Link to home
Start Free TrialLog in
Avatar of dhaurey
dhaureyFlag for Afghanistan

asked on

HP Proliant DL380 G4, Smart Array 6i -- running Windows 2k3 Server as a Fileserver. How do we configure so that we can expand array and data partition as needed?

Hi!

We have a DL380 G4 to be used as a fileserver.  It came with a Smart Array Controller 6i (version 2.58) and 4 x 300gb 10k HDDs, set in a RAID5 array with 1 hot-swap HDD.  



The remaining 600gb of useable space recognized by Windows Server 2003 will be split amongst a 10gb C partition - and the rest will be for a seperate partition used for storage (user home folders/profiles and public network shares).

My question is this:

We will most definitely need to expand the array within 1-2 years to allow for more storage space.  

1: How will we do this?  

2: How should we configure the system to allow this to be as seamless and safe as possible?  Ideally, I would like to avoid having to mount folders into the existing datastorage partition in order to utilize the new space (in other words, I want to EXPAND the RAID5 array and also EXPAND the data partition within Windows).

Thanks in advance.

Please let me know if other information is needed in order to facilitate answering our question.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
Avatar of rindi
rindi
Flag of Switzerland image

Link to home
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
Start Free Trial
SOLUTION
Link to home
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
Start Free Trial
Avatar of David_Fong
David_Fong

Create seperate Logical drives on the array, then after expanding you can use diskpart, if you just create one logical disk you will not be able to use diskpart since it cannot expand a volume on the boot drive. 20GB will probably be enough for the first logical drive since it's only going to contain c:. D: would go on the second logical drive and create the data.