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Re: ML350 G4 Raid 5 to Raid 5 migration

 
Dennis Severt
Frequent Advisor

ML350 G4 Raid 5 to Raid 5 migration

Hi,

I currently have 3x 72 gb hdd's in raid 5.
I want to migrate the data to 3x 146 gb hdd's also in Raid 5.

What is the best and the most quick way to do this?

Raid controller is the SA-641.

Thanks!
Dennis
10 REPLIES 10
Michael A. McKenney
Respected Contributor

Re: ML350 G4 Raid 5 to Raid 5 migration

I would create a second RAID 5 array and use the HP migration tool to move the data.

A lot depends on what is the data? I would do full backups before. Is it OS? SQL? Exchange?
Dennis Severt
Frequent Advisor

Re: ML350 G4 Raid 5 to Raid 5 migration

It's a Windows 2003 SBS server with Exchange and SQL. Could you maybe direct me to the right tools?
Michael A. McKenney
Respected Contributor

Re: ML350 G4 Raid 5 to Raid 5 migration

HP has a migration tool for about $1000. I would do RAID 1 for the OS. Create two servers for SQL and Exchange. My SQL server and Exchange server has 32GB RAM each. Microsoft does not recommend them being on the same server. You also don't want Active Directory services on SQL or Exchange servers.

RAID 5 should only be used for apps/data never for an OS. Any RAID 5 issues can corrupt the paging file and registry. OS, Active Directory services.
Dennis Severt
Frequent Advisor

Re: ML350 G4 Raid 5 to Raid 5 migration

I know all that, but I havn't configured this server.
Because of space limits we have to increase the hdd's.

So I just need a way to accomplish this...
Terry Hutchings
Honored Contributor

Re: ML350 G4 Raid 5 to Raid 5 migration

You can make the array larger by swapping each drive out with the larger 146 GB drives, one at a time. You need to make sure each drive has finished rebuilding before continuing on to replacing the next drive. Once the last drive has finished rebuilding the array will not have the new space. You can at that point increase the size of the logical drive. The partitions within the OS are a different matter and will require some utility to extend them to include the new space. I believe 2003 has a utility in the resource kit, but I do not believe it will work correctly on the C: drive. A third party utility may ultimately be required.
The truth is out there, but I forgot the URL..
Michael A. McKenney
Respected Contributor

Re: ML350 G4 Raid 5 to Raid 5 migration

You can't extend a Windows partiton with a paging file in it. You could create a separate paging file partiton.

Swapping out RAID 5 drives for larger ones can be dangerous and cause catastrophic loss of data.

I would consider it a good time to follow Microsoft best practices. Get two new servers. Do RAID 1 on the OS, RAID 5 or 10 for apps/data. Exchange 2010 is a migration. You could move Exchange to the new server. SQL would require disconnect and reconnect of the databases on the new server. Then you could move active directory to another server and rebuild this server properly. RAID 1 for OS. I use a couple of DL360 G5 1U servers with RAID 1 + spare for my two AD servers. The primary holds the roaming profiles, print manager and DHCP, both have DNS. 2008 R2 can expand partitions without paging files.
Dennis Severt
Frequent Advisor

Re: ML350 G4 Raid 5 to Raid 5 migration

Thank you all for the replies.

Buying 2 new servers just because the there isn't enough room sounds a little overdone.
There are maybe 6 people working on it, so an investment of 10k is not what I'm looking for.

I've just created a new Raid-5 Array and copied the Data (just 1 share) to the new drives) Now Exchange on the first raid set have enough room to expand, and the Data disks have also enough space now.
Michael A. McKenney
Respected Contributor

Re: ML350 G4 Raid 5 to Raid 5 migration

It add redundancy by spreading across servers. One server goes down, you are down completely.
Dennis Severt
Frequent Advisor

Re: ML350 G4 Raid 5 to Raid 5 migration

Yes, but isn't that with all small companies?
Do you really think all small businesses with 10 or so people have 2 servers just in case one goes down? If it goes down they have time to clean up their desks :)