topic P420i - cant add hotspare to RAID5-array or extend it in HPE ProLiant Servers (ML,DL,SL)

P420i - cant add hotspare to RAID5-array or extend it

itechniker — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 13:38:31 GMT

Dear experts,

I only tried the following with the HP SSA App in Windows:

I have a Proliant DL360p G8 with a P420i RAID controller.

I had a RAID5 with 5 drives and 1 hotspare, I removed the hotspare and extended the RAID5 with this drive. Then I added another drive in the server which I want to configure as hotspare, but I do not have the option to and also I don't have the option to extend the array again.

Is there a limit to 6 drivers per array?

Re: P420i - cant add hotspare to RAID5-array or extend it

Sebasbin — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 13:34:21 GMT

Hi,

Open Array Configuration Utility on HPE Proliant Server.
Select the Smart Array Controller from the list.

Click to select the array name that needs to be expanded .
On the right pane of the ACU window, user will find an option called Expand Array.
Click on Expand Array

Select the new physical hard drive which needs to be added to the array.
Click on Save to make the changes to the controller.

The array expansion will be initiated and transformation status is shown in ACU.

Wait till the array expansion process is completed.
Array expansion will add of unused space to Array

NOTE: While the Smart Array controller is performing array expansion or logical drive extension, additional expansions and extensions are not allowed on this controller until this process is completed.
After the array expansion, user has unused space available under Array . In order to utilize this added storage space, user need to extend the logical drive .
Click to select the logical drive that needs to be extended
In the right pane of the ACU window, click Extend Logical Drive.

Now user can select Maximum Size available and click on Save button

Wait till the logical drive extension is completed

Re: P420i - cant add hotspare to RAID5-array or extend it

itechniker — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 09:29:54 GMT

@Sebasbin

Hi,

I don't know if you checked my post or if this is an automatic system, but first of all, your screenshots are from an older HP SSA Admin and second of all, I know how to add the drives, but the buttons are not available, as you can check my screenshot (the language is just German).

Re: P420i - cant add hotspare to RAID5-array or extend it

Sebasbin — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 07:45:35 GMT

Hi,

You need both a cache and a battery package to be allowed to change a running RAID. Please make sure to use the battery and cache.

Refer to the Smart Storage Administrator user guide below
https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=c03909334

If the battery and cache are installed then you can update the Smart Storage Administrator to the latest version and check the options
https://support.hpe.com/connect/s/softwaredetails?language=en_US&softwareId=MTX_891c6d6803044e5db3e0c2a5ab

Re: P420i - cant add hotspare to RAID5-array or extend it

itechniker — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 05:24:51 GMT

@Sebasbin Thank you,

actually I see the folowing warning message:

347 The cache for this controller is not configured.

But I am not able to find the option to enable the cache, strange...

Information:

Controller Hardware Information

Controller Smart Array P420i
Slot 0
Hardware revision B
Controller serial number **~~Confidential info erased~~**
Firmware version 8.32
Number of ports 2 (internal only)
Total cache size 512 MiB
Number of batteries/capacitors 1

Controller settings

Transformation priority Medium
Rebuild priority Moderate High
Surface analysis priority Idle
Delay for surface analysis 3 sec.
Write cache status for physical drives Disabled
Spare Activation Mode Enable in case of physical drive failure (default)

Advanced controller settings

Performance optimization in degraded mode of RAID 5/6/50/60 Enabled
Presort access requests to physical drives Enabled
Alternative method for resolving RAID 6/60 inconsistencies Disabled
Max. Drive access requests in queues Automatic
Delay of monitoring and performance analysis 60 min.

Controller Configuration - Summary

Number of arrays 1
Number of SmartCache arrays 0
Number of logical drives 2
Number of logical data drives 2
SmartCache count for logical drives 0
Number of physical drives 7
Number of data drives 6
Number of spare drives 0
Number of unallocated drives 1

Controller status

Controller status OK
Cache status Not configured
Battery/capacitor status OK