Dell Powedge 1600 Server – SQL Recovery

A financial services company in Nottingham experienced a critical data loss issue after performing a firmware upgrade on their Dell PowerEdge rack server, which was configured in a 5-disk RAID 5 array.

  • The primary volume (Volume 1), which contained Windows Server, remained functional.
  • However, the second volume (Volume 2), which contained a critical SQL database, disappeared from the system and could no longer be accessed.
  • The company relied on this database for client records, transactions, and reporting, making recovery essential.

After failed recovery attempts, they contacted Nottingham Data Recovery, Nottingham’s best data recovery company, with 25 years of RAID data recovery experience.

The Problem

After initial assessment, the failure was likely caused by:

  1. RAID Metadata Corruption Due to Firmware Upgrade
    • The firmware update changed RAID parameters, causing inconsistencies in RAID metadata.
    • This led to the second volume becoming inaccessible, even though no physical disks had failed.
  2. File System Corruption on Volume 2
    • The volume containing the SQL database was no longer detected, meaning the NTFS file system was likely damaged.
  3. No Backup of the SQL Database
    • The client had no recent backup of the SQL database, making recovery essential.

The Data Recovery Process by Nottingham Data Recovery

Step 1: Initial Assessment

The team performed a comprehensive evaluation:

  • Physical Drive Health Check:
    • All five RAID 5 disks were functional, confirming that the issue was logical and not hardware-related.
  • RAID Controller Analysis:
    • The firmware update had modified RAID metadata, preventing the second volume from being recognized.
  • SQL Database Volume Scan:
    • The second volume showed as unallocated space, meaning the partition table was corrupted.

Step 2: RAID 5 Reconstruction & Virtual Recovery

1️⃣ Sector-by-Sector Cloning:

  • To prevent further data loss, all five drives were cloned sector-by-sector to ensure safe recovery.

2️⃣ Virtual RAID Reconstruction:

  • The RAID 5 array was manually rebuilt in a controlled environment, using proprietary software.
  • The original stripe size, disk order, and parity rotation were recovered from RAID metadata.

3️⃣ Partition Table & File System Repair:

  • The second volume’s NTFS partition was manually reconstructed.
  • The SQL database files were found intact but required further repair.

Step 3: SQL Database Recovery & Extraction

  • SQL MDF & LDF File Recovery:
    • The primary MDF (Master Database File) and associated LDF (Log File) were located and extracted.
  • SQL Integrity Check & Repair:
    • The MDF file was partially corrupted due to file system inconsistencies.
    • Using SQL database repair tools, the damaged records were rebuilt to restore database functionality.

Step 4: Validation & Secure Data Delivery

✅ Database Integrity Testing

  • The recovered SQL database was tested in a virtual SQL Server environment to confirm all records were intact.

✅ Secure Data Transfer

  • The recovered database was securely transferred to a new server, ready for immediate use.

Challenges Faced

  1. RAID Metadata Corruption
    • The firmware update had rewritten RAID metadata, making standard RAID controller recovery impossible.
  2. NTFS File System Damage
    • The second volume was seen as unallocated space, requiring manual partition repair.
  3. SQL Database File Corruption
    • The MDF file had missing and corrupted records, requiring advanced SQL repair techniques.

Outcome

✅ 100% of the SQL database was recovered, ensuring no critical business data was lost.
✅ Recovery was completed within 72 hours, minimising business disruption.
✅ The client was advised to implement regular RAID backups and pre-update snapshots before future firmware updates.

Lessons Learned

  1. Always Backup RAID Configurations Before Firmware Updates
    • RAID firmware updates can rewrite metadata, causing RAID array failure.
  2. Implement Regular SQL Backups
    • Use scheduled SQL database backups to prevent loss in case of RAID corruption.
  3. Monitor RAID Health After Firmware Changes
    • RAID controllers should be monitored for inconsistencies after firmware updates.

Why Choose Nottingham Data Recovery?

✅ 25 Years of Experience recovering RAID and SQL databases.
✅ Advanced RAID Recovery Tools to handle firmware-induced failures.
✅ Fast Turnaround to minimize downtime for businesses.
✅ Secure & Confidential Data Handling, ensuring sensitive client records remain protected.

This case highlights Nottingham Data Recovery’s expertise in RAID 5 metadata recovery, SQL database extraction, and critical business data restoration, ensuring the client could resume operations without data loss.