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Data Recovery by Device

RAID Data Recovery

No one can predict when data loss from a RAID will occur, but we know it can be catastrophic when it does. If you suspect a RAID array failure, contact the experts at Ontrack to get your data back as quickly as possible.

Whether your device has suffered physical damage or undergone a logical failure, we offer you a range of services to match your specific needs.

Our experts are on-hand and will respond to your issue immediately. From assisting with troubleshooting to onsite recovery, our wide range of expert recovery options will ensure you receive the very best solution to solve your RAID data loss problem.

What To Do When Experiencing RAID Failure

Nas Unit with Fire Damage

Before doing anything, answer the following questions:

  • What specifically happened/ how did the event unfold?
  • What data is lost?
  • How critical/valuable is this data?
  • Do I have a backup or other means of getting this data back?
  • What are the financial implications of this data loss?

The answers to these questions will be crucial to determining the data recovery next steps.

Often you only have one chance to get the system back up and running and recover stored data, so gathering as much information as possible is important.

Stopwatch

Freeze!

The majority of avoidable data damage happens in the first sixty minutes, the so-called golden hour, after a failure due to human action.

Here's a few examples:

  • Swapping wrong disks in the RAID configuration (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10...).
  • Raid corruption by replacing incorrect RAID controller.
  • Forcing disks online.
  • Initializing wrong disks.
  • Failed rebuilds.
  • Restores from incomplete backups on the same system.
  • Performing a VMware Storage vMotion when the storage system has failed.

In all these cases it is essential that all activities are stopped and no further changes are written to the original configuration of the system and the individual storage devices itself. A RAID is the base of most of most servers, Network Attached Storage (NAS), and Storage Attached Network (SAN).  It is often not obvious when the RAID is the underlying cause of a problem.

Often you only have one chance to get the system back up and running and to recover stored data. It is essential to reach out to data recovery experts, Ontrack Engineers will help you to determine how to proceed and will inform you about chances, risks and possible next steps.

Why Ontrack Data Recovery

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Flexible Payment Options

We understand data recovery is often an unexpected need, which is why we offer extended payment plan options through Affirm.

Payment Plans
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Multiple Service Offerings

Ontrack offer's flexible service offerings to meet your unique needs and budgetary considerations. Our experts are on standby 24/7/365.

Recovery Process
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Complete Transparency

We want you to have control over your data recovery process. You'll know exactly what can be recovered before paying.

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Unrivaled Global Expertise

Backed by the world’s largest R&D team, we have the knowledge and ability to address your unique data recovery needs.

Data Recovery by Ontrack
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Ontrack, your RAID data recovery partner

Acknowledged global data recovery leader Ontrack uses advanced techniques to repair, recover and reconstruct RAID data that has become inaccessible.

Our engineers, backed by 35 years of data recovery research, experience and development, have the knowledge and tools to get your data back. You'll know exactly what data is recoverable before committing to the actual recovery. We perform RAID data recoveries on:

  • Any RAID level: RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10...
  • Any RAID controller, RAID architecture including software-defined storage(SDS)
  • Any hard drive type, make or model

Ontrack is home to the very largest team of specialists who have conducted more than 500,000 data recoveries. With our unrivaled global expertise, your data is in safe hands.

Symptoms of a broken RAID

Many symptoms can hint there is a RAID array failure. 

Obvious symptoms:

  • Error messages
  • Beeping sounds / alarms
  • (Red) light on the server
  • Drives making noises

Less obvious symptoms:

  • Data corruption
  • Database corruption
  • Unable to access files
  • Logical drives disappearing
  • Lost connection to server, volume, share, LUN
  • Volume down
  • System speed
  • System no longer accessible

Common RAID Data Loss Causes

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Mechanical Issues
RAID systems are built to withstand individual drive failure, but once a RAID is running in a degraded state, the workload of the remaining drives increases and so does the risk of additional drive failures. Additional drive failure can lead to failure of the RAID. We have the clean room environment and expertise required to recover data from failed drives, combined with the logical skills and tools to rebuild and repair file systems from failed or partially rebuilt RAID systems.
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Power Issues
RAID systems can be affected by loss of power, power cycling and power surges causing loss of data. RAIDs running in a degraded state are especially vulnerable, as power issues can cause out-of-sync drives to be reincorporated into the array. In these cases, our teams have the tools and expertise to map the data and logically rebuild the RAID in order to extract the required data.
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Natural Disasters
Fire, water, dirt and other contaminants from natural disasters can destroy a RAID in an instant. Rebuilding file systems from a RAID affected by a natural disaster takes specialized facilities, knowledge and tools to decontaminate the drives and logically rebuild the data. Ontrack has state-of-the-art tools and cleanroom environments to safely recover from physically damaged drives.
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Human errors
Whether by accident or completed with malicious intent, data loss from reformatting, reinstalling or volume overwrite can occur throughout any organization of any size. However, with the knowledge and expertise of Ontrack, even the most damaging human error can be conquered by expert data recovery engineers.
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Cyber attacks
Whether conducted through computer information systems, computer networks, infrastructures, or personal computer devices, unwelcome attempts to steal, expose, alter and/or destroy sensitive information through data breaches and cyber attacks cause significant data loss. Ontrack has the tools and expertise to safely recover your data from a malicious cyber attack.
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Ransomware attack
A form of malware, malicious software that encrypts a victim's files, Ransomware attacks prevent an individual from accessing their computer, or any data stored on it. This form of attack can result in the computer itself becoming locked, or the data on it to become stolen, deleted, or encrypted. Ontrack’s expert data recovery engineers can recover data from a ransomware attack.

Raid recovery case studies

August 16, 2024

Hospital databases rescued from ransomware.

The Situation A ransomware attack with the ‘Locky’ virus had severe effects for a large German hospital.

August 14, 2022

IBM server with a RAID 5 comprised of 5 SCSI hard drives failed

The Situation According to the manager of the resort, the server contained every single record of their operations since

August 14, 2022

New tools made recovery from highly specialized EMC® Isilon® possible

The Customer The pharmaceutical company lost almost 4 million files of highly critical research and development data whe

August 14, 2022

EMC Celera NX4 double disk failure, and all patient data is gone

The Customer An Italian manufacturer of medical devices experienced the simultaneous failure of two hard drives in a RAI

August 14, 2022

A Deep Dive for Dell/EMC Isilon Data

The Situation A client inadvertently ran a command that deleted critical files on a Dell/EMC Isilon storage array contai

August 14, 2022

Only Available at Ontrack: IBM Storwize Data Recovery

The Situation A client recently experienced a remote ransomware attack that resulted in Ontrack engineers being presente

What Our Customers Say About Our Data Recovery Services

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4-Step Data Recovery Process

We ensure that our process is transparent, quick and safe. You’ll be informed every step of the way for complete peace of mind.

Consultation Consultation

Consultation

Free consultation with quick and direct access to specialists. Contact our experts directly for comprehensive data recovery advice and a no obligation quote. Available 24/7 for business emergencies.

Evaluation Evaluation

Evaluation

The entire evaluation process is transparent, with no hidden costs. Upon receiving your storage device, our skilled engineers will conduct a thorough evaluation and provide a file list of recoverable data. Turn times will vary based on the chosen service level.

Data Recovery Data Recovery

Data Recovery

With your approval, we recover your data based on your chosen service level. Through our secure portal you can track the status of your recovery.

Data Return Data Return

Data Return

Once your data has been recovered, we’ll send it back to you on an encrypted external device via next day delivery free of charge.

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RAID Data Recovery Options

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In-lab RAID Data Recovery
The recovery option supports any RAID system, no matter what data loss situation has been experienced. This recovery service is provided in our state-of-the-art data recovery lab and ISO-5/Class 100 cleanroom environment to ensure the safety of your data.
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Remote RAID Data Recovery
Your data is recovered remotely without your media ever leaving your premises. We connect to your system via the Internet to perform a live recovery. Available when the storage device or system is still operational.
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On-site RAID Data Recovery
If your RAID system cannot leave your premises, our engineers can bring their recovery expertise to you. This option is only available for emergency services. For on-site data recovery, the storage device or system must be operational.
Custom Raid Icon
Custom RAID Data Recovery
We offer custom-designed recovery solutions for proprietary RAID systems and/or highly complex enterprise-level systems. Our R&D team will work with your IT staff to create an emergency solution to retrieve your data.
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RAID Recovery Tips

  • Never replace a failed hard drive with one that was previously part of a RAID system – ensure you completely erase the replacement drive before use.
  • If a drive makes unusual mechanical noises, turn it off immediately and seek help.
  • Obtain a bit-by-bit image of the hard disks before making any changes to hardware, software, or performing a RAID rebuild.
  • Label the disks with their position in a RAID array.
  • Do not run recovery programs on suspicious volumes. Volume repair tools, such as CHKDSK are designed to force file systems to a consistent state. This can be useful for a single disk system with simple errors. On a RAID system, inconsistency of a volume can usually be traced to problems with the RAID (i.e. out-of-sync disks, failed rebuild, etc). Using CHKDSK in such scenarios can result in harmful and irreversible changes to the file system.
  • Do not run defragmentation programs on suspected failed disks.
  • Do not run volume recovery programs in cases of a power failure on a RAID array, when the file system looks suspicious or is un-mountable, or the data is inaccessible after power is restored.

How Fast Do You Need Your Data Back?

Our team of trusted experts are on standby to help. We offer flexible service offerings to meet your unique needs and budgetary considerations.

Emergency

Emergency

24/7 Until Completion

Priority

Priority

Average of 2-5 business days

Standard

Standard

Average of 7-14 business days

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Frequently Asked Questions

Are you able to recover data from RAID level 0?

RAID level 0 (striping) spreads blocks of data across multiple drives, which help increase performance. It offers speed, but of all the levels of RAID, it is the most susceptible to potential data loss.Because data is divided into segments and distributed across the drives when one device fails, all data could be lost. Fortunately, Ontrack has over 35 years of experience and has developed hundreds of custom software utilities to address the most challenging data recovery work.

Do all the member RAID drives are required to recover data from a RAID array?

Depending on the Raid level used and data loss scenario, Ontrack may not require all drives to achieve a full recovery.

Does a RAID array provide automatic backups?

RAID systems can be configured for use as a backup drive. Software running on a computer or server manages the backups, and files are copied to a RAID which is directly attached or connected to a network as a NAS device.Because RAID systems have more than one drive and use redundancy, there is a common belief that data is protected and doesn't require a secondary backup. But, while redundancy provides some safety against data loss, there is no protection if more than one drive fails.

How common is RAID data loss?

Unfortunately, data loss is not uncommon with RAID storage. The complexity of modern hardware and software RAID, is added to by the presence of deduplication and compression. Now factor in an additional virtualization layer and the likelihood of a fault increases. RAID controllers are responsible for mapping where all information resides across the many disks at their disposal. But if a RAID configuration becomes corrupted, files can't be rebuilt. When that happens, the interconnectivity of multiple systems can potentially cause significant data loss and downtime.

Is it possible to recover data from a reformatted RAID 5 volume?

Most of the time, data is recoverable after reformatting a RAID 5 volume, depending upon the way in which it is reformatted. In the Windows operating system data is still recoverable if we reformat and create an empty volume. The original data still exists on the drive in the 'Free and Available' space. However, when a low-level format, is performed by the RAID controller utility it completely wipes every single block on a drive overwriting any data in the free space. A low-level format is slower than a high-level format.

Resources from the Blog

Jul 18, 2024 8:48:18 AM

RAID History and Introduction

Redundant Array of Independent (originally Inexpensive) Disks (RAID) storage has revolutionized enterprise data storage

Jun 25, 2024 6:38:03 AM

RAID Configurations and Data Recovery

Ontrack and RAID data recovery Ontrack offers data recovery services for all major RAID architectures. This includes, RA

Nov 6, 2023 2:35:42 AM

RAID 6: A blend of fault tolerance and performance

A RAID array is a collection of disks that are configured either by software or hardware in a certain way to protect dat

Nov 6, 2023 1:36:12 AM

RAID 5: A powerful technology to ensure the integrity of your data

A RAID array is a collection of disks that are configured either by software or hardware in a certain way to protect dat

Nov 3, 2023 10:30:48 AM

RAID 1: the system for better fault management

While the RAID system overall makes it possible to optimize data storage by distributing it over several hard disks, eac

Nov 3, 2023 10:26:04 AM

RAID 0 : the classic data striping configuration

RAID 0 is a technology that combines two or more hard drives together and stripes data across the disks to improve perfo

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Experience That Matters

Ontrack has extensive experience with all types of data loss scenarios. Our goal is to provide our customers with peace of mind in the event of data loss due to hardware failure, human error, natural disasters or cyberattacks.

39

Years

In the business

1

Million+

Customers and growing

120

Petabytes+

Of recovered data

73,661,023,683

Of data files recovered over the last twenty years... and more and more every day!

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