Adding or Replacing Hard Disks
Intel
®
Entry Storage System SS4000-E User Guide 127
6 Adding or Replacing Hard Disks
Adding Hard Disks
The effect of adding hard disks to your storage system varies, depending on the disk
configuration you chose when you configured the system and the current state of the
existing disks.
For example, in a linear configuration, you can add a new disk at any time, and data can
be written to that disk as soon as it is added. Access to the disks is temporarily interrupted
while the disk is being added. Whether you previously removed a disk or one of the other
disks failed makes no difference.
In a RAID configuration, the effect of adding a disk varies, depending on whether the
RAID is in a normal or degraded state as indicated on the disks page; see “Reconfiguring
Your Storage System Disks” on page 71. A normal state indicates that the RAID is
functioning properly. A degraded state indicates that one or more disks were removed or
failed, but because of the data protection offered by the RAID, you can continue to access
all the data. RAID 0 offers no data protection.
In a normal state, you cannot add a disk to a RAID 0 or RAID 1 configuration. Any disk
that you install cannot be used unless you subsequently reconfigure the storage system as
described in “Reconfiguring Your Storage System Disks” on page 71.
Caution: Reconfiguring your storage system disks deletes all the data on your storage system.
However, if you currently have three disks and a RAID 5 configuration, you can add a
fourth disk as a spare, essentially changing from RAID 5 to RAID 5 + spare while
retaining all existing data.
In a degraded state, you can add a disk to a RAID at any time, and the new disk is rebuilt
to replace the disk that was removed or failed.
Caution: If the RAID has failed—that is, if so many disks have failed or were removed that the
RAID can no longer function—you must either re-install the disks or reconfigure the entire
storage system, deleting all the data on your system.
Although you can add a disk of any size to a linear configuration, any new disk that you
add to a RAID configuration must be the same size as or larger than the smallest existing
disk in the RAID.
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