[Dclug] Installing Ubuntu on dell poweredge 1750

[Przemek Klosowski]

      The thing is that I have never worked with RAID before. If I choose lets
   say ubuntu server 8.10, will it automatically detect the raid arrays and
   then prompt me accordingly? 

The poweredges may or may not use hardware RAID. Software RAID you will have
to build yourself---I remember how it's done in Fedora, where disk config
asks you if you want RAID and if so, asks which type and what partitions 
are to be included. Hardware RAID is handled by the kernel driver; most DELL
offerings should have an existing kernel module, so you will just see a 
SCSI device /dev/sda that represents the data on the given hardware RAID.

   I also want to transfer the existing data to the
   new hard disks. Lets say, I have brought the 2 hard drives, installed ubuntu
   and its up and running. Can I connect one of the old hard drives into the
   3rd vacant hot plug drive and copy the data ?

Basically, no. Just use an external USB drive.

      Also, I was trying to find hard drives, the 300gb cost like $300, is
   there a way I can buy regular IDE drives and use an adapter or something.

Are the current drives parallel SCSI (68-80 pin connector)? If so, you
can't replace them with IDE, but there should be IDE connector on the
motherboard so you may be able to stick in IDE but not in the provided
hotplug bays (IDE is not hotplug anyway). Serial SCSI (SAS) drives are
actually compatible with Serial ATA, electrically, logically and even
connector-wise.

      I understand that most of the questions show that I am totally ignorant,

No stupid questions, only stupid answers.