Array 5300 controller

[Mario DePedro]

Can I add new hard drives to existing raid 5 array that has production data on it? Will it build the larger array and not loose the existing data?

[Sunil Jerath]

Hello Mario,
I dont see any problem in doing that. But you always make a backup before making any changes to existing array. Also please make sure that the firmware of SA5300 is uptodate.

Regards,

[Sunil Jerath · Accepted solution]

Hello Mario,
Here is the link to update the firmware of SA5300 just in case:

http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/download/18825.html

Regards,

[Seth Parker]

Compaq has always made it easy to expand their array products, so adding a couple of drives should be easy. You should be able to pop the disks in and go to the array config program (ACU or ROM, depending on model and OS) and add the new drives to the array. Making a backup is always recommended, just in case.

However, while you can increase the size of the array easily, you may have to do more work to get your OS to deal with the new disk, especially if you're trying to extend an existing filesystem, as opposed to using the new space to create a new file system.

Post if you have more questions.

Regards,
Seth