HP StorageWorks MSA2012i HP StorageWorks 2000 Modular Smart Array Reference Gu - Page 74

Expanding Virtual Disk Capacity You can expand the capacity of a virtual disk by adding drives to it. Because virtual disk expansion does not require I/O to be quiesced, the virtual disk can continue to be used while the Expand utility runs. Expanding a virtual disk adds free space after the space used by existing volumes. You can then create or expand a volume to use the free space. You can expand only one virtual disk at a time. The RAID level determines how the virtual disk can be expanded and the maximum number of drives the virtual disk can have, as shown in the following table. Table 3-2 Virtual Disk Expansion by RAID Level RAID Level Expansion Capability Non-RAID Cannot expand. 0, 3, 5, 6 You can add 1-4 drives at a time. 1 Cannot expand. 10 You can add 2 or 4 drives at a time. 50 You can expand the virtual disk, one sub-vdisk at a time. The added sub-vdisk must contain the same number of drives as each of the existing sub- vdisks. Maximum Drives 1 16 2 16 32 Note - Expansion can take hours or days to complete, depending on the virtual disk RAID level and size, drive speed, utility priority, and other processes running on the storage system. You can stop an expansion only by deleting the virtual disk. Before starting the expansion, make sure to back up the data so that if you need to delete the virtual disk, you can move the data into a new, larger virtual disk. To expand a virtual disk: 1. Select Manage > Virtual Disk Config > Vdisk Configuration > Expand Virtual Disk. For each virtual disk, the virtual disk panel shows a status icon; the name, RAID level, size, number of disk drives, and number of volumes; and utility status, if any. 2. Select the virtual disk to expand. 3. Select available drives to add to the virtual disk. 74 HP StorageWorks 2000 Family Modular Smart Array reference guide • August 2008