Reconfigure RAID partition

[Rupart]

Hi guys,
I am planning to reconfigure my disk partition from RAID 1+0 to RAID 5.

Here are system details :-
1. DL380 G3 with MSA1000 (OS is win2k3)
2. MSA configured with RAID 1+0 with 3 logical volume (X,Y,Z)
3. It's a SQL clustered server

X and Y right now are empty disks. Z has the SQL installations.

My plan is
----------
Destroy RAID 1+0 and reconfigure with RAID 5 and create whole volume as disk Z.Install SQL 2000 server clustering again. Start from scratch. Restore back the database.

Questions
-----------
1 Do i need to bring MSA "offline" from DL380 servers, destroy current RAID and do new RAID 5 and publish back the disks(new Z) to the server before doing SQL 2000 clustering? How can I accomplish this tasks?Or can it be done "online" or other way?

2.Will OS reinstallation will take place after configuring RAID?

Please let me know if i have missed any other steps. Will really appreciate that.

TIA

[Steven Clementi]

Rupart:

1. The changes your planning may require you to delete your Array and re-create it. This would automatically take the drives offline since... well.... they won't be there any more.

Which drive is holding your quorum data? x? y? or some other logical disk?

If x and y are truely not in use, and there is enough space on the first logical drive (x), I would say that you should be able to copy everything on Z to X, delete Y and Z, Migrate X to RAID5 and add additional space, extend the partition in Windows using diskpart and be done. This would minimize the downtime.

2. If your OS is on the MSA not in the same array as x,y and z, then you should not need to re-install. If you have local disks, you should not need to re-install either. You probably wouldn't even need to break the cluster and un-install SQL.


My suggestion...

I always like doing things "clean". I would probably end up re-installing the OS and reconfiguring the MSA and re-building the cluster, but again, thats just the way "I" like to do things.

You should be able to do some reconfigurations without rebuilding anything. Can't fully tell without additional information about the configuration of the MSA.


Steven

[Rupart]

hi Steven,
Sorry for the missed out information

1.The OS resides in C:\drive(local drive).
2.Yes, i have Q: for quorum residing in MSA.

Refer attachment.
Q and Y, are in Array A
Z is in array B
X is in array C.

I would like to merge all of them to RAID 5. Can i do that without breaking it and retaining data in the disks?I dont think so, right?

Yep, i agree with the clean installation. What are the steps i need to be aware of for smooth changes?

Data wise, after SQL clustering, I will restore back users db. DO i need to restore system DB as well to retain the users informations etc?

TIA

[Steven Clementi]

Rupart:

Ok. One way I see that you can proceed is dump Array C and add those disks to Array A. This should increase your free available space to be able to migrate Logical Drive 2 from RAID1+0 to RAID5. Once complete, you can move your data from Z: to Y:, delete Array B, rename Y: to Z: and perform the same process again... deleting Array B and adding those disks to Array A and extending Logical drive 2.

This does of course mean that all your logical disks are in one array. Not a bad thing, but if you want to keep them separate then you have to take some different steps....

How many drives are in each array and what are the sizes?

I do not think you would have to do a clean install as it looks like you can move some things around. It will take some time to do, but it seems doable. Again, it is probably easier to do fresh rebuild, completing in 1 day vs. potentially 1 week or more. but the choice is yours.


Steven

[Rupart]

hi Steven
Array A is with 6 disks 73G each.
Array B are with 6 disks with 146G each and Array C is with 2 disks with 146G each.

Ok, i think i am going to do fresh to be in safe side as i dont have much time for downtime.

1. Backup SQL data
2. Break array A,B and C and merge all to RAID 5 and rename to Z with all the available space.
3. Install SQL 2000 + clustering
4 Restore master,msdb, temp etc
5 Restore SQL data.

Sounds good?Any key thing i missed?

TIA

[Steven Clementi]

Rupart:

Normally I would not mix drives sizes in the same array. Probably, what I would do in your situation is make 2 separate arrays...

Array A - 6 72GB disks - 2 RAID 1+0 Logical Drives Used for Quorum and SQL Logs

Arrab B - 8 146GB drives - 1 RAID 5 Logical Drive used for SQL Data


Yours steps should be...
1. Backup SQL data

2. Break array A,B and C and merge all to RAID 5 and rename to Z with all the available space. (or follow above. You will definitely need a separate Drive for the Quorum and it is recommended to have your logs separate from your data.)

3. Install Clustering first, then Install SQL 2000

4. Restore master,msdb, temp etc

5. Restore SQL data.


Steven

[Rupart]

hey Steven,
Yep,i will reconfigure 73G disks with drive Y-RAID 5 and 146G with drive Z-RAID5.

By the way, should i gracefully uninstall the sql 2000 cluster that already installed? Or just leave it as the repartition will wipe out and start all over from scratch?

Also, one of my database is with multiple files but in one filegroup(PRIMARY). Doing restore from full backup later shd be ok to get back everything to normal, right?Or any precautions?

TIA

[Steven Clementi]

Rupart:

Don't forget the quorum drive.


"...should i gracefully uninstall the sql 2000 cluster that already installed?"

If you are re-installing the OS and everything fresh, then no. Just format everything upon installation. No need to waste time un-installing if your going to format anyway.

"Or just leave it as the repartition will wipe out and start all over from scratch?" Um... yea. Deleting the Arrays will effectively wipe out all the data anyway.


"Also, one of my database is with multiple files but in one filegroup(PRIMARY). Doing restore from full backup later shd be ok to get back everything to normal, right?Or any precautions?" I am not too sure what you mean here. Can you explain a little more?

As long as you have all the data and it is restorable, I would think there would be minimal problems. I would say have a second backup if you think you might have a problem. Maybe a file copy to another resource somewhere on the network, if possible

Steven

[CA1197094]

hi guys,
thanks alot for everyone's input. I will execute the plans in 2 weeks time during downtime. Will let you know the outcome then

thanks a lot again...you guys rock!