NoteImportant: The addition of one or several disks in an existing RAID can take a long time. This is based on the type of RAID and the size of the disks as raid parity must be recalculated. A production shutdown is recommended to perform this procedure. It is also highly recommended to do a complete backup of the present data on the array.
Prerequisites:
MDSM must be installed, and the array must be accessible using this software
The array must be in an optimal state for this procedure
If you are physically adding disks to the storage, add them before the below steps.
Make notation of the locations of drives to be added to the disk group
Note: It is not possible to add a different topology disk in an existing RAID. SSDs would not add into a SAS disk group.
Steps:
Launch MDSM and select the wanted MD3xxx array.
Ensure that its state is Optimal as seen below.
Double-click the array to access the Array Management Window (AMW).
Click Storage and Copy Services tab.
Older firmware versions call the tab Logical.
Locate and select the (+) symbol next to Disk Groups.
Select the disk group that is being expanded as pictured below.
There are two possibilities to add a disk by using the interface:
Using the File bar
Choose Storage > Disk Group > Add Physical Disks (Capacity).
Using right-click
Right-click the Disk Group > Add Physical Disks (Capacity).
In the following menu, select one or several disks to be added, and then click Add.
The message indicates that the procedure can last several hours and then you have to reconfirm the launch of the operation.
During the expansion, the Summary tab shows Operations In Progress clickable link.
Clicking the link opens a dialog box showing the estimated time remaining and all steps to that operation.
Once this procedure is finished, go back to the Logical tab to check if the size of your RAID has been extended.