Need to add a 641 smart array card

[Brad Jones_3]

what I have is a ML350 G3 I have 4 hotswap drives in it plus the dat 72 drive. When I set this server up I was pretty new at this (and still am)I didn't realize I wasn't running a raid config. so now I need to install this 641 card I need to install.
currently I'm opererating off of the one drive and the others just sit there. my questions are these.
What is the easiest way to bring my system up to the raid 5 that I want? am I going to have to do a destructive install. ie. restore data from backup's I would like to avoid this if possible. if not then that is the way it goes

with 4 drives how should I configure this raid sytem? for optimum eficiency/redundancy.

Thanks Brad J
bradjones@liberal.k12.mo.us

[Oleg Koroz]

If O/S Installed to Drive, you won't be able to move (convert) to Array

1. Option to backup all data and after use all drives Create Array and restore
2. Create Array from 3 drives image disk to array and expand after with 4th drive

For install use smart Start CD or Manual Install with SCSI driver
Create Array either from F8 or Smart Start CD
http://h18023.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/index.html
http://h18004.www1.hp.com/support/files/server/us/subscription/PSM_subscription.html

[Brad Jones_3]

what do you mean by image disk to array and then expand. what do I need to do to image the one disk to the rest?

[Oleg Koroz]

http://www.binaryresearch.net/symantecghost.html
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal/

[Terry Hutchings]

Whenever you create an array it will delete any existing data on the drives being added to the array. You will need to back up the data somehow (image, tape, etc.), then restore it after creating the new array.

If you create an image it will most likely need to be stored on your network somewhere and then reapplied back to the server once you've created the new array.

[Terry Hutchings]

As far as the raid configuration is concerned, a normal raid 5 will give you the best performance and still provide the space of 3 drives available for storage. If redundancy is more important, then you can create a raid 5 with 3 drives (space of 2 drives available) and use the remaining drive for the hotspare.