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MDADM.CONF(5)                 File Formats Manual                MDADM.CONF(5)

NAME
       mdadm.conf - configuration for management of Software RAID with mdadm

SYNOPSIS
       /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf

DESCRIPTION
       mdadm is a tool for creating, managing, and monitoring RAID devices us-
       ing the md driver in Linux.

       Some common tasks, such as assembling all arrays, can be simplified  by
       describing the devices and arrays in this configuration file.

   SYNTAX
       The  file  should  be  seen as a collection of words separated by white
       space (space, tab, or newline).  Any word that beings with a hash  sign
       (#)  starts  a comment and that word together with the remainder of the
       line is ignored.

       Spaces can be included in a word using  quotation  characters.   Either
       single quotes (') or double quotes (") may be used.  All the characters
       from one quotation character to next identical character are  protected
       and will not be used to separate words to start new quoted strings.  To
       include a single quote it must be between double quotes.  To include  a
       double quote it must be between single quotes.

       Any  line  that  starts  with  white space (space or tab) is treated as
       though it were a continuation of the previous line.

       Empty lines are ignored, but otherwise  each  (non  continuation)  line
       must  start  with a keyword as listed below.  The keywords are case in-
       sensitive and can be abbreviated to 3 characters.

       The keywords are:

       DEVICE A device line lists the devices (whole  devices  or  partitions)
              that might contain a component of an MD array.  When looking for
              the components of an array, mdadm will scan  these  devices  (or
              any devices listed on the command line).

              The device line may contain a number of different devices (sepa-
              rated by spaces) and each device name can contain wild cards  as
              defined by glob(7).

              Also, there may be several device lines present in the file.

              Alternatively,  a  device line can contain either or both of the
              words containers and partitions.  The word containers will cause
              mdadm  to  look for assembled CONTAINER arrays and included them
              as a source for assembling further arrays.

              The word partitions will cause mdadm  to  read  /proc/partitions
              and  include  all  devices  and partitions found therein.  mdadm
              does not use the names from /proc/partitions but only the  major
              and  minor  device numbers.  It scans /dev to find the name that
              matches the numbers.

              If no DEVICE line is present, then "DEVICE  partitions  contain-
              ers" is assumed.

              For example:

              DEVICE /dev/hda* /dev/hdc*
              DEV    /dev/sd*
              DEVICE /dev/disk/by-path/pci*
              DEVICE partitions

       ARRAY  The  ARRAY lines identify actual arrays.  The second word on the
              line may be the name of the device where the array  is  normally
              assembled, such as /dev/md1 or /dev/md/backup.  If the name does
              not start with  a  slash  ('/'),  it  is  treated  as  being  in
              /dev/md/.   Alternately  the  word <ignore> (complete with angle
              brackets) can be given in which case any array which matches the
              rest  of  the line will never be automatically assembled.  If no
              device name is given, mdadm will use various heuristics  to  de-
              termine an appropriate name.

              Subsequent  words identify the array, or identify the array as a
              member of a group. If multiple identities are given, then a com-
              ponent  device  must  match  ALL  identities  to be considered a
              match.  Each identity word has a tag, and equals sign, and  some
              value.  The tags are:

           uuid=  The  value  should  be  a  128 bit uuid in hexadecimal, with
                  punctuation interspersed if desired.  This  must  match  the
                  uuid stored in the superblock.

           name=  The  value  should  be a simple textual name as was given to
                  mdadm when the array was created.  This must match the  name
                  stored  in  the superblock on a device for that device to be
                  included in the array.  Not all superblock  formats  support
                  names.

           super-minor=
                  The  value  is  an  integer which indicates the minor number
                  that was stored in the superblock when the  array  was  cre-
                  ated.  When  an array is created as /dev/mdX, then the minor
                  number X is stored.

           devices=
                  The value is a comma separated list of device names  or  de-
                  vice name patterns.  Only devices with names which match one
                  entry in the list will be used to assemble the array.   Note
                  that  the  devices listed there must also be listed on a DE-
                  VICE line.

           level= The value is a RAID level.  This is  not  normally  used  to
                  identify an array, but is supported so that the output of

                  mdadm --examine --scan

                  can be use directly in the configuration file.

           num-devices=
                  The  value is the number of devices in a complete active ar-
                  ray.  As with level= this is mainly for  compatibility  with
                  the output of

                  mdadm --examine --scan.

           spares=
                  The  value  is a number of spare devices to expect the array
                  to have.  The sole use of this keyword and value is as  fol-
                  lows: mdadm --monitor will report an array if it is found to
                  have fewer than this number of spares when --monitor  starts
                  or when --oneshot is used.

           spare-group=
                  The  value is a textual name for a group of arrays.  All ar-
                  rays with the same spare-group name  are  considered  to  be
                  part  of the same group.  The significance of a group of ar-
                  rays is that mdadm will, when monitoring the arrays, move  a
                  spare  drive  from  one array in a group to another array in
                  that group if the first array had a failed or missing  drive
                  but no spare.

           auto=  This option is rarely needed with mdadm-3.0, particularly if
                  use with the Linux kernel v2.6.28 or later.  It tells  mdadm
                  whether  to use partitionable array or non-partitionable ar-
                  rays and, in the absence of udev, how many partition devices
                  to  create.  From 2.6.28 all md array devices are partition-
                  able, hence this option is not needed.

                  The value of this option can be "yes" or  "md"  to  indicate
                  that  a  traditional,  non-partitionable  md array should be
                  created, or "mdp", "part" or "partition" to indicate that  a
                  partitionable  md  array  (only  available  in linux 2.6 and
                  later) should be used.  This later set can also have a  num-
                  ber  appended  to indicate how many partitions to create de-
                  vice files for, e.g.  auto=mdp5.  The default is 4.

           bitmap=
                  The option specifies a file in which a  write-intent  bitmap
                  should be found.  When assembling the array, mdadm will pro-
                  vide this file to the md driver as the  bitmap  file.   This
                  has  the  same function as the --bitmap-file option to --as-
                  semble.

           metadata=
                  Specify the metadata format that the  array  has.   This  is
                  mainly recognised for comparability with the output of mdadm
                  -Es.

           container=
                  Specify that this array is a member array of some container.
                  The value given can be either a path name in /dev, or a UUID
                  of the container array.

           member=
                  Specify that this array is a member array of some container.
                  Each  type of container has some way to enumerate member ar-
                  rays, often a simple sequence number.  The value  identifies
                  which  member  of a container the array is.  It will usually
                  accompany a "container=" word.

       MAILADDR
              The mailaddr line gives an E-mail address that alerts should  be
              sent  to  when mdadm is running in --monitor mode (and was given
              the --scan option).  There should only be one MAILADDR line  and
              it  should  have only one address.  Any subsequent addresses are
              silently ignored.

       MAILFROM
              The mailfrom line (which can only be abbreviated to at  least  5
              characters) gives an address to appear in the "From" address for
              alert mails.  This can be useful if you want to explicitly set a
              domain,  as  the  default from address is "root" with no domain.
              All words on this line are catenated with spaces to form the ad-
              dress.

              Note  that  this  value cannot be set via the mdadm commandline.
              It is only settable via the config file.

       PROGRAM
              The program line gives the name of a  program  to  be  run  when
              mdadm --monitor detects potentially interesting events on any of
              the arrays that it is monitoring.  This program  gets  run  with
              two or three arguments, they being the Event, the md device, and
              possibly the related component device.

              There should only be one program line and it should be give only
              one program.

       CREATE The  create  line  gives default values to be used when creating
              arrays, new members of arrays, and device  entries  for  arrays.
              These include:

           owner=

           group= These  can  give  user/group  ids or names to use instead of
                  system defaults (root/wheel or root/disk).

           mode=  An octal file mode such as 0660 can be given to override the
                  default of 0600.

           auto=  This corresponds to the --auto flag to mdadm.  Give yes, md,
                  mdp, part -- possibly followed by a number of partitions  --
                  to indicate how missing device entries should be created.

           metadata=
                  The name of the metadata format to use if none is explicitly
                  given.  This can be useful to impose a  system-wide  default
                  of version-1 superblocks.

           symlinks=no
                  Normally when creating devices in /dev/md/ mdadm will create
                  a matching symlink from /dev/ with a  name  starting  md  or
                  md_.  Give symlinks=no to suppress this symlink creation.

           names=yes
                  Since Linux 2.6.29 it has been possible to create md devices
                  with a name like md_home rather than  just  a  number,  like
                  md3.   mdadm  will use the numeric alternative by default as
                  other tools that interact with md  arrays  may  expect  only
                  numbers.   If  names=yes  is  given in mdadm.conf then mdadm
                  will use a name when appropriate.   If  names=no  is  given,
                  then  non-numeric  md  device names will not be used even if
                  the default changes in a future release of mdadm.

           bbl=no By default, mdadm will reserve space for a  bad  block  list
                  (bbl)  on all devices included in or added to any array that
                  supports them.  Setting bbl=no will prevent this,  so  newly
                  added devices will not have a bad block log.

       HOMEHOST
              The  homehost line gives a default value for the --homehost= op-
              tion to mdadm.  There should normally be only one other word  on
              the  line.   It should either be a host name, or one of the spe-
              cial words <system>, <none> and <ignore>.  If <system> is given,
              then the gethostname(2) systemcall is used to get the host name.
              This is the default.

              If <ignore> is given, then a flag is set so that when arrays are
              being  auto-assembled  the  checking of the recorded homehost is
              disabled.  If <ignore> is given it is also possible to  give  an
              explicit  name which will be used when creating arrays.  This is
              the only case when there can be more that one other word on  the
              HOMEHOST  line.   If  there  are  other words, or other HOMEHOST
              lines, they are silently ignored.

              If <none> is given, then the default of using gethostname(2)  is
              over-ridden and no homehost name is assumed.

              When  arrays  are  created, this host name will be stored in the
              metadata.  When arrays are assembled using auto-assembly, arrays
              which  do not record the correct homehost name in their metadata
              will be assembled using a "foreign" name.  A "foreign" name  al-
              way  ends  with a digit string preceded by an underscore to dif-
              ferentiate it from any possible local name. e.g.  /dev/md/1_1 or
              /dev/md/home_0.

       AUTO   A  list  of names of metadata format can be given, each preceded
              by a plus or minus sign.  Also the word homehost is  allowed  as
              is all preceded by plus or minus sign.  all is usually last.

              When mdadm is auto-assembling an array, either via --assemble or
              --incremental and it finds metadata of a given type,  it  checks
              that metadata type against those listed in this line.  The first
              match wins, where all matches anything.  If  a  match  is  found
              that  was preceded by a plus sign, the auto assembly is allowed.
              If the match was preceded by a minus sign, the auto assembly  is
              disallowed.  If no match is found, the auto assembly is allowed.

              If  the  metadata  indicates that the array was created for this
              host, and the word homehost appears before any other match, then
              the array is treated as a valid candidate for auto-assembly.

              This  can be used to disable all auto-assembly (so that only ar-
              rays explicitly listed in mdadm.conf or on the command line  are
              assembled),  or  to  disable  assembly of certain metadata types
              which might be handled by other software.  It can also  be  used
              to disable assembly of all foreign arrays - normally such arrays
              are assembled but given a non-deterministic name in /dev/md/.

              The known metadata types are 0.90, 1.x, ddf, imsm.

              AUTO should  be  given  at  most  once.   Subsequent  lines  are
              silently  ignored.   Thus an earlier config file in a config di-
              rectory will over-ride the setting in a later config file.

       POLICY This is used to specify what automatic behavior  is  allowed  on
              devices  newly  appearing  in  the  system and provides a way of
              marking spares that can be moved to other arrays as well as  the
              migration domains.  Domain can be defined through policy line by
              specifying  a  domain  name  for  a   number   of   paths   from
              /dev/disk/by-path/.  A device may belong to several domains. The
              domain of an array is a union of domains of all devices in  that
              array.  A spare can be automatically moved from one array to an-
              other if the set of the destination array's domains contains all
              the  domains  of  the  new  disk or if both arrays have the same
              spare-group.

              To update hot plug configuration  it  is  necessary  to  execute
              mdadm --udev-rules command after changing the config file

              Keywords used in the POLICY line and supported values are:

              domain=
                     any arbitrary string

              metadata=
                     0.9 1.x ddf or imsm

              path=  file glob matching anything from /dev/disk/by-path

              type=  either disk or part.

              action=
                     include, re-add, spare, spare-same-slot, or force-spare

              auto=  yes, no, or homehost.

              The  action  item  determines the automatic behavior allowed for
              devices matching the path and type in the same line.  If  a  de-
              vice  matches several lines with different actions then the most
              permissive will apply. The ordering of policy lines  is  irrele-
              vant to the end result.

              include
                     allows adding a disk to an array if metadata on that disk
                     matches that array

              re-add will include the device in the array if it appears to  be
                     a  current  member  or a member that was recently removed
                     and the array has  a  write-intent-bitmap  to  allow  the
                     re-add functionality.

              spare  as  above  and additionally: if the device is bare it can
                     become a spare if there is any array that it is a  candi-
                     date for based on domains and metadata.

              spare-same-slot
                     as  above  and  additionally if given slot was used by an
                     array that went degraded recently and the device  plugged
                     in has no metadata then it will be automatically added to
                     that array (or it's container)

              force-spare
                     as above and the disk will become a  spare  in  remaining
                     cases

       PART-POLICY
              This  is  similar to POLICY and accepts the same keyword assign-
              ments.  It allows a consistent set of  policies  to  applied  to
              each of the partitions of a device.

              A PART-POLICY line should set type=disk and identify the path to
              one or more disk devices.  Each partition on these disks will be
              treated  according to the action= setting  from this line.  If a
              domain is set in the line, then the domain associated with  each
              patition  will  be  based  on  the domain, but with "-partN" ap-
              pended, when N is the partition number for  the  partition  that
              was found.

EXAMPLE
       DEVICE /dev/sd[bcdjkl]1
       DEVICE /dev/hda1 /dev/hdb1

       # /dev/md0 is known by its UUID.
       ARRAY /dev/md0 UUID=3aaa0122:29827cfa:5331ad66:ca767371
       # /dev/md1 contains all devices with a minor number of
       #   1 in the superblock.
       ARRAY /dev/md1 superminor=1
       # /dev/md2 is made from precisely these two devices
       ARRAY /dev/md2 devices=/dev/hda1,/dev/hdb1

       # /dev/md4 and /dev/md5 are a spare-group and spares
       #  can be moved between them
       ARRAY /dev/md4 uuid=b23f3c6d:aec43a9f:fd65db85:369432df
                  spare-group=group1
       ARRAY /dev/md5 uuid=19464854:03f71b1b:e0df2edd:246cc977
                  spare-group=group1
       # /dev/md/home is created if need to be a partitionable md array
       # any spare device number is allocated.
       ARRAY /dev/md/home UUID=9187a482:5dde19d9:eea3cc4a:d646ab8b
                  auto=part
       # The name of this array contains a space.
       ARRAY /dev/md9 name='Data Storage'

       POLICY domain=domain1 metadata=imsm path=pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-*
                  action=spare
       POLICY domain=domain1 metadata=imsm path=pci-0000:04:00.0-scsi-[01]*
                  action=include
       #  One  domain comprising of devices attached to specified paths is de-
       fined.
       # Bare device matching first path will be made an  imsm  spare  on  hot
       plug.
       # If more than one array is created on devices belonging to domain1 and
       #  one  of them becomes degraded, then any imsm spare matching any path
       for
       # given domain name can be migrated.
       MAILADDR root@mydomain.tld
       PROGRAM /usr/sbin/handle-mdadm-events
       CREATE group=system mode=0640 auto=part-8
       HOMEHOST <system>
       AUTO +1.x homehost -all

SEE ALSO
       mdadm(8), md(4).

                                                                 MDADM.CONF(5)

NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | EXAMPLE | SEE ALSO