DL380 G7 with p410i controller using RAID 5 question

[Marcel_Brown]

Hi there,

Is it possible to add drives (same) to an excisting raid 5 array with ACU so more drive capacity is available?

[TTr]

Yes it is possible but your P410i must have the BBWC option installed.

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13201_div/13201_div.html

If you have the P410/256MB Controller model (no BBWC) then you can't do it without recreating the raid5 and losing the data.

[Luca179]

How cai extend?
I have installa VMWARE.
There is any CD with utility?

[Johan Guldmyr]

You can do it in the ACU - array configuration utility. It is on the smartstart CD.

[ocappsjr]

Can BBWC be added after the RAID has been set up or does it need to be present at the time the of set up?

[Goutham_Sabala]

BBWC can be added later as well after creating raid 5, however the controller needs battery and cache for expansion

[ocappsjr]

I understand that I need to BBWC installed to be able to add a hard drive to my array without blowing away the array.  What I need to know is this.  Is there a way to determine if BBWC is installed without shutting the server down and opening it up?  Also, if I need to add BBWC, can it be done after the RAID has been set up or does it need to be present at the time of set up to be able to add a drive later?  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[Matti_Kurkela]

If BBWC is installed, the Array Configuration Utility (ACU) software will display it in the controller information section.

And yes, it can be added when RAID is already set up without losing data. However, it cannot be hot-plugged: you must shut down the server for adding the BBWC.

[Bedfont]

Hello,

I'm looking to do this too.

My current configuration is a proliant ML350 G6 with 3 x SAS 6G DP HDDs on a Smart Array P410i controller with 256mb cache memory (144mb available according to ACU).

The server is up and running and has been for a few years so I definitely don't want to risk loosing any data.

I would like to expand the capacity (and speed) of the server, my options (I guess being) 3 x 600/900GB SAS 6G DP HDDs or an additional up to 3 x 300GB SAS 6G DP HDDs?

Do I need to buy the 512MB BBWC or better or is 144MB free cache enough for 1 or 2 additional drives?

Thank you in advance.

[Litch]

I've just purchased the battery ($130) and installed in on my P410/512 controller.

I have an existing 4-disk RAID5 and wish to expand to an 8-disk (All same model HDDs) but when I try add the spare disks:

=> ctrl slot=7 ld 1 add drives=allunassigned

Error: This operation is not supported with the current configuration. Use the
"show" command on devices to show additional details about the
configuration.
Reason: Transformation size zero

=> ctrl slot=7 array A add drives=allunassigned

Error: This operation is not supported with the current configuration. Use the
"show" command on devices to show additional details about the
configuration.
Reason: Transformation size zero