Extending/Expanding Raid 5 on H67.

[max1mus]

Dear all,

Need to have information on these 2 questions:

1. Would like to know if I can extend/expand Raid 5 on H67.
I have 3 hdd (2TB each) on my current Raid 5, and would like to add another 2TB into it.
Would it be possible to do?
If yes, how?
How long approx it will take to extend the size with one 2TB hdd?

2. Once I installed 4 hdd on Raid 5 on my H67, and then I upgrade to Z68, can I just move my hdd to Z68 and be able to read the content in the new PC?

Kindly advise. Thanks.

 

[groberts101]

yes you can with the RST raid mgr app and the current array will swap over without issue as long as you stay on the Intel ports.

Just go to the Intel DL site and get the latest IRST exe file and run it. That will update you driver(uninstalls the previous one first automatically) and install the raid mgr app as well. Best to get the latest INF chipset utility driver file first though.

Then just hook the new drive up and open the app(it will actually detect the drive if you hotswap it while booted) and use the manage>increase size link.

If I had to guess?.. I would think it would take a few hrs depending on how much data has to be moved around. I've done it at least 20 times and never had issues but be sure to backup as data loss is always a slight possibility.

 

[Zxian]

I haven't had any direct experience with expanding an array on Intel's controllers (my ICH9R doesn't support it AFAIK), but migrating a 2x2TB RAID0 to a 4x2TB RAID5 on my 3ware card took 73 hours total. Expanding my previous array (built on 1TB drives) took about a day per drive added.

As for moving the array to a new motherboard, it should be as simple as setting the controller on the BIOS of the new board to RAID, plugging in the existing drives, and then booting up.