moving from RAID 1 to RAID 5

[Brad Pears]

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

 

[DL]

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