upgrading hard drives in Proliant ML350 G3 server

[mkk]

i currently have four 72.8 GB SCSI drives in a RAID 5 array and using the Smart Array 641 Controller. we are running out of space, so i am looking to replace all the drives with 146.8 GB SCSI drives. this server is our main file/print server which also runs DHCP, DNS, WINS, as well as third party programs that use a network license (i.e.-Microstation, AutoCAD, ArcGIS, etc). am i able to swap out the 72.8GB drives with the 146.8GB drives, one at a time, or am i going to have to do a complete rebuilt by restoring from backup and reinstalling key programs with licenses? i'm hoping it is as simple as swapping out one at a time.

[Igor Karasik]

See similar thread:
http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=1027500

[mkk]

Igor,

Thanks for the link. that was actually a very similar situation as mine. as far as Ghost goes, will the regular retail version work, or is there a special server version i need? the Ghost route definitely seems like a quicker fix than rebuilding an array and then reinstalling all the programs and then restoring back-up files.

[Mike Bollman_1 · Accepted solution]

MKK, What OS are you running? I am guessing windows due to Autocad/ArcGIS license programs. If so what version/sp level and how are the drives partitioned?

Assuming it is Win2k SP4 or above and the volume is split (c:\ and d:\) you can easily expand this on the fly.

As you noted you just need to swap the disks 1 for 1 and let the array rebuild each time. As always be sure you have a full backup before starting just in case. After all the drives have been replaced you can use ACU to expand the RAID volume. Then using diskpart from MS you can extend the d:\ drive on your server.

Note this process will not work for extending the system partition.

Let me know if you have any questions.


P.s. please be kind and assing points to those helping you out.

[mkk]

michael,
yes, we are running windows server 2003 standard ed. our drives are partitioned as such, C, E, F, and Z. the E and F drives are our share drives and the Z drive is our paging file drive. both the C and Z drives are currently partitioned with 10 GB of space and they both have around 2 GB of remaining space. the E and F drives are currently partitioned with 122 GB and 61 GB, respectively. i would like to increase the C and Z drive capacity as well, so it looks like rebuilding the RAID array with the new drives is the better route. is there another utility i can use that will allow me to expand the system drive? thanks!

[Mike Bollman_1]

You can easily expand the z: drive, but the c: drive you are stuck on. I cannot think of an easy way to fix that.

If it were me, I would do a rebuild, but use 2 of your 72GB drives just for the OS & paging file (one c:\ partition). Then use the 4 new 146GB drives as a single d: or e: partition for your data volumes.

Personally I do not believe in OS partitioning, because of this exact problem. Also, I am not a fan of splitting the paging file out. I know best practice is to do so for optimium performance. However, in my experience the performance difference is inmeasureable especially since it is on the same physical array. On top of that you cannot get a dump file in the event of a server crash.

just my .02 here.

good luck

[Mike Bollman_1]

MKK I was doing some research for another project and came across HP online volume growth.

I have not used it before and don't have much info, but it looks like it might work.

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/sm/WF05a/12135568-12135978-12204618-12204618-12204852-12204878.html

check into it and see

[Igor Karasik]

mkk,
If you still want to expand C: partition
-see Kris answer here:
http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=1088296