mdadm

Use the mdadm resource to manage RAID devices in a Linux environment using the mdadm utility. The mdadm provider will create and assemble an array, but it will not create the config file that is used to persist the array upon reboot. If the config file is required, it must be done by specifying a template with the correct array layout, and then by using the mount provider to create a file systems table (fstab) entry.

Syntax

A mdadm resource block manages RAID devices in a Linux environment using the mdadm utility:

mdadm '/dev/md0' do
  devices [ '/dev/sda', '/dev/sdb' ]
  level 1
  action [ :create, :assemble ]
end

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the mdadm resource is:

mdadm 'name' do
  bitmap                     String
  chunk                      Integer
  devices                    Array
  exists                     TrueClass, FalseClass
  layout                     String
  level                      Integer
  mdadm_defaults             TrueClass, FalseClass
  metadata                   String
  notifies                   # see description
  provider                   Chef::Provider::Mdadm
  raid_device                String # defaults to 'name' if not specified
  subscribes                 # see description
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :create if not specified
end

where

• mdadm is the resource
• name is the name of the resource block
• :action identifies the steps the chef-client will take to bring the node into the desired state
• bitmap, chunk, devices, exists, layout, level, mdadm_defaults, metadata, provider, and raid_device are properties of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Actions

This resource has the following actions:

:assemble

Assemble a previously created array into an active array.

:create

Default. Create an array with per-device superblocks. If an array already exists (but does not match), update that array to match.

:nothing

Define this resource block to do nothing until notified by another resource to take action. When this resource is notified, this resource block is either run immediately or it is queued up to be run at the end of the chef-client run.

:stop

Stop an active array.

Properties

This resource has the following properties:

bitmap

Ruby Type: String

The path to a file in which a write-intent bitmap is stored.

chunk

Ruby Type: Integer

The chunk size. This property should not be used for a RAID 1 mirrored pair (i.e. when the level property is set to 1). Default value: 16.

devices

Ruby Type: Array

A comma-separated list of devices to be part of a RAID array. Default value: [].

exists

Ruby Types: TrueClass, FalseClass

Indicates whether the RAID array exists. Default value: false.

ignore_failure

Ruby Types: TrueClass, FalseClass

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason. Default value: false.

layout

Ruby Type: String

The RAID5 parity algorithm. Possible values: left-asymmetric (or la), left-symmetric (or ls), right-asymmetric (or ra), or right-symmetric (or rs).

level

Ruby Type: Integer

The RAID level. Default value: 1.

mdadm_defaults

Ruby Types: TrueClass, FalseClass

When true this property sets the default values for chunk and metadata to nil allowing mdadm to use its own default values. Default value: false.

metadata

Ruby Type: String

The superblock type for RAID metadata. Default value: 0.90.

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notifiy more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before

Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.

:delayed

Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.

:immediate, :immediately

Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for notifies is:

notifies :action, 'resource[name]', :timer

provider

Ruby Type: Chef Class

Optional. Explicitly specifies a provider.

raid_device

Ruby Type: String

The name of the RAID device. Default value: the name of the resource block See “Syntax” section above for more information.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource. Default value: 0.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer

The retry delay (in seconds). Default value: 2.

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before

Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.

:delayed

Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.

:immediate, :immediately

Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for subscribes is:

subscribes :action, 'resource[name]', :timer

Examples

The following examples demonstrate various approaches for using resources in recipes. If you want to see examples of how Chef uses resources in recipes, take a closer look at the cookbooks that Chef authors and maintains: https://github.com/chef-cookbooks.

Create and assemble a RAID 0 array

The mdadm command can be used to create RAID arrays. For example, a RAID 0 array named /dev/md0 with 10 devices would have a command similar to the following:

$ mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=0 --raid-devices=10 /dev/s01.../dev/s10

where /dev/s01 .. /dev/s10 represents 10 devices (01, 02, 03, and so on). This same command, when expressed as a recipe using the mdadm resource, would be similar to:

mdadm '/dev/md0' do
  devices [ '/dev/s01', ... '/dev/s10' ]
  level 0
  action :create
end

(again, where /dev/s01 .. /dev/s10 represents devices /dev/s01, /dev/s02, /dev/s03, and so on).

Create and assemble a RAID 1 array

mdadm '/dev/md0' do
  devices [ '/dev/sda', '/dev/sdb' ]
  level 1
  action [ :create, :assemble ]
end

Create and assemble a RAID 5 array

The mdadm command can be used to create RAID arrays. For example, a RAID 5 array named /dev/sd0 with 4, and a superblock type of 0.90 would be similar to:

mdadm '/dev/sd0' do
  devices [ '/dev/s1', '/dev/s2', '/dev/s3', '/dev/s4' ]
  level 5
  metadata '0.90'
  chunk 32
  action :create
end