Adding disk to RAID 5

[Dennison Adviento]

Hi,

We have a Proliant ML350 PIII 866Mhz with Smart Array Controller 431 and 3x9.1 GB configured for RAID 5.
I bought 1 x 36GB disk to be added to the existing RAID. My questions are,

1. Can I add the disk WideUltra 3 to the currently configured WideUltra 2 disk?
2. Do I need to set the SCSI ID first.
3. Is it as easy as plugging in the disk and let the system do his job or there's a quick procedure to follow?

The disk is not hotswap.

Thanks,
Dennison

[Janine Bertolo]

Hello;

1. You can mix Ultra3 and Ultra2 drives in an array without any problems; your drives will perform at Ultra2 transfer rates.

2. Yes, you need to set the scsi ID on a non-hot plug drive; it must be unique.

3. After the drive is added to the scsi bus and recognized by the controller, you will need to run the Array Configuration Utility, either from a SmartStart cd or from the online utility within your OS to expand the array.

Hope that helps,

Janine

[Dennison Adviento]

Thanks Janine.