Hello

It would probably be best to use the H710 mini. If the adapter version of the H710 is supported on the R320 then using it would use up a PCIe slot. If you go from mini to mini then you can use the existing cabling. If you switch to adapter you will need to get different cabling. Our PERC page should list compatible controllers on the system.

http://www.dell.com/perc/

Moving virtual disks from one controller to another is referred to as Virtual Disk Migration in the controller manual. You will want to check the manual of the target controller to verify migration support. Migration is supported from the H310 to the H710 with supported RAID levels. Your configuration would be supported for migration. Non-RAID volumes would not be supported since the H710 does not support non-RAID.

Any time you make hardware or software changes it is best practice to backup important data first. There is always the potential for something to go wrong. If nothing goes wrong then this process should be fast and without data loss. I think the controller manual has instructions for migration, but here is a list of things I would do:

1. Backup data
2. Make sure all hardware(BIOS and firmware) and storage drivers are updated
3. Run a consistency check on the virtual disk
4. Shut down server
5. Swap controllers
   1. Disconnect power when replacing hardware. Instructions for hardware replacement may be in the manual.
6. Make sure new controller is operational and update it to the latest firmware
   
   1. You can update using the LCC/iDRAC without an OS installed
7. Import the foreign configuration

The import operation only takes a second or two, so the system should be back up and running at this point.

http://www.dell.com/poweredgemanuals/

http://www.dell.com/storagecontrollermanuals/

http://www.dell.com/idracmanuals/

Thanks

 

Hello Daniel,

Many thanks for your comprehensive answer! I'll get hold of an H710 mini, sounds like the easiest option.

Thanks again.