[plug] Server stress test, RAID health monitoring

[Matthew Lambie]

I have received three new servers for work and I'm installing the OS
over the weekend. We're using Ubuntu on all the machines, and they all
have SATA RAID configurations. I love the smell of new hardware :)

1 - Can anyone recommend a good way/application to really hammer the
processor, memory and disk? In the past I've compiled kernel after
kernel in a loop but there must be a suite of tools people use to "burn
in" new machines. If the disk is going to die, it will in the first few
days, so I'd like to thump it now and replace it before it goes into the
racks next week.

2 - What do people use to monitor the health of RAID arrays? I want to
know if the array is dying so we can get a new disk in, obviously. I'm
expecting that tools exist which will fire off emails when problems are
found, but if not I can happily script something triggered from cron.
We're using Adaptec 2410SA SATA RAID cards, if that has any bearing on
things.

-- 

Thanks,

Matthew Lambie
Technical Director

THE FRONTIER GROUP, PTY. LTD.
Suite 17/44 Kings Park Road
West Perth, WA  6005
Australia

w: http://thefrontiergroup.com.au
e: mlambie at thefrontiergroup.com.au
f: +61 (08) 6263 4444
m: +61 408 866 997