[NTLUG:Discuss] rebuilding a raid5 with bigger disks

[Robert Pearson]

al hardigree wrote:
> I have a raid 5 array with 8gb hdds
> I want to replace them one at a time with 40gb hdds and let it rebuild each time
> the question is......
> during rebuild, will the raid make an 8gb partition on the 40gb?
> if so, can I grow the 8gb to the full 40gb without taking the array offline?
> 

Take a look at the article at---
http://www6.tomshardware.com/storage/20040625/index.html

In particular the paragraph---
Online Capacity Expansion

Online capacity expansion is recommended for forward-thinking users.
[When_this_feature _is_supported],
you will be able to change the size of your array on the fly. This is
a real boon if you intend to enlarge your array.
For example: you want to replace four 160 GB hard disks with four 250
GB drives to increase your overall storage capacity. You simply swap
one drive at a time for a larger one and then use the rebuild option.
Once you have replaced all four drives, you can increase your total
capacity on the fly.

Does your RAID controller support "Online Capacity Expansion"?

Thanks,

Robert