3Ware 9550SXU-8LP User Guide - Page 174

Chapter 8. Configuring Units Caution: If you have a configured RAID unit on an older controller, such as an 8506, and you move the drives to a new controller, such as 9500-S, you must first convert the units from 7xxx/8xxx format to 9xxx format using a 3ware utility available from 3ware Technical Support. You cannot move drives back from the 9500S/9550SX/9590SE controller to an older controller and maintain the data. If you want to swap drives back and forth between controller cards, be sure to have a backup of your data. For 9500S controllers, you will also need to unlock the drives, as described under "Unlocking Drives Configured on a 9500S Controller" on page 164. Unlocking Drives Configured on a 9500S Controller When drives are configured into a unit on a 9500S controller, they become locked for use with 9500S series controllers. If you want to use these drives on an older 3ware controller, a non-3ware controller, or connect them directly to a motherboard ATA controller, you must first unlock them. You can unlock drives in the following ways: • In 3BM (3ware BIOS Manager), highlight the unit you want to unlock, and press the r key (for remove). Then shut down the system. • In either 3BM or 3DM, delete the unit, as described under "Deleting a Unit" on page 157. All data on the drives will be permanently deleted, and the drives will be unlocked. • Boot to the operating system. Put a file system on the unit by formatting and partitioning it. Shut down the operating system cleanly. The drives will be unlocked. Moving Units from an 8000 Controller to a 9000 Controller It is possible to move your 8000 storage units to a 9000 series controller. You will then have the advantages of the 9000 series controller. The drive units must be in normal mode before moving the units. Incomplete, degraded, rebuilding, or initializing units cannot be converted. In addition, RAID 0, 10, and 5 units must use a standard 64 KB stripe size. 164 3ware Serial ATA RAID Controller User Guide