[ChimpanzeeUK]

Hi all.

I currently have 2 500GB drives configured in a RAID 1 array (totalling 500GB of available storage). This is quickly filling up and I will soon need to add more space. The drives are currently attached to a 2 channel RAID controller PCI card.

What I want to do is buy a 4-channel controller card (like this one) and two 1TB drives to add to my array. Totaling 1.5TB of storage.

Will this work or do all the drives need to be the same size? Will I be able to set this up without having to wipe the existing drives? Is there anything else that I need to be aware of when setting this up?

Cheers for your help

[ChimpanzeeUK]

Sorry to bump. Any suggestions anyone?

[crjdriver]

Just some thoughts on what you want to do.

1 Why are you using raid? Is it because you want backup or what? Raid of any type is not a backup. It is hardware redundant only. It does nothing for a virus, corrupted driver install, etc.

2 If you installed the two 1TB drives in raid1 you would have only a 1TB array. If space is a concern, use the tw 1TB drives in raid0. Now use your existing drives [in non-raid] to make image files of the array for backup. I highly recommend acronis true image for the backup/imaging app.

3 FWIW I have never had good luck with adaptec raid cards. I use, install, and recommend either highpoint or promise controllers.

[ChimpanzeeUK]

Backup purposes really. I had a drive fail on me once and had to pay to have the data recovered. Don't want to go through that again!

I'm aware that it doesn't cover viruses or corruption which is why I also do a weekly backup to an external drive.

I may be overdoing it!

You've got me thinking that I may be better off just scrapping the RAID, and doubling my storage without spending any money.

I'm no expert on this, what type of RAID will i need to use both of the 500GB drives together as one 1TB drive? Is that RAID 0?

[ChimpanzeeUK]

Just re-read your post and I'm with you now. Your suggestion sounds like a good one. I'll look into that. Thanks for your help.

[crjdriver]

You cannot go wrong with acronis TI. I think the egg has it for $29 or so; well worth the price. If you have a drive fail, you simply install a new drive and restore the image. Depending on the size of the image and the speed of your system, you can be up and running in 5min or at most 30min if it is a very large amount of data.

As an example I can restore my raid0 array in about 10min. It is a total of 32gig of data, etc.