CHKDSK on a SAN Volume

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CHKDSK on a SAN Volume

rothj

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February 27, 2009 at 9:03 am

#201629

I need a little direction.
I have a clustered SQL db (Sql 2000 / Win2k).
I have errors in the log for corruption on drive S:\.
This is my backup volume (data and tx logs are on separate vols).
I attempted to run chkdsk but it said it needed to dismount because another process had it in use.
Can I dismount this without taking SQL server down or do I need to stop the SQL server? Just trying to determine if I need to sched a downtime. Thank you.
I was thinking if I shut down SQL Server Agent...nothing would try to use Drive S:\. There are tx log backups happening every 15 mins. ??
Thanks for helping the rookie. :hehe:

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rothj Hall of Fame Points: 3407 More actions · Answer 1

Ok, I've pretty much determined I have to set CHKDSK to run at reboot to get exclusive access. Anyone know how long CHKDSK will take (approx) on a 700 GB volume?

Thanks again

Mohit K. Gupta SSChampion Points: 12130 More actions · Answer 2

A long time; the Disk management guys at work told me it is usually a good idea to keep disks in chucks of 250GB .. easier to manage and scan and such.

Thanks.

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Paul Randal One Orange Chip Points: 29544 More actions · Answer 3

Also consider that if you let chkdsk do any repairs, and it touches anything in the database files, it will most-likely result in database corruption.

Paul Randal
CEO, SQLskills.com: Check out SQLskills online training!
Blog:www.SQLskills.com/blogs/paul Twitter: @PaulRandal
SQL MVP, Microsoft RD, Contributing Editor of TechNet Magazine
Author of DBCC CHECKDB/repair (and other Storage Engine) code of SQL Server 2005

rothj Hall of Fame Points: 3407 More actions · Answer 4

YIKES!

Luckily, it is just a volume where backups are stored.

I'll likely move a copy of the backups to another volume and on tape.

I'll verify there is nothing else on this Volume other than backups.

Thanks guys!

NMHDBA SSC Veteran Points: 213 More actions · Answer 5

I know that this topic is a bit old, but I have a very similar question.

Every two weeks we perform server/database maintenance; altering indexes, Windows updates and a server reboot. My issue periodically appears between maintenance weeks with a System error Event ID 55 in the event viewer: "The file system structure on the disk is corrupt and unusable. Please run the chkdsk utility on the volume XDATA."

This volume is on our SAN and I've determined that I need to perform a CHKDSK since the volume is marked as dirty.

I understand the differences between CHKDSK /F & CHKDSK /R. My question is since I'm not performing a CHKDSK /R should I be worried about database files on this volume if I perform a CHKDSK /F?

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004354 More actions · Answer 6

NMHDBA (12/13/2012)
I know that this topic is a bit old, but I have a very similar question.
Every two weeks we perform server/database maintenance; altering indexes, Windows updates and a server reboot. My issue periodically appears between maintenance weeks with a System error Event ID 55 in the event viewer: "The file system structure on the disk is corrupt and unusable. Please run the chkdsk utility on the volume XDATA."
This volume is on our SAN and I've determined that I need to perform a CHKDSK since the volume is marked as dirty.
I understand the differences between CHKDSK /F & CHKDSK /R. My question is since I'm not performing a CHKDSK /R should I be worried about database files on this volume if I perform a CHKDSK /F?

Call the SAN vendor and tell them to come fix it or replace it! That kind of corruption should only happen about once every hudred years or so on a SAN.

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

NMHDBA SSC Veteran Points: 213 More actions · Answer 7

I've talked with the administrator of the SAN and I have asked if there was anything that needed to be done. Although he mentioned that he could update drivers and test various items, he strongly suggested that my issue is with the volume on the SAN and that this would be a job for CHKDSK. He cited that many systems are hosted by the SAN and that they are not experience issues.

I'm not as knowledgeable about the SAN as this person, so I'm not sure what to ask if he insists that I should try a CHKDSK first. What would be your suggestion?

Satish Nagaraja SSCrazy Points: 2632 More actions · Answer 8

Best thing is build standy by server on same domain, migrate the databases and check for consistency after migration, usually you should have DR solution for critical production databases for covering these kind of issues.

Run checkdsk on original server.

Cheer Satish 🙂

NMHDBA SSC Veteran Points: 213 More actions · Answer 9

Thank you for your reply. This production database performs a FULL back up daily and is restored daily to a separate reporting server. The integrity of the database is OK. I'm confident that this is strictly a issue with my SAN volume.