Installing a standalone HDD

Question

I've got a Dell Poweredge T610 server with 3 x 146gb Seagate hardisks on controller 1.

We're running short on disk space and was wondering if there was anyway of installing a new 500gb hard disk away from the raid as a standalone drive. This will be used purely for music/audio files which I don't want to be included in the raid.

The server currently runs on Server 2003 x64 with 16gb RAM.

theflash1932 · Accepted Answer

When you configure a Virtual Disk (array) on the PERC, the OS sees that array simply as a "disk", as though you had inserted a regular/single hard drive into a desktop. So, Windows should just see the drive (in Disk Management - you will need to initialize and format it before it is seen in My Computer/Windows Explorer).

The RAID controller is capable of managing up to 64 separate Virtual Disks on the same controller, so managing a 3-disk RAID 5 and a 1-disk RAID 0 will be a piece of cake for the controller. It is possible to add your 500GB disk to your RAID 5, but it won't happen without you explicitly telling it to do that - in that case, only 250GB of the disk's 500GB would be used, growing your 500GB RAID 5 to 750GB. If you configure the disk as a RAID 0 (your only option with a single disk), then it will appear to the OS as a new "disk".

theflash1932 · Answer

It depends on your RAID controller. The PERC 6/i and H700 do NOT support non-RAID, so you would have to configure the disk as a single-disk RAID 0. You might be able to attach it to an onboard SATA port, but these do not always work as expected when a RAID controller is installed, plus, if you have a backplane, you may have to mount the disk inside the box (loose) to attach it to the SATA ports, and then there may not be a way to power the drive.

If you have a backplane, put it in a free slot, then configure it as a RAID 0 (for PERC 6/i and H700). If you have a different controller, then it would support non-RAID, and you could simply use the disk in non-RAID/JBOD mode.

t_bad12 · Answer

Thanks for your reply. It's a PERC 6/i controller integrated so it's not possible to have non-RAID which is a pain! I've got the 500gb SATA hard disk which I'd like to make use of however just wondering how to go about making it as a single disk RAID 0 drive?

The server does have a backplane so, again, it would sit lose in the case if I was to attach it to the SATA port.

Need to install this drive to make use of the extra capacity.

theflash1932 · Answer

If you decide to let it sit loose inside the box connected to an onboard SATA port:

You might not have any power connectors for the drive
It might not work at all with the PERC installed and active
Vibration and/or heat may cause the drive to fail prematurely

I don't know why you would bother with the above ... just install the drive on the backplane then configure it as a single-disk RAID 0:

CTRL-R utility during POST (highlight controller, F2, Create/New)
OMSA (Storage, PERC, Virtual Disks, New Virtual Disk Wizard)

t_bad12 · Answer

I don't know why you would bother with the above ... just install the drive on the backplane then configure it as a single-disk RAID 0:

CTRL-R utility during POST (highlight controller, F2, Create/New)

OMSA (Storage, PERC, Virtual Disks, New Virtual Disk Wizard)

This is my only considered method however would I be able to see the full capacity of the drive? As the 3 x 146gb HDD's have already been configured as a RAID 5, will this new 500gb RAID 0 just be seen as an additional hard drive or an extension to the first RAID 5 configuration.

Thanks for your very helpful advice so far.

t_bad12 · Answer

And another question - how would I get Windows 2003 to see the RAID 0 500gb drive?

t_bad12 · Answer

TheFlash1932 - You're fantastic - all working now and I can see the drive in Windows! Thank you.

uzair20 · Answer

I have Raid 1 (hardware RAID) is configured on my server with DELL PERC H310 SCSI Disk Device controller . I want to connect physical drive as a stand-alone to the motherboard and clone from the OS to the standalone disk . Is it possible to add standalone with RAID 1 on it and does this controller support standalone disk ?

Mohammed gamal eldin · Answer

I want to add a new hard drive on the sata port. I configured 4 hard drives to raid 6 But I didn't install Windows server yet.so can I use the new hard drive on the sata port to install Windows server on it??? and if that possible, how to configure this hard drive? Thanks

PowerEdge HDD/SCSI/RAID

Installing a standalone HDD

Was this post helpful?