Need to expand drive space on a RAID 10 virtual drive
I have a Dell server with 8 physical drives in it. Other than the OS virtual drive, I have 3 other virtual drives. Two are Raid 1 and One is Raid 10. This server runs our company ERP system running SQL server and all of the virtual drives are running out of disk space. I need to add some more physical drive, which I can do and then expand all three of these virtual drives. Will it allow me to add on space to a RAID 10 virtual drive? I am running the Dell Server Administrator to do this. These drives at sitting on a Perc 6/e adapter.
This server is running a production SQL server. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
This server is running a production SQL server. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
ASKER
The server is a Dell PowerEdge R900 with an attached PowerVault MD1000. I do have a few available slots.
Dell RAID controllers do NOT support Online Capacity Expansion/RAID Level Migration TO OR FROM nested RAID levels (10/50/60). You will need to add disks as a new RAID array or do a backup/restore to a larger RAID 10.
ASKER
I have added 6 new drives. I have one virtual drive that is made up of two physical drives and it is currently RAID 1. It gives me the option to reconfigure this virtual drive to a RAID 5 and I can add one or more of the physical drives I added. If I choose to do this, will it erase the data currently on my virtual drive? I was unsure. It does not warn me that it will, seems as if it will just expand the current virtual drive. Will I really need to backup, recreate virtual drive and restore?
Guidance is appreciated. Thanks
Guidance is appreciated. Thanks
No, RAID Level Migration/Online Capacity Expansion is NOT data-destructive. I wouldn't recommend doing it without a backup to fall back on just in case, but it should NOT affect the data.
ASKER
I created a good backup and then expanded the virtual drive. It expanded with no issues and now shows the larger driver space in Server manager but when looking in Windows OS, it still only show the original drive space available, windows does not recognize the updated space. Did I miss something?
No. You now need to adjust the partition size in Disk Management. Which OS? How large are your drives?
ASKER
Win 2003 server - drives are 136 GB in size.
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6/e - is there an external enclosure attached? if so, what model?
good chance this can be done but depends first if you have the physical space for more drives