HPE ML350 G6 - RAID of 3TB

[TomásCrespo]

Hi!

I have a HPE Prolian ML350 G6 which is not UEFI compatible, so I can not boot from GPT disks.

Actually I have a P410i with one ARRAY of 6x600GB and one RAID 5 logical drive with the maximun available space, 3 TB.

My OS is Windows 2012 R2.

In this logical drive I can create only one partition of 2TB (my boot partition), but I can not create another partition in the remaining space (1TB).  AFAIK this is a limitation of MBR disks (can address only 32bit).

I have read (in this community forum) that I could create one ARRAY with two LNUs, and then create one partition in each LNU, isn't it?

My question is: MUST I delete my current logical drive to recreate this setup and hence reinstall Windows?

Or there is any way I could use my 1 TB remaining space without reinstalling Windows?

Just to be sure: with this server (no UEFI) there is no way to have a boot partition with full space availabe, isn`t it? But it will be possible if were not a boot partition, isn't it?

[support_s]

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1. HPE ProLiant ML350 G6 Server - Parts Support Guide | Front view 2

2. HPE ProLiant ML350 G6 Server - Parts Support Guide | System battery

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[pchops · Accepted solution]

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I have read (in this community forum) that I could create one ARRAY with two LNUs, and then create one partition in each LNU, isn't it?

This is correct. If you have the optional cache module for your P410i (which would appear to be the case, since you are currently configured for RAID5), you can configure up to 64 logical volumes (LUNs).

My question is: MUST I delete my current logical drive to recreate this setup and hence reinstall Windows?

Unfortunately, this appears to be the case. While the Smart Array allows you to expand an array (by adding drives or replacing existing drives with larger capacity ones, with the latter action dependent on the configuration) and then extend the logical volume(s) that are part of the array, there does not appear to be a way to shrink a logical volume (LUN). There are some methods to split an array, or reduce its size, but none that apply to your end goal, as I understand it (and some of those functions require a Smart Array Advanced Pack (SAAP) license).

Or there is any way I could use my 1 TB remaining space without reinstalling Windows?

My tiny brain can't think of a way without a backup,  nuke, and repave operation, but take a look here for some more creative ideas, if this is not a production system or possible data loss is acceptable:

http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/workarounds.html

Just to be sure: with this server (no UEFI) there is no way to have a boot partition with full space availabe, isn`t it? But it will be possible if were not a boot partition, isn't it?

As far as I know, this is the case. There are examples of using a small boot disk (even a USB stick, although that is not ideal, IMHO), or a replacment bootloader on an existing disk. A string like "windows bios gpt boot" in your search engine of choice brings up many discussions/examples, such as:

https://superuser.com/questions/348146/is-there-any-way-to-boot-windows-7-8-using-bios-on-gpt

http://rodsbooks.com/bios2uefi/