Hello Toasters,
I found a ton of information regarding fixing misalignment issues in virtual environments. However, I am interested in how to resolve misalignment on a physical machine. The only way I am aware of is to create a new LUN and perform a host based copy of the data to the new LUN. Is this my only option or are there any other methods that require less overhead/downtime?
Here is the situation:
Server OS = Windows 2008 Server LUN Type = Windows 2008 Partition Type = MBR (W2K3)
How did we get a W2K3 MBR partition out of a Windows 2008 server? We didnt. The LUN was originally created by a W2K3 machine while using an EMC storage array. The W2K3 server was eventually retired and the LUN was presented to the W2K8 machine.
The LUN was then migrated to a NetApp array using a block for block mirror of the data from the EMC LUN to the NetApp LUN. Unfortunately, the NetApp LUN was created as a windows_2008 lun type because it was going to be used by a Windows 2008 server - this is where the mistake was made. So now, we have a Windows Server 2008 box with a disk using a 2003-MBR partition type on windows_2008 lun type. Again, I'd like to fix the misalignment issue in the easiest way possible. Creating a new lun and performing a host based copy of the data is doable but requires a fair amount of overhead. Just wondering if there is a more efficient way to resolve lun alignment issues with physical machines.
Thanks! -Phil