Add space to Raid 1?

Hi Paul,

  Can you add space to the 36 GB RAID 1, without adding a drive? No, That is not an allowed operation.

You CAN add additional drives and convert it to a RAID 5 without loosing the data, however if I read between the lines, you want to use all the space on the pair of 73's. Here is a method...

Reinstall the "Good" 36 GB drive, initialize it, and make a RAID 0 36 GB logical drive on it. go to the OS disk management and set up a S/W RAID 1 between the original H/W RAID 1 and the new drive. After the data has been copied, break the mirror and edit the boot.ini on the "new" drive, or create a fault tolerant boot floppy. (see M/S technet articles relating if you need to see how these tasks are done).

Power down remove the 36 GB drive, go into CTRL A and delete the RAID 1, then create a new RAID 1 using all 73 GB on both drives. power down, reinstall the 36 GB and boot to it. Do the S/W mirror thing again, break it, and edit the boot.ini on the H/W RAID (if you did not go the fault tolerant boot disk route).

This will give you your original 36 GB volume with 36 GB of unused space that can be added to a D: or used to make a new partition. the RAID 0 36 GB can be used as a backup of the O/S or be cleared out and used for your page file and temp files. (to back up the O/S, just mirror it in S/W).

Advisories: Run a scrub or consistancy check on the RAID 1 before you start. Run a verify on the 36 GB drive to remap any bad sectors before you start. If you have a TBU or other backup method, make a backup and test it before you start. Read the technet articles relating to the procedures for S/W mirror, editing the Boot.ini, and creating a fault tolerant boot floppy.

Paul,

 Yes the utility says that, but when you actually go into the reconfiguration utility, it will not let you add additional space. Sorry but that's the bottom line on Array manager.

 There is a different utility that says it can do the job... the FASTCLI (command line interface)

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/storage/RAID/ROMB25/cli-rg/index.htm FASTCLI and Array manager cannot coexist, you MUST remove array manager (and reinstall the driver) before installing the FASTCLI.

 Please note that the command line utilities are not for the faint of heart or the unskilled. Note it says partition size, not volume size, so read the definations of terms to make sure of exactly what you will be doing.

Warwizard

"

To change the configuration of a container, use the container reconfigure command. The container reconfigure command allows you to perform the following operations:

• Transform a container from one type to another typeYou can transform a container from one type to another type. For example, you can transform a stripe set into a RAID-5 set. In this case, the stripe set changes to a RAID-5 set and remains the same size. You specify the appropriate switches that the container reconfigure command provides to transform a container.
• Add more SCSI drives to a containerYou can add more SCSI drives to a container by specifying one or more SCSI devices. This action extends the container. The command uses the freespace(s) from the SCSI device(s) you specify to reconfigure the container.For example, you can extend a stripe set by specifying one or more SCSI devices. In this case, the stripe set grows, but remains a stripe set.
• Change a container's chunk sizeYou can change a container's chunk size by specifying the appropriate switch with a valid chunk size. For example, you can change the chunk size of a stripe set from 16K to 32K.
• Change a container's partition size You can change a container's partition size by specifying the appropriate switch with a valid partition size. For example, you can change the partition size of a mirror set from 500 MB to 800 MB.
• Extend an existing file systemYou can extend an existing file system by specifying the appropriate switch. (The command extends the file system after completing the reconfigure operation.)
• Move partitions to other disksYou can move a container's partitions to other disks by specifying the appropriate switches with a valid partition or partitions. For example, you can move three entries of a RAID-5 set to new disks.

You can combine the previously listed operations. See the Flexible Array Storage Tool User's Guide for more information on how to combine these operations."