[PLUG] RAID1 impending failure questions

[Walt Mankowski via plug <plug@lists.phillylinux.org>]

Hi everyone,

I woke up this morning to an alert that one of the drives in a RAID
array is likely to fail soon. I set this array up nearly 6 years ago
so it seems about the time that things might start failing. This is my
first RAID array so I've got a few questions I hope someone can help
me with.

First of all, it's a RAID1 array with two 4 TB drives. It's just used
for data, and isn't the boot drive. It's still working, but who knows
for how long. I'll stop by Micro Center this weekend and pick up 2 new
4 TB drives, on the assumption that the other drive might be ready to
fail soon too.

First question -- The two devices in the array are /dev/sdc1 and
/dev/sdd1. The alert says the questionable drive is sdc1. When I open
things up, is there any easy way to tell which drive is which? Will
the serial number be printed on the drive?

Second question -- Let's say I remove the old drive, install the new
drive and it's sde1. Will the system think it's a RAID1 with one drive
and just use that until I add sde1 to the array?

Third question -- As long as everything is working, and assuming I've
got the slots, power, cables, etc, would it make sense to add the new
drive as a third drive in the array, let it sync, then remove the old
drive from the array?

Anything else I should be aware of?

Thanks.

Walt
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