Adding a 4th physical drive to a RAID 5 array with 2 Logical Drives

[Joe Musser]

I am currently running Windows 2000 Server, with 3 18GB drives on an LC2000 with a NetRAID 1si controller.

The 3 drives are configured with RAID 5, and partitioned into 2 logical drives.

I would like to add a 4th 18GB HD to the array. Is this possible without destroying the original array, or losing data?

Thanks in advance,

Joe

[Marco Hogeveen · Accepted solution]

Joe,

Capacity expansion is only possible if you have only 1 logical drive configured on your array...

Take a look at the netraid user's guide at http://netserver.hp.com/docs/download.asp?file=netrdusergd.pdf on page 131 (137 in acrobat). That explains the prerequisites for online capacity expansion, and with more than one ligical drive on your array, it just doens't work.

Looks like you have to create a full backup, clear your array configuration, recreate the array reinstall W2K and restore the backup.
If you think you want to add capacity in the future, then read and follow the guidelines in this documentation.

Sorry...


Marco.

[Joe Musser]

Sorry for the confusion...

There is onle ONE logical drive, with 2 partitions. (The information disseminated to me was incorrect, after i looked into this)

My new ? is can I extend the C: partition AND the D: partition, or only the D: partition.

C: is where the NOS is..

Thanks

[Marino Meloni_1]

hi
you can made another logical volume with the new hdd and you can extend only the D: partition, (not your system partition)
bye
marino

[Joe Musser]

OK, I have now successfuly added the new drie to the array. now how do I extend the D: partition to include this new free space without losing my data?

[Marino Meloni_1]

hi
not remember well but you have to select the free space, press ctrl and select the D partition, then you will have the possibility to select extend partition.

bye

marino

[Alicia White]

In Windows 2000 you can very easily add another drive to an existing array without destroying the existing data using the NetRAID Assistant utility.

You can download the utility from:
http://www.hp.com/cgi-bin/cposupport/swindex.pl?p=hpnetraid8163&l=en&c=Utility

This utility works with all HP NetRAID controllers except the HP NetRAID 4m and the old Mylex controller.

Once you have the NetRAID Assistant installed, change the view to "Logical View." The new drive should appear in "Ready" state in the UI. Then, single-click on both the logical drive (LD0, e.g.) and the new drive so they're both highlighted.

Click on the "Logical Drv" menu on the menu bar, then click on "Change Config" > "Add Capacity." You'll get a message "Do you want to add the selected drive to the selected logical drive" (or something to that effect).
Click on OK, select your RAID level and then the LD will be reconstructed, integrating the new hard drive into the existing array.

This isn't a risk free operation, though. Always have a good backup before doing this. Also, keep in mind, that once added to an array, a drive can't be removed.

There is also a small problem in the latest version of the NetRAID Assistant for Windows: it doesn't automatically schedule consistency checks any more.

See the the news alert about that issue and how to work around it at:
http://netserver.hp.com/support/hot_news/lpn10555.asp