Replace disks / upgrade capacity on Smart Array P420i on HP DL380p Gen8

[DSpinos]

Hello all,

I have an HP Server DL380p Gen8, with one Array RAID1 (Mirror) with two disks 2x600GB SAS, and is full of data. Is there any way to replace both disks with larger like 2x900GB SAS in order to gain additional capacity? Obviosity I don’t want to re-create or re-build the array, I want to replace the disks and the whole process to be totally transparent for the operating system, by the way this is MS Windows Server 2012R2 STD, so for the operating system I don’t want  to cause any change except from the fact that instead of recognizing a logical volume and a partition with 600GB size, after the upgrade the same array, the same partition will have total capacity of 900GB, with all the same data, permission, same drive letter, same partition. Is there any way to achieve this?

Any proposal are welcome,

Thanks in advance,

[Anu_K]

Hello,

Before you perform any action, it is recommended to backup all your data. The best option is to create image of your logical drive using some of backup software.

Then you should verify if backup image is functional and can be used.

You can replace HDDs one by one (wait until the rebuild is completed) and than use option extend logical drive (this option is only availlable for some Smart Array controllers with cache module and battery / capacitor), you can refer to quickspecs of P420i controller(https://h20195.www2.hpe.com/v2/getdocument.aspx?docname=c04111534#) for more details.

To extend the logical drive, refer to this article (https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=mmr_sf-EN_US000010855)