We have a Dell PowerEdge 2800 Win2K SQL Server with 2 x 73gb SCSI hard drives using RAID 1. We want to install an additional drive in this machine and upgrade to RAID 5. We will need to purhcase a new RAID card that can support this as the one we currently have installed will not support more than two drives. I can set up a new system with RAID 5 no probs but was wondering what steps should be followed in order to move from RAID1 to RAID5 on a system that has valuable LIVE data on the drives already! (besides the obvious of backing up the system first...) Will it be a fairly easy thing to get the system to move all the data from an existing drive over across 3 drives? Am I thinking this is way more difficult than it will really be? I would like to at least get an understanding of exactly what will need to be done when the time comes. Thanks! Brad
I believe you might have to use an app such as True Image, the server version. ie create a clone of your current drive, install the new card, set up the array, then recover the clone to the new array Since raid 5 is totally different to raid 1 I dont believe there is any migration path by simply utilising a current hd & adding more hd's Of course the software / bios drivers supplied with your new card 'may' offer other options. Maybe the suppliers of your new card, if from the same as the old, may offer some options "Brad Pears" wrote in message news:%23bNjy0SBIHA.4836@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... > We have a Dell PowerEdge 2800 Win2K SQL Server with 2 x 73gb SCSI hard > drives using RAID 1. We want to install an additional drive in this > machine and upgrade to RAID 5. > > We will need to purhcase a new RAID card that can support this as the one > we currently have installed will not support more than two drives. > > I can set up a new system with RAID 5 no probs but was wondering what > steps should be followed in order to move from RAID1 to RAID5 on a system > that has valuable LIVE data on the drives already! (besides the obvious of > backing up the system first...) > > Will it be a fairly easy thing to get the system to move all the data from > an existing drive over across 3 drives? Am I thinking this is way more > difficult than it will really be? > > I would like to at least get an understanding of exactly what will need to > be done when the time comes. > > Thanks! > > Brad >
