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January 24th, 2011 02:00
Upgrading from 73GB SAS
Hello, I'm new to the forum and I'm also new to the world of Servers and such, so please forgive my blatant ignorance.
We have a Power edge 2900, running sbs2008 on 2 x 73GB SAS 15K 3.5" HD HOT PLUG in RAID 1.
However we seem to have run out of space on these disks, SBS just keeps using up space and I've done everything I can to abate this.....
So I was thinking of how practical it would be to upgrade to larger disks? Something like a couple of 146gb SAS drives? What sort of procedure would be the cleanest for installing the new disks and swapping the OS onto them?
Kind regards
Kit
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theflash1932
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January 24th, 2011 08:00
Best method (if you simply want to replace smaller drives with larger ones) is to image/backup your existing data, removing the smaller drives, inserting the larger ones, setting up new RAID 1, then re-imaging/restoring data to it.
You might be tempted to replace one disk at a time, letting each rebuild, but if you do, you will not have any more space than you started with. All you will be able to do is create a second array across the set of disks to utilize the extra space. This would be no different in the end than the next suggestion:
Alternative:
Simply add two 146GB (or whatever you have) to the system in a RAID 1 and create a new partition/drive letter with them, moving some of your data to it.
howser_uk
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February 8th, 2011 04:00
Thank you for your reply, I was wondering what software I can use to image it....what options are there?
theflash1932
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February 8th, 2011 08:00
Ghost, Acronis - you might also be able to use something like Clonezilla or EASEUS.
howser_uk
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February 14th, 2011 05:00
Just to clarify:
If we simply removed one of the current drives, put in a larger drive and re-built the array yes it would work, but the partition would be created the same size as on the original smaller disk? There is no way of changing that?
The best/only way is to image the drive(s) and then re-image back to the new larger disks?
theflash1932
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February 14th, 2011 08:00
You only have four options:
1) Best: Add new drives in a new RAID array for additional storage.
2) Good: Image/restore to larger array.
3) Okay: Replace the drives one at a time, then create a second array (and additional partition/drive letter in Windows) across the disks.
4) Worst: Replace the drives one at a time, then delete the RAID array and recreate WITHOUT initializing ... called a Retag. Without initializing, it
A Retag is an emergency repair process in case the RAID config becomes completely lost or corrupted. A side-affect is that when recreated, it will map out all available space, meaning that it will basically "extend" your array to include the additional space from the larger drives. This is a side-affect and is NOT the intended use of this process. This will in fact damage your RAID array, making it unstable. Although it may seem to work at first, it is only a matter of time before your array collapses permanently. You may see this out in the Internet ether as a possible solution, but don't be lured in by an "easy fix". I only offer this to say, yes, it is possible, but it is not a good idea ... and in case you're desperate to make it work and keep looking for a solution - you're bound to come across this eventually.