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Dedicated Servers and Bare Metal Servers: Using netboot.xyz to install AlmaLinux 10 or Rocky Linux 10 and set up software RAID 1 and 6

In this guide, you will learn how to set up a software RAID 1 and an additional software RAID 6 during the clean installation of AlmaLinux 10 or Rocky Linux 10 via netboot.xyz on a Dedicated Server or a Bare Metal Server. In this example, we use the first two SSDs for a fault-tolerant system RAID 1. Then, we explain how to set up a software RAID 6 for the remaining four hard drives.

RAID 6 requires at least 4 hard drives. It uses block-level striping with double parity. The major advantage over RAID 5 is increased fault tolerance: the system remains operational even if two hard drives fail simultaneously.

The capacity is calculated as follows:  (Number of storage drives - 2) x Capacity

Caution

  • The creation of a software RAID 6 requires advanced knowledge of Linux server administration. Follow the described sequence of steps exactly. Otherwise, you risk data loss!

  • This process will erase all existing data on the target hard drives.

Note

The creation and configuration of a software RAID 6 is not included in the standard scope of support. An overview of the included services can be found on the following page: Scope of support for server products

Requirements

  • A Dedicated Server or a Bare Metal Server with 2 SSDs and at least 4 unused hard drives of equal size.
  • You have noted down the sizes of both the SSDs and the hard drives.
  • There are no active partitions on the hard drives.

Install the operating system via netboot.xyz

Before partitioning begins, you must load the installation environment.

  • Log in to your IONOS account.

  • Click on Menu > Servers & Cloud in the title bar. 
    Optional: If you have multiple server contracts, select the desired contract.

  • In the Cloud Panel, click on the desired server under Infrastructure > Servers.
  • Click the Console button. To establish a connection with the VNC console, select VNC Console. The VNC console will open in a new tab, and the connection to the server will be established. This may take a moment.
  • Select the Continue with Self installation Here option. The menu will load.
  • In the Distributions section, select the GNU/Linux installation method.
  • Select your preferred Linux distribution (AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux).
  • Select the version AlmaLinux 10 or Rocky Linux 10. The installation menu will open.
  • Select the AlmaLinux 10 graphical installer or Rocky Linux 10 graphical installer option.
  • In the Installation Summary window, click the Keyboard button. The Keyboard Layout window will open.
  • Select your desired keyboard language/layout.
  • Click Done. You will return to the Installation Summary window.
  • Click the Language Support button. The Language Support window will open. Select your preferred language in the left pane, and the specific regional dialect in the right pane.
  • Click Done. You will return to the Installation Summary window.

Configure the root account

  • In the Installation Summary window under the USER SETTINGS section, click the Root Account (or Root Password) button. The ROOT ACCOUNT configuration window will open.
  • Enable the Enable root account option (or uncheck Lock root account depending on the localised environment setup).
  • Enter your chosen root password in the Root Password field.
  • Re-enter the password in the Confirm field.
  • Check the Allow root SSH login with password option.
  • Click the Done button.

Configure time and date

  • Click the Time & Date button.
  • Select your server's corresponding time zone.
  • Ensure that the Automatic date & time option is toggled on.

Selecting software for installation

  • To choose the components to be installed, click the Software Selection button. The SOFTWARE SELECTION window will open.
  • Select your desired environment type in the Base Environment section.
  • Select any additional utilities in the Additional software for Selected Environment section.

Select storage devices

In this step, we specify which physical drives will be used for the installation.

  • Click Installation Destination in the installation menu. The INSTALLATION DESTINATION window will open.
  • Ensure that all available storage devices under Local Standard Disks are selected with a checkmark.
  • In the Storage Configuration section, select the Custom option.
  • Click the Done button. The MANUAL PARTITIONING window will open.

Create the software RAID 1 (system drives)

To configure the first two SSDs for the operating system partitions, complete the following:

Create the first boot partition
  • Ensure that the partitioning scheme dropdown in the MANUAL PARTITIONING window is set to Standard Partition.
  • Click the plus sign (+) to add a mount point. The ADD A NEW MOUNT POINT window will open.
  • Select /boot/efi from the Mount Point dropdown list.
  • Enter 1024 MiB in the Desired Capacity field and click Add mount point.
  • The mount point will be created, and you will be returned to the main MANUAL PARTITIONING screen with the /boot/efi partition selected.
  • Change the Device Type: dropdown list to RAID.
  • Change the RAID Level dropdown list to 1.
  • Select the appropriate file system from the File System list. It is highly recommended to select EFI System Partition.
  • Under Device(s), click the Modify button and ensure that only your two system SSDs are selected (e.g., sda and sdb). Pay close attention to the drive sizes to identify them correctly.
  • Click Update Settings.
Create the root partition
  • Click the plus sign (+) in the MANUAL PARTITIONING window to add another mount point. The ADD A NEW MOUNT POINT window will open.
  • Select / from the Mount Point dropdown list.
  • Leave the Desired Capacity field completely blank to assign the remaining space on the first two SSDs.
  • Click Add mount point. The mount point will be created, and the MANUAL PARTITIONING window will display the selected root (/) partition.
  • Select RAID from the Device Type: dropdown list.
  • Select 1 from the RAID Level: dropdown list.
  • Ensure that the same file system is selected in the File System: list as for the first boot partition.
  • Under Device(s), click the Modify button and ensure that only the two system SSDs (sda and sdb) are selected.
  • Click Select.
  • Click the Update Settings button.

Create the software RAID 6 (data drives)

To group the remaining four hard drives into a RAID 6 data array, complete the following:

  • Click the plus sign (+) in the MANUAL PARTITIONING window.
  • Enter your custom mount point for data (e.g., /data or /mnt/storage).
  • Leave the Desired Capacity field completely blank to allocate all remaining space across the remaining 4+ hard drives.
  • Click Add mount point.
  • Select RAID from the Device Type: dropdown list.
  • Select 6 from the RAID Level: dropdown list.
  • Select your desired file system from the File System: list.
  • Under Device(s), click the Modify button.
  • Ensure that only the designated data hard drives (HDDs) are selected.
  • Click Select.
  • Click Update Settings.

Verify the configuration and proceed with the installation

  • Double-check that your partition layouts and RAID structures are correctly mapped.
  • Click the Done button. The SUMMARY OF CHANGES window will open.
  • Click the ACCEPT CHANGES button. You will return to the INSTALLATION SUMMARY window.
  • Click the Begin Installation button.

The operating system will be installed.

Check the status of the software RAIDs

To check the status of the software RAIDs, proceed as follows:

  • Log in to the server via SSH as an administrator (root).

  • To check the status and synchronisation progress of your software RAIDs, enter the following command:

    [root@localhost ~]# cat /proc/mdstat

  • To verify available storage space and mount points, enter:

    [root@localhost ~]# df -h

Note

Please keep in mind that after creating a RAID 6 array, an initial data synchronisation process (Resync) takes place. Because RAID 6 requires a double parity calculation, this initialisation process is highly resource-intensive.

  • Performance: During initialisation, system performance (including CPU load and disk I/O throughput) may be noticeably degraded.

  • Duration: Due to the double parity overhead and massive disk sizes, this process can take several days to complete on hard drives larger than 2 TB.
  • Fault tolerance: The server is fully operational and usable during the resync. However, full fault tolerance (protection against the simultaneous failure of up to two hard drives) is only guaranteed once the synchronisation has successfully finished.

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