Changing from RAID 1 to RAID 5

[BJHAM]

Hello,
Is it possible to change the RAID config without losing the data?
We have 3*146GB scsi drives, 2 are setup as RAID 1 and the third is doing nothing. I made the mistake of not checking the RAID config before installing Win Server 2003 and don't want to loose the hard work.
Thanks.

[Mark Kather]

Sounds as if the 3rd is set as a spare to the mirror.
The mirror does suit the OS. The Raid 5 suits the data.
Converting the mirrored OS to a RAID 5 just slows down the OS to what end? The OS usually fails because of corruption not because of redunancy failure.
A better design is to add 2 more drives to the 3rd -not doing anything- to create a RAID 5 for your data. Drives are cheap these days, and using the third because its there -not doing anything- to add to the OS -redunancy- makes no sense.

[kris rombauts]

BJAM,

yes it is possible to migrate from a 2 disk raid1 to a 3 disk raid5 array and you won't loose any data. This procedure is done via the SmartArray Config utility (ACU) which should be on your system.
It can be done online and at the end of the migration you will have 146 GByte unused space available in which you can then create a new logical drive.
Have a nose in the ACU , it is pretty self explaining, you basically add the third disk to the current array and migrate to another raid level.


Depends on your server model (number of physicall drives it can hold) if it is possible and also on your budget, but i agree with the previous response to separate the data from the OS, it will make it easier to extend capacity in the future or to recover from eventual disasters and aid in overall performance.


HTH

Kris