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Re: Adding drives to MSA30

 
scott.huber
Occasional Contributor

Adding drives to MSA30

I have an MSA30 with 7-146gb drives in a RAID5 array (I think - how can I tell?). The other 7 hdd slots are dark. I would like to fill the other 7 slots, preferrably with 300gb 15k drives in a RAID5 array. Both arrays will only be accessed by the current server (since I have the single I/O card). So my questions...

Can the MSA30 take 300gb 15k drives with 146gb drives in the other array?
Will anything happen to the data on the current array?
How do I configure the additional 7 drives?

Thanks!
6 REPLIES 6
Jefferson Humber
Honored Contributor

Re: Adding drives to MSA30

Scott,

What is the MSA30 connected too ? I can only assume it's a SmartArray controller of some kind.

What you'll need if using Windows is a copy of ACU, which you can download from here if you don't have a copy already. http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/download/23361.html

Only the 10K 300Gb model is listed in the quickspecs for the MSA30, so can't say for sure if they are compatible.

Adding the extra drives into the chassis won't do anything unless you specificially add them to an existing array or create a new one.

Have a read of the ACU manual before you start if you are unsure still.

Jeff
I like a clean bowl & Never go with the zero
scott.huber
Occasional Contributor

Re: Adding drives to MSA30

Thanks for the response, Jefferson.

(I've recently inherited this network, so bear with me.)

The MSA30 is attached to a Dell Power Edge 1850 with an LSI 1020/1030 U320 adapter. The original array has already been configured (7-146gb 10k drives) and contains mission-critical data. There isn't any RAID config app on the server, so I assume I'll need to contact LSI for the appropriate one. I wonder how the original array was configured in the first place.

So if I understand you correctly, I can add 7-300gb 10k drives and create an additional array on the server, not impacting the original array in any way.

Thanks again.
Scott
Jefferson Humber
Honored Contributor

Re: Adding drives to MSA30

Scott,

I'm not familiar with Dell equipment I'm afraid.

The RAID card probably has a BIOS to it which you can enter as the server boots. This is probably how the original array was created in the first place.

Sorry I can't be of any more help here. If it's mission critical data I'd reccomend backing everything up before you decide to do anything either way. I'm sure Dell has a forum though, my get more definite answers there.

Jeff
I like a clean bowl & Never go with the zero
Steven Clementi
Honored Contributor

Re: Adding drives to MSA30

Scott:

It might not necessarily be a RAID card, but just a standard SCSI adaptor(which I think is the case). If so, then you are stuck with software RAID via your OS.

What OS is running on the server?


Steven
Steven Clementi
HP Master ASE, Storage, Servers, and Clustering
MCSE (NT 4.0, W2K, W2K3)
VCP (ESX2, Vi3, vSphere4, vSphere5, vSphere 6.x)
RHCE
NPP3 (Nutanix Platform Professional)
scott.huber
Occasional Contributor

Re: Adding drives to MSA30

Jefferson, I forgot about the card's BIOS upon startup. I'll check that this weekend during our scheduled down-time.

Steven, I think you're right about it just being a SCSI adapter and not a RAID controller. The server is running Server 2003, but Disk Management shows the full 820gb capacity as one physical disk with a simple volume.

From what you guys are saying, I guess the array doesn't have a configuration utility to setup arrays and partitions?

Thanks.
Scott
scott.huber
Occasional Contributor

Re: Adding drives to MSA30

I just poked around a bit more on the server and found that the LSI card is controlling the tape drive. There is an additional PERC4/DC U320 controller which I assume is connected to the MSA30. I'll need to install the Open Manage software to confirm.

So I'll just need to add the additional drives and configure the array with Open Manage. (I hope it's as easy as it sounds!)

Thanks.