A storage pool offline, dead controllers, a lost LUN, or a corrupt datastore? We recover Dell EMC, HPE, NetApp and every other SAN — Fibre Channel and iSCSI — imaging every disk and rebuilding the pool, its LUNs and the host file system away from the controllers, so dead hardware never costs you a volume.
$ bdr diagnose /dev/san → Array: Dell EMC Unity · 24 × 1.8 TB · RAID 5 → Status: POOL OFFLINE — 2 disks failed in pool → Client: confidential · Wallsend NE1 3DY $ 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
If your SAN has taken a pool offline, lost a controller or had a rebuild stall, stop — don’t let it rebuild, re-initialise or re-sync. A rebuild writes across the disks and can bury the very data we’re after, and re-creating a pool or LUN can wipe the mapping that finds it. Shut the array down, mark which disk sat in which shelf and slot, and call us. The first attempt at recovery is always the safest one.
From a pool offline to a corrupt datastore, these are the SAN failures we recover from most — pool, controller, LUN and host file system.
Every SAN comes through — Dell EMC, HPE, NetApp, IBM and the rest — across Fibre Channel and iSCSI, every RAID level and storage pool, from a small iSCSI box up to a multi-shelf Fibre Channel array. The platform sets the method; it never decides if your data comes back.
Dell EMC (VNX, Unity, PowerStore, Compellent), HPE (3PAR, Nimble, MSA), NetApp (FAS, AFF, E-Series), IBM Storwize and FlashSystem, Hitachi VSP and Pure Storage · Fibre Channel and iSCSI · RAID 5, 6, 10 and pools · VMFS, NTFS, ReFS and clustered volumes · single and multi-shelf arrays.
SAN recovery rebuilds your volumes without ever writing to the disks. We image every disk in the affected pool, reconstruct the array and the SAN’s own mapping, then rebuild the LUN and the file system on it — VMFS, NTFS or a database — independent of the controllers.
Give us the array — make and model, RAID layout, disk count, what went wrong. We assess it and send a written quote. Mark each disk’s shelf and slot if you’re able.
We take a read-only image of every disk in the affected pool on specialist hardware, including failing ones, so all the work happens on copies and your originals are never touched.
Where a disk has failed mechanically or electronically, we repair it — swapping heads, rebuilding the board — enough to image it. Drive-level repairs need 50% of the fee upfront.
We reconstruct the RAID groups or storage pool, the thin-provisioning map and the LUN layout from the images — exactly as the SAN had it, off the controllers.
We rebuild the file system on the LUN — VMFS, NTFS or ReFS — and extract your virtual machines, databases and files, pulling the most consistent copy of the data.
We check the recovered volumes, VMs and databases actually open and are complete before any of it comes back to you.
We return your data on new storage sized for the volumes, ready to put back into service.
Every SAN — Dell EMC, HPE, NetApp and the others — recovered by imaging every disk and reconstructing the pool, its LUNs and the host file system, independent of the controllers, so failed hardware never costs you a volume.
Tell us what happened and we’ll get back to you, usually within a working day.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 0191 406 1051.
Clear pricing for SAN recovery, quoted per array — with a free diagnostic and a written quote before any work starts.
A handful of recent SAN recoveries across offline pools, dead controllers, lost LUNs and datastore corruption. Identifying details removed, every result verified.
Two disks in the pool had failed. We imaged all twenty-four, rebuilt the pool and recovered every LUN.
The controllers were dead but the disks were intact. We rebuilt the pool off the hardware and recovered the volumes.
Little had overwritten the blocks. We rebuilt the aggregate and recovered the deleted LUN and its data.
The VMFS was damaged and the VMs offline. We rebuilt the LUN, repaired the VMFS and recovered the virtual machines.
The rebuild had partly overwritten the pool. We imaged every disk and reconstructed the original layout to recover the LUNs.
Un-flushed write cache had damaged the volume. We rebuilt the pool to its last consistent state and recovered the data.
Send the device in for its free diagnostic and tell us briefly what happened; an engineer reviews it and confirms your exact quote in writing before anything starts.
Getting your data back begins with getting the device to us. Pack it up safely, pop your contact details inside, and send it over — once we’ve run the free diagnostic, we’ll confirm your exact price in writing before any work starts.
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.
Want a bit more detail first? Fill in the form with more about your issue and an engineer will review it and send you a custom quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 0191 406 1051.
The things people most often ask us about recovering a SAN.
Usually, yes. A pool or RAID group goes offline when more disks fail than it can tolerate, but the data’s usually still on the disks. We image every disk, rebuild the pool and the LUNs from the copies, and recover your volumes. Don’t let the array rebuild or re-initialise the pool first.
Almost never. A dead storage processor or controller loses access to the data, not the data itself, which lives on the disks. We read the pool layout from the disks, image them and rebuild the LUNs independent of the controllers, so you don’t need the original hardware working.
Usually, yes, if you act quickly. A deleted, unmapped or reformatted LUN normally leaves the underlying blocks in place until they’re overwritten. We rebuild the pool and reconstruct the LUN to recover what was on it — so stop using the array and contact us.
Yes. SAN LUNs commonly hold VMware VMFS datastores, Hyper-V volumes and databases. Once we’ve rebuilt the LUN we repair the VMFS or NTFS file system and recover the VMDKs, virtual machines and their data, checking they open before returning them.
SAN recovery is priced per array, from £1,250 + VAT — the disk count, the RAID layout and the work involved all shape the figure. Every job opens with a free diagnostic and a written quote, and most stay no fix, no fee, so the cost is clear before anything starts.
On most jobs, yes. For drive-level repairs we take a 50% deposit upfront and the rest is only due if we recover your data — so if we can’t, you’re not left with the full bill.
Every make — Dell EMC, HPE, NetApp, IBM, Hitachi, Pure Storage, Fujitsu, Lenovo and the rest, Fibre Channel and iSCSI, every RAID level and storage pool. The platform decides the method, not whether the data can be recovered.
No — normally just the disks from the affected pool or RAID group, failed ones included, each marked with its shelf and slot. Because SAN recovery reassembles the pool from all the disks at once, we need every member, but seldom the chassis or the controllers.
Usually, yes. A rebuild that failed, or a migration that corrupted the pool, is among the commonest SAN failures — both write across the disks as they go. We halt it, take a read-only image of every disk, and reconstruct the original pool and its LUNs from those copies.
A SAN recovery usually runs to 5 to 7 working days, shaped by the disk count, the RAID layout and whether any disks need drive-level repair before imaging. The free diagnostic normally lands inside 48 hours, and pressing business jobs can often be moved up the queue.
Drop them off at our Newcastle location Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, or post them to us fully insured. Send every disk from the affected pool, labelled with its shelf and slot, packed so they can’t knock together, and include your name, company, address, phone number and email so we can book it in and quote before any work begins.
A free diagnostic, pricing quoted per array, and no fix no fee on most jobs — every SAN recovered, Dell EMC, HPE, NetApp and the rest, off the controllers. Begin your recovery today.