Anyone out there know anything about linux-raid (md) and support for sata (libata) hotplug? I’ve got access to this machine that has an external 4-bay SATA enclosure that has smart trays. Pull the lever, the drive spins down, you swap it out. (This avoids having to implement what the libata guys are talking about, though I’d like to see this support added as well.)

I’d like to, in the event of drive failure, just pull the drive and replace it, without monkeying around at the CLI. But even though libata supports hotplug, and the tray takes care of the details (no emergency head dumps, no drive wear, etc.) I don’t think md is happy about it. At the moment I think I’d have to remove the drive from the array, then pull it, then add a new one, then add the drive to the array.

The latest linux-raid post on it I could find is about a year old and shows no progress on a solution.

Thoughts?