Replace all drives (one-by-one) with larger disks? [RS2WC080]

[bmauk]

I have the RS2WC080, configured with 8x 1TB drives in RAID 5.

I want to increase the size of the array, but have used all the slots. To do a sort of future proofing, I want to replace all the drives with larger ones.

Will this work?

• Mark 1TB drive Offline -> Missing -> Prepare for Removal
• Replace with 2TB drive
• Rebuild array
• Repeat this for every drive until all the 1TB drives are replaced with 2TB

Once I finish replacing the last drive and rebuilding, will I be able to realize all of the new space? How? Will this work?

It is not lost on me that the optimal, quickest, probably right way to do this is to move all the data to some other backup and create a new array with the new disks from scratch then copy the data back. Unfortunately that is not a viable option for my situation, and I have the time.

Please advise..

[idata · Accepted solution]

Hello,

Our recommendation is creating a back up first and then replace the current drives with the new ones. Restore from the back up with the new drives installed and avoid following the procedure you described since it is risky and could corrupt the data on your RAID array.

[bmauk]

Dan,

Thank you for the reply.

As I said in my post, I understand that the optimal / safest way is to create backup first and build a new array with the new larger drives.

That said, I want to understand if it is even possible to follow the procedure I outlined (risks noted). After the last disk is replaced / array rebuilt, will I be able to realize the new space?

[idata]

Hi,

The procedure you are looking to follow is not supported by Intel reason why we cannot confirm if the array will realize the new space or not.