3Ware 9550SX-4LP User Guide - Page 164

Chapter 8. Configuring Units To change the RAID level of a unit 1 In 3DM 2, choose Management > Maintenance. 2 In the Unit Maintenance table on the Maintenance Page, select the unit for which you wish to change the RAID level, by checking the box next to the Unit ID. 3 Click the Migrate Unit button. The Migrate dialog box appears. 4 Select any drives to be added to the unit. 5 Select the new RAID level. 6 Optionally, select a new Stripe size. 7 Click OK. The Maintenance page updates to show the new unit and the Migration progress. 8 Inform the operating system of the change, as described below. Note: You can only migrate a unit to a RAID level that has the same or more capacity as the existing one. A four-drive RAID 5 unit can migrate to a four-drive RAID 0, but a four-drive RAID 0 unit cannot migrate to a four-drive RAID 5, without adding another drive, due to the need for additional storage capacity for parity bits. Expanding Unit Capacity You can expand a unit's capacity by adding one or more drives to it without changing the RAID level, except for singles and RAID 1 units. (Since a single can only have one drive, and a RAID 1 can only have two drives, if you add a drive to either, the RAID level must be changed.) Expanding unit capacity can be accomplished while the unit is online, without experiencing any data loss. This process is also referred to as Online Capacity Expansion (OCE). To expand a unit's capacity 1 In 3DM 2, choose Management > Maintenance. 2 In the Unit Maintenance table on the Maintenace Page, select the unit you wish to expand by checking the box next to the Unit ID. 154 3ware Serial ATA RAID Controller User Guide