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LSI Logic 1020/1030 SCSI RAID 1 Disk Upgrade


I have inherited a Fujitsu-Siemens server (Windows 2003) with a LSI Logic 1020/1030 SCSI
card that I believe is Mirroring 2 hard drives - 80GB each.

Space on the server is running out and I need to replace the existing ULTRA320 hard drives with larger ones.

How can I check it is indeed mirroring the 2 drives..?

If so,

Can I replace one drive and allow the dataset to rebuild and then replace the other..?

Are the drives hot swap..?

Do I need to do anything in the LSI Config utility before or after..?

From what I understand.. the LSI Logic 1020/1030 is a SCSI card that 'happens' to do RAID 1.. as opposed to a purpose built RAID card.. hence my caution.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mat

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rindi
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It may be easier to get more info if we had the model of the server. Anyway, if it is just a SCSI controller, then RAID has probably been set up as pure Software RAID within the OS. I definitely don't support doing this, as in my opinion it is unreliable, and particularly if it is the system drive that is in the array, difficult to setup and keep working properly. Also, in Windows the built-in Software RAID can use up quite a bit of resources.

I strongly advice you to get a real hardware-raid controller. Most good hardware raid controllers allow you to expand an existing array easily by just adding the new disk, wait for it to get synced, then adding the next, again wait for it to sync, and then in the controller's utility there usually is an option to expand the array.

But with software RAID or also with most "Fake-Raid"  controllers you don't have such an option and then you'd normally have to create the new array, install the OS and then restore from your backup.

Whether you can hot-swap the disks should be shown in the Server's manual, but normally if the disks are accessible without having to open the server, it is likely that they are hot-swappable.
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ASKER


Thanks rindi.. looking remotely I believe it is doing hardware RAID.. there's no sign of Windows built-in RAID software.. but to configure it, it can only be accessed through a bios utility.. I will not have physical access to the server for a week.. I will research this particular controller (LSI Logic 1030 (driver version 1.9)) and find out if it is hot-swappable.. then I think all other questions will be answered.. thanks for your advice..

Maybe there is an additional RAID controller installed, and the administration utility for it might not be installed. You should be able to get more info via the manual of the server, and possibly also if you have it's serial number. From that it is often possible to find out with what hardware it as delivered.
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That looks like a fake-raid controller. As these are very limited in functions, I strongly advise on adding a real RAID controller to the server.