Increasing the size of disks in RAID5 configuration

Hi,

I have a RAID5 system consisting of three 4GB SCSI disks connected to a RAID controller in a Compaq ProLiant 1600 server. I wish to replace the three drives with new 18GB models so that I have a bit more space to play with but keep the current system intact.

At the moment the RAID5 volume consists of two partitions (C and D), C contains the Windows 2000 Server system and D contains some additional programmes and databases.

When I create the new volume I would like to keep the C partition the same size but would like to increase the size of D to utilise the new space.

I am planning on using True Image to backup both partitions on the current RAID5 volume onto an external USB hard drive. I will then swap the drives for the newer ones and create a new RAID5 volume utilising all of the new space. I then plan to use the bootable CD created with True Image to restore the original partitions from the external USB drive to the new RAID5 volume.

At this stage I will hopefully have working system with exactly the same resources as before the migration. Hence I then plan to use Disk Director to increase the size of the D partition to utilise the new spare space which should be available within the new volume.

Should this work and am I using the correct Acronis software packages to complete this task? I ask this as it is going to cost a lot of money to purchase the Server version of True Image just to complete this migration.

Could I use Migrate Easy?

Thankyou in advance for your advice.

 

I have very little experience with RAID & SCSI disks, but from reading this forum I think the biggest IF's are if the drivers in the bootable Rescue CD are up to the task.

Depending on you SCSI/RAID controller, the Rescue CD might not be able to see the RAID. Same with the USB-controller.

Best advice is to download the trial versions, create a bootable CD, and see how well it works with your hardware.

 

Hello shrubbery,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis True Image 8.0 Server (http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATISWin/).

Yes, you can create the image and then restore it on the new RAID5 volume with Acronis True Image 8.0 Server. Please note, that if Acronis True Image Server is running in rescue mode, then the following RAID controllers are supported:

- P-ATA (IDE) RAID controllers (Promise, Highpoint)
- Most of SCSI RAID controllers (Adaptec, Dell, LSI and others)
- SATA RAID controllers (Highpoint, Intel, Promise, Silicon Image, VIA)

You may download free trial version at http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/download/ATISWin/, create Acronis Bootable CD and make sure it will recognize your drive correctly.

Thank you.
--
Irina Shirokova