Expanding an array (5i) with Novell old fw

[Bonndata]

Hallo,

a PL370g2 with a IntegratedArray5i-controller and 6*36GB HDrives. I won´t expand my Raid5 with new 72 or better 146 HDrives one after one. There are two logical drive on the array:

The system is on a very old release of firmware and drivers:

SystemBios= P25 12/11/2001
SA_5i= 1.42

NetWare 5.1
CPQRAID.HAM V2.0 (10 May 2002)

Questions:
must I update the server bioses and drivers or did it work the expandtion with 72GB or 146GB drives with the old stand.

I no the better way is to update the whole system, but it is much work and a big risk.
When it works without updating it will be fine.

Frank

[Steven Clementi]

Frank:


At the very least, I would update the bios/firmware on the array controller.

It is not necessary to update the firmware on the server unless a newer firmware fixes a problem with newer coded array controllers. You can hit the hp site and look for drivers and software for your server and then find the bios and look at the revision history to see what each version fixes.

Or just click here for the site... http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/locate/32_1341.html

Bios History... http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/revision/3433.html

Looks like you have the most comprehensive update for that server. All newer system bios's either fix some minor issues or add some additional support or both.

With just a quick scan, it does not look like you would have any issues upgrading the drives, but I would still update the SA firmware.


Steven

[Bonndata]

Thank you for the fast reply and informations.

Frank

[e4services]

There really is no need to update any firmware or BIOS to perform this operation, it will not effect the fact that you are installing larger drives. But of course it is not a bad idea anyway, since they are usually system corrections.
You do understand that by expanding your array, you will not automatically be expanding your logical drives. There may be limitations or you may be forced to simply create a new logical drive with the new unallocated space when the addition of the larger drives are finished.