Add New Disks to Existing Datastore

[wbwhaley68]

Hello Everyone -

I'm relatively new vSphere, so I apologize ahead of time if this is a topic that has been covered previously. First time post to vmware communities

I have a Dell Server running ESXi v6 with a RAID 5 datastore that is running out of space. Ideally, I'd like to be able to add the disks without rebuilding and losing my existing file system. I built the array using the on-board H700 PERC BIOS Utility. I have added additional disks to existing RAID 5 arrays on Windows boxes running Dell Open Manage in the past, but wasn't sure if there was similar functionality built into ESXi or not. I am still doing some digging into the H700 PERC BIOS itself, but haven't found where anyone has added the new disk via the BIOS utility without a rebuild of the array. Before doing any work, I will make sure that I have everything backed up, but it would be nice if I could just add the hot plug drive, reconfigure online and resize the datastore.

Thank you for the benefit of your experience in this matter!

Thanks!

Bill

[continuum]

I would highly recommend to use the current problem to rebuild your RAID and get rid of the raid 5 !
The chance that a future drive-failure of one the drives of a raid5 set will result in a complete loss is significantly higher than with a RAID 1 or 10.

[mcrape]

Continuum has a very good point about RAID 5 - it is not considered a best practice these days due to the length of time it takes rebuild the array. With a larger window, you have a increased chance of losing another disk during the rebuild process, resulting in losing everything.

That being said, you can install Dell's Server Administrator software on a ESXi host. You can find the VIB files on Dell's site (Dell OpenManage Server Administrator | Dell CANADA); just install those and then you'll be able to pull up the Server Administrator via a web page.

[vNEX]

Welcome to the community,

beside continuum opinion ...

If you want to expand existing VD and preserve your data you would need to install OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) VIB on ESXi host first.

Then on some Windows machine with access to host management network... download and install Dell OpenManage Server Administrator Managed Node web app.

Run web app on Windows machine connect to desired host ... go to Storage -> PERC XZY Controller -> Virtual Disks and from available task chose "Reconfigure" to expand.

For the latest versions go there:

Dell OpenManage Server Administrator | Dell US

[wbwhaley68]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions! To get me over my hurdle for the moment, I'm stuck adding to the existing RAID-5 array, but based on the comments from you guys, I will start looking into using a different RAID format. Unfortunately, it is something I will have to present and make the case for before I can do it.

Thanks for the help and links! I really appreciate it!