An offline storage pool, controllers that have died, a LUN that vanished, or a datastore gone corrupt — on enterprise SANs from Dell EMC, HPE, NetApp, IBM and beyond, over iSCSI or Fibre Channel, we get the volumes back. The volumes are rebuilt from the disks up: every disk in the affected pool imaged, the RAID groups, storage pool and LUN layout reconstructed, and the file system rebuilt on top of it.
$ bdr diagnose /dev/san → Array: Dell EMC Unity · 24 × 1.8 TB · RAID 5 → Status: POOL OFFLINE — 2 disks failed in pool → Client: confidential · Guildford GU2 8XH $ bdr engineer-working → Member disks: all 24 imaged read-only → Storage pool: rebuilt off the array → LUNs: remapped · volumes back $ bdr verify → ✓ datastores — 31 TB → ✓ VMs — restored → ✓ SAN recovered — data back
Pool dropped offline, a controller lost, a rebuild that has stalled? Stop — no rebuild, no re-initialise, no re-sync should run. Each of those lays down fresh writes and can smother the data we need, and spinning up a fresh pool or LUN can wipe the very map that finds it. Kill the power, note which shelf and slot each disk came out of, and call us. That opening attempt is the safest there is, so it should be ours.
The SAN work reaching us most runs from offline pools and corrupt datastores to dead controllers, LUNs deleted or reformatted, rebuilds and expansions that failed, and VMFS datastores gone bad.
No SAN is out of scope — Dell EMC, HPE, NetApp, IBM, the rest — over iSCSI or Fibre Channel, at any RAID level and pool layout. Whatever the platform, the volumes are rebuilt from the disks themselves.
Hitachi VSP and Pure Storage; IBM FlashSystem and Storwize; NetApp E-Series, AFF and FAS; HPE MSA, Nimble and 3PAR; Dell EMC Compellent, PowerStore, Unity and VNX · iSCSI and Fibre Channel · storage pools with RAID 5, 6 and 10 · clustered volumes plus VMFS, NTFS and ReFS · arrays single- and multi-shelf.
Send the disks from the affected pool in for a free diagnostic — with the array make, model and RAID layout — and an engineer scopes them, putting the exact per-array figure in writing before any work begins.
Tell us about the array — its make and model, the RAID layout, how many disks, what failed — and an engineer sizes it up and sends back a written quote, usually within 48 hours.
Working on dedicated hardware, we take a read-only image of each disk from the affected pool, failing ones and all, so everything downstream runs on copies and your originals stay untouched.
A disk that has failed — mechanically or on its electronics — is taken onto the clean-air bench for new heads or a rebuilt board, just far enough to image and no more.
Off the images, the RAID groups or storage pool go back together, along with the thin-provisioning map and the layout of each LUN — every extent returned to where it belongs.
On top of the LUN we rebuild the file system — ReFS, NTFS or VMFS — and pull out your virtual machines, databases and files, repairing VMs and databases wherever they need it.
Nothing is returned until the recovered volumes, VMs and databases have been opened and confirmed complete.
Your recovered data comes back on new storage scaled to the volumes, set to go straight back into service.
Post the disks or bring them in. Diagnosis first, the per-array quote next — and most jobs are no fix, no fee.
Tell us what happened and we’ll get back to you, usually within a working day.
We’ll be in touch very soon. If it can’t wait, call 01483 901310.
SAN recovery is priced per array and kept clear, with a free diagnostic and a written quote in hand before any work starts.
A selection of recent SAN jobs — offline pools, dead controllers, deleted LUNs and corrupt datastores. Identifying details stripped; every result verified.
Two disks in the pool had gone. We imaged all twenty, rebuilt the pool and its LUN, and recovered the volume.
Dead controllers, but the disks themselves were intact. We rebuilt the pool off the disks and recovered every LUN.
Barely anything had written over the blocks. We rebuilt the aggregate, re-mapped the deleted LUN, and recovered the data.
A damaged VMFS had taken the VMs offline. We rebuilt the LUN and its VMFS, then recovered and repaired the virtual machines.
The rebuild had written over part of the pool. We imaged every disk and reconstructed the array around the damaged region.
Write cache that never flushed had damaged the volume. We rebuilt the LUN and repaired the file system to recover the data.
Send the affected pool's disks in for a free diagnostic with the array make, model and RAID layout; an engineer assesses them and confirms the exact per-array quote in writing before any work starts.
Getting your data back starts with getting the affected pool's disks — labelled in slot order — to us, with the array make and model. Pack them safely, enclose your contact details, and once we've run the free diagnostic we confirm your exact per-array quote in writing before any work begins.
Posting it? A tracked, insured service is what we’d recommend. Rather drop it in? You’re welcome Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm — just package the device up as above first.
Need a scoped quote first? Describe the array, RAID layout and fault on the form and an engineer will assess it and reply with a tailored per-array quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 01483 901310.
The questions we’re asked most about recovering an enterprise SAN.
Usually, yes. An offline pool tends to mean several disks have dropped, or the pool metadata is corrupt — not that the data has gone. We image every disk, rebuild the pool and LUN layout, and reform the volume from the copies.
Usually not lost at all. Failed controllers never touch the data on the disks, and we don’t need them anyway. We image the disks, rebuild the storage pool and LUNs in software, and recover the volumes.
Often, yes, provided you move fast. A deleted or reformatted LUN usually keeps its data on the disks until something overwrites it — so stop writing to the array and we can re-map the LUN and recover it.
Yes. With the LUN and its VMFS rebuilt, the virtual machines (VMDK) sit on the datastore like any other files — we extract them and, where one is corrupt, repair it back to booting.
Enterprise SAN recovery opens at £1,250 + VAT and is quoted per array, since disk count, RAID layout and platform differ so much from one job to the next. A free diagnostic and a written quote always come before any work.
You always get a free diagnostic and a written, per-array quote first. SAN work carries a deposit against that quote, with the balance due only once the recovery has succeeded.
All of them — Dell EMC (Unity, VNX, PowerStore, Compellent), HPE (3PAR, Nimble, MSA), NetApp (FAS, AFF, E-Series), IBM Storwize and the rest, whether iSCSI or Fibre Channel. Since we rebuild off the disks, the platform seldom changes what can be recovered.
Usually not the whole chassis. Most of the time we need the disks from the affected pool, tagged with their slot order, plus the array make and model. After the diagnostic we’ll say precisely what to send.
Often, yes. A rebuild or expansion that failed usually leaves most of the original data intact beneath it. We image every disk in its current state and reconstruct the pool around whatever the operation overwrote.
SAN recoveries usually run one to two weeks. The span depends on the disk count, the RAID and pool layout, the file system, and whether any disk needs mechanical work on the clean-air bench.
Take the disks from the affected pool, label them with their slot order, and post them fully insured to the Guildford address — or arrange a drop-off. We’ll confirm exactly what’s needed once the diagnostic is done.
Free to diagnose, priced per array, and no fix no fee on the majority of jobs — every SAN recovered off the controllers, Dell EMC, HPE, NetApp and beyond. Get your recovery moving today.