Dedicated Servers and Bare Metal Servers: Using netboot.xyz to install Ubuntu 24.04 and set up software RAID 1 and 5

This article guides you through installing Ubuntu 24.04 LTS via netboot.xyz, and configuring software RAID 1 or software RAID 6 on a Dedicated Server or Bare Metal Server. In this example, we will use the first two SSDs for a redundant system RAID 1. Afterward, we explain how to set up a RAID 5 for the remaining three hard drives.

RAID 5 requires at least 3 hard drives and uses striping with distributed parity. It provides increased fault tolerance against the failure of a single drive through parity. Overall, RAID 5 offers a good price-to-performance ratio in terms of redundancy and storage optimisation.

The capacity is calculated as follows: (Number of storage drives - 1) x Capacity

Caution

Creating a software RAID 5 requires advanced Linux server administration knowledge. Follow the described sequence of steps exactly. Otherwise, there is a risk of data loss!
This process will delete all existing data on the target hard drives.

Note

The creation and configuration of a software RAID 5 is not included in the scope of support. For an overview of the included services, please refer to the following page: Scope of support for server products

Requirements

A Dedicated Server or Bare Metal Server with 2 SSDs and at least 3 unused hard drives of the same size.
You have taken note of the sizes of the SSDs and hard drives.
There are no partitions on the hard drives.

Install operating system via netboot.xyz

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, navigate to Infrastructure > Servers and click on the desired server.
Click the Console button and select VNC Console to establish a connection. The VNC console will open in a new tab. This may take a moment.
Select the option Continue with Self installation Here. The menu will load.
In the Distributions section, select the installation method GNU/Linux.
Select the Linux distribution Ubuntu.
Select the version Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
Optional: If you have an AMD server, a Select kernel type menu will appear. Choose Generic Kernel (default) and press Enter.
Select Install.
In the Welcome window, select your preferred language (e.g., English).
Optional: If there is an installer update, you will be prompted to Update to the new installer, or Continue without updating. Choose the option you prefer. If you choose to update, you will be brought to the Keyboard configuration window in the next step after a brief update.
In the Keyboard configuration window, select your preferred layout under Layout and Variant.
Select Done and press the Enter key. The Choose the type of installation window opens.
Select the option Ubuntu Server if it's not already selected, and then select Done. The Network configuration window opens.
Select the network interface (e.g., enp35s0). Usually it is the first entry.
In the menu that opens, select Edit IPv4.
Select Automatic (DHCP). To confirm the selection, select Save.
Confirm your selection in the Network configuration window by selecting Done. The Proxy configuration window is displayed.
Select Done. The Ubuntu archive mirror configuration window appears.
Select Done. The Guided storage configuration window appears.
Check the option Custom storage layout. You may need to scroll down with the arrow key to find it.
Select Done. The Storage configuration window appears.
Select the first SSD and press Enter. A dropdown menu will open.
Select the option Use as a boot device. This automatically creates a small partition for the bootloader.
Select the free space entry on the SSD and choose the option Add GPT Partition.
To use the remaining space, leave the Size: field empty. In the Format: list, select Leave unformatted.
Select Create.
Repeat this process for the second SSD, selecting the option Add as another boot device.
For the first hard drive (HDD), select the free space entry and choose the option Add GPT Partition.
To use the remaining space, leave the Size: field empty and select Leave unformatted from the Format: list.
Select Create.
Repeat this process for the remaining hard drives: Select the respective free space for each remaining drive.
Select the option Add GPT Partition.
Create a partition over the entire size and select the option Leave unformatted.

Create RAID 1 for the operating system (SSD 1 & 2)

In the Storage configuration window, select the option Create software RAID (md).
Assign a name. By default, the name md0 is used.
Select RAID level: 1.
Under Devices, check the boxes next to the partitions of the SSDs (in this example, partition 2).
Select Create to create the array.

Create RAID 5 for data storage

Select the item Create software RAID (md) again. The name will automatically be set to md1.
Select RAID level: 5.
Under Devices, check the boxes next to the partitions of the remaining hard drives.
Select Create.

Assign file systems and mount points

After the RAID arrays are defined, they must be formatted and mounted into the system.

Look for the entry for md0 under the Available devices list.
Select the free space on md0 and choose Add GPT Partition.
Select ext4 or xfs as the format, and set the mount point to the root directory /.
Select Create.
Locate the entry for md1.
Select the free space on md1 and choose Add GPT Partition.
Select ext4 or xfs as the format.
Under Mount:, select the option Other and enter an appropriate mount point, such as /data or /var/lib/mysql.
Click Create.
Review the entries in the FILE SYSTEM SUMMARY section. Ensure that / is mapped to md0 and your data mount point is mapped to md1, correcting them if necessary.
Select Done. The Confirm destructive action window will appear.
To write the partition tables, select Continue.

Continue with the installation

Select the option Continue. The Profile configuration window is displayed.
Enter your desired name in the Your name: field.
Enter the name of the server in the Your server’s name: field.
Enter the desired username in the Pick a username: field.
Enter the desired password in the Choose a password: field and repeat it in the Confirm password: field.
Select Done. The Upgrade to Ubuntu Pro window opens. The option Skip for now is selected by default.
Select Continue. The SSH configuration window is displayed.
To access your server via SSH, check the option Install OpenSSH server.
Select Done. The Featured server snaps window opens.
Optional: Select any desired server snaps and select Done. Ubuntu 24.04 will be installed, and RAID 1 and RAID 5 will be configured.
Once the installation is complete, select Reboot Now.

Check the status of the software RAIDs

To check the status of the software RAID, complete the following:

Log in to the server via SSH as an administrator.
To check the status of the software RAIDs, enter the following command:
user@server:~$ cat /proc/mdstat
To check the available storage space, enter the following command:
user@server:~$ df -h

Notes

After creating a RAID 5, an initial background synchronisation of data (resync) takes place.

Performance: During this process, the read and write speeds of the system may be temporarily reduced.
Duration: Depending on the size of the hard drives and system load, this process can take several hours or even days.
Availability: The server can be used normally during this time; however, the RAID only provides full fault tolerance after the synchronisation is complete.

Content

Install operating system via netboot.xyz
Create RAID 1 for the operating system (SSD 1 & 2)
Create RAID 5 for data storage
Assign file systems and mount points
Continue with the installation
Check the status of the software RAIDs
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