up vote 6 down vote favorite
6

I have assembled a new raid array to replace an old one. However, this new array got assigned an automatic name of /dev/md127 and I want to rename it to /dev/md3, so that I don't have to change various other settings. How do I rename an mdadm raid array?

link|improve this question
100% accept rate
feedback

1 Answer

up vote 6 down vote accepted

Start with mdadm --detail /dev/md127:

Version : 0.90
Creation Time : Wed Apr 13 20:03:21 2011
Raid Level : raid10
Array Size : 656765952 (626.34 GiB 672.53 GB)
Used Dev Size : 437843968 (417.56 GiB 448.35 GB)
Raid Devices : 3
Total Devices : 2
Preferred Minor : 8
Persistence : Superblock is persistent

The first line shows the metadata version used by this array. Now, stop the array:

mdadm --stop /dev/md127
mdadm --remove /dev/md127

And assemble it again using the new name. If the metadata version is 1.0 or higher, use this:

mdadm --assemble /dev/md3 /dev/sd[abcdefghijk]3 --update=name

For arrays using old metadata structure (most likely 0.90, as it allows for kernel auto-assembly), use this:

mdadm –assemble /dev/md3 –update=super-minor /dev/sd[abcdefghijk]3
link|improve this answer
This procedure works fine for me until reboot. Then it's back to /dev/md127. – Erik Johnson Apr 15 at 16:19
I'm now using array UUID instead of name, as it proved to be much more reliable for me (e.g. dual-booting messed the names each time, and does not cause problems with UUIDs). – skolima Apr 16 at 7:03
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.