Compaq SmartArray 3200 with Spare

[DarraghFitzpatrick]

I am currently running a w2k server with the above RAID controller. It has 4 disks in the Array of which one is a Spare ? It is a live file server with data on it.

Using the Array config utility can I de-assign the spare and add it back as an additional drive to the array without the existing user/company data being wiped from the existing disks i.e. will the RAID config be completely rebuilt by performing this action.

Regards

Darragh

 

[benth]

I presume you are using RAID 5 on the array?

You can remove the existing spare from the array and add it back into the array as an active drive with no problems. The physical drive expansion will then take place on the controller and you will have unused space on the array, create a logical drive within the ACU and w2k will be presented with a new physical drive, a reboot or drive rescan may be required for it to see it.

This is not data destructive but I would make sure you have a good backup of it anyway.

If you perform a logical drive expansion on the controller then this is data destructive, to expand the existing logical drive with no data loss you will need to use something like server magic.

Hope this helps
Ben.