Adding hard drive to existing Raid 0 Proliant ML350G6

[Rijan]

Dear All, 

I have a Proliant ML350G6 server contains 4 HDD with 500GB each. I configured it with Raid 0. it was quit large space for a medium company. But after 6 years, the space is almost full. I am using the server for Data server only. I can see that there are 2 more bays left on the server. I want to expand the hard disk space by adding 2 more HDD with 1 TB each. The questions are : 

1. Can we add the hard drive the way I want?

2. Do we have to make some settings with the new HDD?

3. Can we add the HDD without re-install the software?

4. Is there any other methode for expanding the space?

Thank you so much for your help..

[Captain_WD]

Hey there Rijan 🙂 Welcome to the community! 

How did you create the RAID0 array (motherboard, Disk Management, RAID card, other software)? Do you have a backup of that data somewhere else? What drives are you currently using in the system? Is the OS on the RAID?

Typically in order to add drives to an existing RAID array you need to reconfigure it which includes reformatting of all the drives in the array. The easiest way would be to back the data up somewhere else, add the drives that you want, configure the array and then restore the data from the backup. This is a long process and it involves a certain amount of risk for your data.

On another note, RAID0 does not provide any redundancy at all so bare in mind that if a single drive fails you would lose all the data across all drives. Adding more drives to the system adds to that risk as the potential points of failure increase. 

Do make sure you are using NAS/RAID-class drives and that you check the health of the drives often so you avoid dealing with data loss and recovery. 

Captain_WD. 

[Rijan]

Thank you captain.... To be honest, I am not the one who configured the server. It was someone before I join the company. But if I looked inside the server, all HDD connected in a single board (SAS ? ) the the board is connected to mainboard. 

Can you please tell me how to make sure the configuration to answer all your question?

Thank you

[Captain_WD]

The drives are most probably connected to an expansion RAID card that is plugged in a PCIe port on the motherboard. Could you post a photo just so we know? 

Can you see other drives inside the system? How many storage devices can you see in the BIOS, Device Manager and in Disk Management?  

When you open CMD -> DiskPart -> List Disk what and how many drives do you see? 

Could you check the brand and model of the expansion card (should be written on it or visible in the Device Manager). 

If this is a simple hardware RAID0 you would need to reformat all drives that are connected to the card when you add more drives (if there are free slots). 

Captain_WD.