrong. You can use the --examine --sparc2.2 option to mdadm to see what effect this would have. The super-minor option will update the prefered minor field on each superblock to match the minor number of the array being assembled. This is not need on 2.6 and later kernels as they make this adjustment automatically.

For Manage mode:

-a, --add
    hotadd listed devices.

-r, --remove
    remove listed devices. They must not be active. i.e. they should be failed or spare devices.

-f, --fail
    mark listed devices as faulty.

--set-faulty
    same as --fail.

For Examine mode:

--sparc2.2
    In an array was created on a 2.2 Linux kernel patched with RAID support, the superblock will have been created incorrectly, or at least incompatibly with 2.4 and later kernels. Using the --sparc2.2 flag with --examine will fix the superblock before displaying it. If this appears to do the right thing, then the array can be successfully assembled using --assemble --update=sparc2.2.

For Misc mode:

-R, --run
    start a partially built array.

-S, --stop
    deactivate array, releasing all resources.

-o, --readonly
    mark array as readonly.

-w, --readwrite
    mark array as readwrite.

--zero-superblock
    If the device contains a valid md superblock, the block is over-written with zeros. With --force the block where the superblock would be is over-written even if it doesn't appear to be valid.

For Monitor mode:

-m, --mail
    Give a mail address to send alerts to.

-p, --program, --alert
    Give a program to be run whenever an event is detected.

-d, --delay
    Give a delay in seconds. mdadm polls the md arrays and then waits this many seconds before polling again. The default is 60 seconds.

-f, --daemonise
    Tell mdadm to run as a background daemon if it decides to monitor anything. This causes it to fork and run in the child, and to disconnect form the terminal. The process id of the child is written to stdout. This is useful with --scan which will only continue monitoring if a mail address or alert program is found in the config file.

-1, --oneshot
    Check arrays only once. This will generate NewArray events and more significantly DegradedArray events. Running
    mdadm --monitor --scan -1
    from a cron script will ensure regular notification of any degraded arrays.

ASSEMBLE MODE

Usage: mdadm --assemble md-device options-and-component-devices...

Usage: mdadm --assemble --scan md-devices-and-options...

Usage: mdadm --assemble --scan options...

This usage assembles one or more raid arrays from pre-existing components. For each array, mdadm needs to know the md device, the identity of the array, and a number of component-devices. These can be found in a number of ways. In the first usage example (without the --scan) the first device given is the md device. In the second usage example, all devices listed are treated as md devices and assembly is attempted. In the third (where no devices are listed) all md devices that are listed in the configuration file are assembled. If precisely one device is listed, but --scan is not given, that mdadm acts as though --scan was given and identify information is extracted from the configuration file. The identity can be given with the --uuid option, with the --super-minor option, can be found in the config file, or will be taken from the super block on the first component-device listed on the command line. Devices can be given on the --assemble command line or in the config file. Only devices which have an md superblock which contains the right identity will be considered for any array. The config file is only used if explicitly named with --config or requested with (a possibly implicit) --scan. In the later case, /etc/mdadm.conf is used. If --scan is not given, then the config file will only be used to find the identity of md arrays. Normally the array will be started after it is assembled. However if --scan is not given and insufficient drives were listed to start a complete (non-degraded) array, then the array is not started (to guard against usage errors). To insist that the array be started in this case (as may work for RAID1 or RAID5), give the --run flag.

BUILD MODE

Usage: mdadm --build device --chunk=X --level=Y --raid-devices=Z devices

This usage is similar to --create. The difference is that it creates a legacy array without a superblock. With these arrays there is no difference between initially creating the array and subsequently assembling the array, except that hopefully there is useful data there in the second case. The level may only be 0, raid0, or linear. All devices must be listed and the array will be started once complete.

CREATE MODE

Usage: mdadm --create device --chunk=X --level=Y
--raid-devices=Z devices

This usage will initialise a new md array, associate some devices with it, and activate the array. As devices are added, they are checked to see if they contain raid superblocks or filesystems. They are also checked to see if the variance in device size exceeds 1%. If any discrepancy is found, the array will not automatically be run, though the presence of a --run can override this caution. To create a "degraded" array in which some devices are missing, simply give the word "missing" in place of a device name. This will cause mdadm to leave the corresponding slot in the array empty. For a RAID4 or RAID5 array at most one slot can be "missing". For a RAID1 array, only one real device needs to be given. All of the others can be "missing". The General Management options that are valid with --create are:

--run
    insist of running the array even if some devices look like they might be in use.

--readonly
    start the array readonly - not supported yet.

MANAGE MODE

Usage: mdadm device options... devices...

This usage will allow individual devices in an array to be failed, removed or added. It is possible to perform multiple operations with on command. For example:
mdadm /dev/md0 -f /dev/hda1 -r /dev/hda1 -a /dev/hda1
will firstly mark /dev/hda1 as faulty in /dev/md0 and will then remove it from the array and finally add it back in as a spare. However only one md array can be affected by a single command.

MISC MODE

Usage: mdadm options ... devices ...

MISC mode includes a number if distinct operations that operate on distinct devices. The operations are:

--query
    The device is examined to see if it is (1) an active md array, or (2) a component of an md array. The information discovered is reported.

--detail
    The device should be an active md device. mdadm will display a detailed description of the array. --brief or --scan will cause the output to be less detailed and the format to be suitable for inclusion in /etc/mdadm.conf.

--examine
    The device should be a component of an md array. mdadm will read the md superblock of the device and display the contents. If --brief is given, or --scan then multiple devices that are components of the one array are grouped together and reported in a single entry suitable for inclusion in /etc/mdadm.conf. Having --scan without listing any devices will cause all devices listed in the config file to be examined.

--stop
    This devices should active md arrays which will be deactivated, if they are not currently in use.

--run
    This will fully activate a partially assembled md array.

--readonly
    This will mark an active array as read-only, providing that it is not currently being used.

--readwrite
    This will change a readonly array back to being read/write.

--scan
    For all operations except --examine, --scan will cause the operation to be applied to all arrays listed in /proc/mdstat. For --examine, --scan causes all devices listed in the config file to be examined.

MONITOR MODE

Usage: mdadm --monitor options... devices...

This usage causes mdadm to periodically poll a number of md arrays and to report on any events noticed. mdadm will never exit once it decides that there are arrays to be checked, so it should normally be run in the background. As well as reporting events, mdadm may move a spare drive from one array to another if they are in the same spare-group and if the destination array has a failed drive but not spares. If any devices are listed on the command line, mdadm will only monitor those devices. Otherwise all arrays listed in the configuration file will be monitored. Further, if --scan is given, then any other md devices that appear in /proc/mdstat will also be monitored. The result of monitoring the arrays is the generation of events. These events are passed to a separate program (if specified) and may be mailed to a given E-mail address. When passing event to program, the program is run once for each event and is given 2 or 3 command-line arguements. The first is the name of the event (see below). The second is the name of the md device which is affected, and the third is the name of a related device if relevant, such as a component device that has failed. If --scan is given, then a program or an E-mail address must be specified on the command line or in the config file. If neither are available, then mdadm will not monitor anything. Without --scan mdadm will continue monitoring as long as something was found to monitor. If no program or email is given, then each event is reported to stdout. The different events are:

    DeviceDisappeared
        An md array which previously was configured appears to no longer be configured.

    RebuildStarted
        An md array started reconstruction.

    RebuildNN
        Where NN is 20, 40, 60, or 80, this indicates that rebuild has passed that many percentage of the total.

    Fail
        An active component device of an array has been marked as faulty.

    FailSpare
        A spare component device which was being rebuilt to replace a faulty device has failed.

    SpareActive
        A spare component device which was being rebuilt to replace a faulty device as been successfully rebuild and has been made active.

    NewArray
        A new md array has been detected in the /proc/mdstat file.

    DegradedArray
        A newly noticed array appears to be degraded. This message is not generated when mdadm notices a drive failure which causes degradation, but only when mdadm notices that an array is degraded when it first sees the array.

    MoveSpare
        A spare drive has been moved from one array in a spare-group to another to allow a failed drive to be replaced.
Only Fail and FailSpare cause Email to be sent. All events cause the program to be run. The program is run with two or three arguments, they being the event name, the array device and possibly a second device. Each event has an associated array device (e.g. /dev/md1) and possibly a second device. For Fail, FailSpare, and SpareActive the second device is the relevant component device. For MoveSpare the second device is the array that the spare was moved from. For mdadm to move spares from one array to another, the different arrays need to be labelled with the same spare-group in the configuration file. The spare-group name can be any string. It is only necessary that different spare groups use different names. When mdadm detects that an array which is in a spare group has fewer active devices than necessary for the complete array, and has no spare devices, it will look for another array in the same spare group that has a full complement of working drive and a spare. It will then attempt to remove the spare from the second drive and add it to the first. If the removal succeeds but the adding fails, then it is added back to the original array.

EXAMPLES
mdadm --query /dev/name-of-device
This will find out if a given device is a raid array, or is part of one, and will provide brief information about the device. mdadm --assemble --scan
This will assemble and start all arrays listed in the standard confile file. This command will typically go in a system startup file. mdadm --stop --scan
This will shut down all array that can be shut down (i.e. are not currently in used). This will typically going in a system shutdown script. mdadm --follow --scan --delay=120
If (and only if) there is an Email address or program given in the standard config file, then monitor the status of all arrays listed in that file by polling them ever 2 minutes. mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 /dev/hd[ac]1
Create /dev/md0 as a RAID1 array consisting of /dev/hda1 and /dev/hdc1.
echo 'DEVICE /dev/hd*[0-9] /dev/sd*[0-9]' > mdadm.conf
mdadm --detail --scan >> mdadm.conf
This will create a prototype config file that describes currently active arrays that are known to be made from partitions of IDE or SCSI drives. This file should be reviewed before being used as it may contain unwanted detail. echo 'DEVICE /dev/hd[a-z] /dev/sd*[a-z]' > mdadm.conf
mdadm --examine --scan --config=mdadm.conf >> mdadm.conf This will find what arrays could be assembled from existign IDE and SCSI whole drives (not partitions) and store the information is the format of a config file. This file is very likely to contain unwanted detail, particularly the devices= entries. It should be reviewed and edited before being used as an actual config file. mdadm --examine --brief --scan --config=partitions
mdadm -Ebsc partitions
Create a list of devices by reading /proc/partitions, scan these for RAID superblocks, and printout a brief listing of all that was found. mdadm -Ac partitions -m 0 /dev/md0
Scan all partitions and devices listed in /proc/partitions and assemble /dev/md0 out of all such devices with a RAID superblock with a minor number of 0. mdadm --monitor --scan --daemonise > /var/run/mdadm
If config file contains a mail address or alert program, run mdadm in the background in monitor mode monitoring all md devices. Also write pid of mdadm daemon to /var/run/mdadm. mdadm --create --help
Providew help about the Create mode. mdadm --config --help
Provide help about the format of the config file. mdadm --help
Provide general help.

FILES

  /proc/mdstat
If you're using the /proc filesystem, /proc/mdstat lists all active md devices with information about them. mdadm uses this to find arrays when --scan is given in Misc mode, and to monitor array reconstruction on Monitor mode.

  /etc/mdadm.conf
The config file lists which devices may be scanned to see if they contain MD super block, and gives identifying information (e.g. UUID) about known MD arrays. See mdadm.conf(5) for more details.

NOTE
mdadm was previously known as mdctl.

SEE ALSO
For information on the various levels of RAID, check out:

    http://ostenfeld.dk/~jakob/Software-RAID.HOWTO/ (http://ostenfeld.dk/~jakob/Software-RAID.HOWTO/)

for new releases of the RAID driver check out:

    ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/mingo/raid-patches (ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/mingo/raid-patches)

or

    http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~neilb/patches/linux-stable/

mdadm.conf(5), md(4).

raidtab(5), raid0run(8), raidstop(8), mkraid(8)