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PE 2950 - Perc 5/i Integrated - Extend RAID1 (67GB) and RAID (272GB) to RAID1 (450GB) and RAID5 (900GB)
All,
Hi this is the first time in dell community,
I have a question re extending\expanding a raid1 and raid5 set on the fly to gain more disk space
background
pe2950 server with Perc 5/i Integrated controller
1. raid 1 (67gb + 67gb) - os
2. raid 1 (67gb + 67gb) - sql logs
3. raid 5 (137gb + 137gb + 137 gb) - sql database
We are running out of disk space on 2 (sql logs)
---solution (would below work)
if i take one disk out of raid1 and install a bigger 500gb hard drive and let the raid rebuild
then take the other 65 gb disk out and put 500gb disk (so that both disk are 500gb but the raid5 set is 67gb)
can i extend the raid5 set through open manager? can this be done? is this supported? chances of data loss.
and then extend the volume withing windows? Has anyonedone this before? if yes, what is the sucsess rate?
look forward to all your comments
regards
DELL-Chris H
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September 23rd, 2011 08:00
Virtualtechie,
The supported method would be to backup the data, then delete and recreate the array with the larger drives, and then restore the data. The Perc 5/i can actually rebuild each large drive into the array, then when that is complete you can delete and retag the array. This can be done from the controller BIOS or Open Manage. Now the reason this is not supported is that the "gained" space will not be redundant within the array. So if there is a drive failure then there is a chance of data loss.
If you have any other questions let us know.
Chris
theflash1932
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September 23rd, 2011 09:00
In my opinion, you have three options:
1. Backup the data, delete the RAID 1 (2), put in new drives, create new/larger RAID 1, restore data. (BEST)
2. Replace one drive at a time, allowing each to fully rebuild. Once complete, you can create a second array across the disks using the remaining space - this will, however, be used by Windows as a separate "disk"/partition.
3. Reconfigure your 2-disk RAID 1 to a 3-disk RAID 5. This can be done in OMSA and on the fly/while live. This "reconfigure" is the only supported and safe "live" way to extend the size of an array.
I would not recommend a retag, as it will create an unstable array. The retag was designed to be a recovery tool, whose side-effect is the illusion of "resizing" the array. It was not designed for this purpose.