raid 5 expansion

[msanjay196]

Hi,

We have a Hp server dl380 g6 which is been used with VMWare Esx4i

I have 4 hard drives each of 300GB, configured as an array of RAID 5

I want to add 2 more hard drives and need to expand the array.

1)Do I need to backup the virtual machines, before I expand the array to accommodate the extra 2 hard drives.

2) Does Raid 5 work with 6 hard drives and how do I go about expanding the array

Thanks

[Manuel Boosch · Accepted solution]

i think the best way is to boot from the Smart Start CD 8.50 in the Array configuration Utility. Its no problem to expand the array without data loss. raid 5 with 6 hdds is no problem.

[msanjay196]

So, I don't need to backup the VM's before the array expansion?

Thanks

[Manuel Boosch]

its no problem. i expanded many arrays, never had a data loss.

[msanjay196]

Thank you.

[msanjay196]

Thanks