Windows Server

Dave · Guest

Hi,
We have a IBM eServer 232 SBS2000 box with a ServeRAID 4Lx U160 SCSI
controller and 3*18Gb (15000rpm) drives set up as RAID 5. It has 6 hot
plug hard
drive slots on the front of the server.

I would like to add another RAID array to add more space to the server
(mostly so I can move the exchange databases to the new array and
increase the users mailboxe sizes as the existing D: drive is almost
full).

What would the process for installing these be? As I have never really
worked with RAID before and this is a live server.

So far, my plan would be:

-Shutdown the server.
-Load the 3 new drives (36Gb 10000rpm) into the spare slots.
-Boot up the server into SBS2000.
-Use ServeRAID manager to configure the 3 new drives as a seperate
array (array B) with one logical drive?
-Partition the new logical drive
-Move the Exchange D: drive databases over using MS Q257184

Does this sound correct?
Any problems with mixing the drive speeds (RPMs) on a single RAID
controller?

thanks,
Dave

Dave Nickason [SBS MVP] · Guest

A couple of comments since no one else has jumped in.

- Your plan looks good to me. However, different controllers work
differently, so you may want to contact IBM or read the manual. At the
least, have a good verified backup before starting out.

- You should be able to mix speeds, especially if the drives in each array
match. Again this could be an RTM thing depending on the controller, and
you may find that all the drives operate at the speed of the slowest.

- My next great idea is a dedicated Exchange partition where nothing lives
except the databases and logs. That way, no one's MP3 collection can shut
down Exchange by using up all the free space. If you like the idea, this
would be the time to implement it IMO.

- In addition to the article you cite, see
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;239944 on how to
move the rest of the Exchange logs. I like everything in the default
configuration except that instead of c:\<path> I use x:\<path>. I create
the Exchsrvr\Mdbdata data structure on the new drive.

"Dave" <news@iworm.nospam.co.uk> wrote in message
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Lewej · Guest

Hi Dave
As Dave Nickason said a lot depends on your Raid controller. I would imagine
you would have to set the disk up in the RAID controller before the OS could
see them.
Generally during the boot process you press Ctrl M (or whatever it prompts
you) to get into the RAID controller setup. Then you will need to add your
three disks as RAID 5, and then scrub down the disks (time consuming) and
initialise them all within the Raid controller utilities. Generally it is
fairly obvious, but make sure you do not mess up your existing array.
Then a reboot should ensure the OS see's them
Hope this helps
Lewej

"Dave Nickason [SBS MVP]" wrote:

Dave · Guest

Hi,
Thanks for your help. I have contacted IBM but they haven't replied
yet.
I think I'm just going to have to go for it and see what happens.
Yep, I'll make an dedicated exchange only partition.

thanks,
Dave

On Thu, 20 Oct 2005 05:22:07 -0700, "=?Utf-8?B?TGV3ZWo=?="
<Lewej@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

Dave · Guest

Hi,
Finally got around to installing the RAID drives in the SBS2000 server
and all went well.
I installed them, configured the new RAID array and synchronised the
physical drives into one logical drive. Now I can see the new logical
drive in the Win2k Disk Manager.
But how do I partition and format the drive? The option is blanked out
in the disk manager and I can't see any options in the RAID Manager
program to do anything?

The only option given is 'Write signature' which I looked up and as
far as I can see it configures the disk as dynamic which isn't
recommended?

Any ideas how to partion the drive?

Also, the max size for exchange is 16Gb. What is the recommended size
of partion required to take advantage of this limit. I.e. if the
exchange database is 16Gb and then has the exchange logs on top of
that and anything else that needs to go into the dedicated exchange
partion.
The new drives give me 67Gb to play with, so plenty of space.

thanks.
Dave

SuperGumby [SBS MVP] · Guest

writing a signature to the drive DOES NOT make it dynamic. For a drive to be
available to any NT based OS (NT4, Win2K, XP or Win2k3) it must have a
signature written to it.

Overpartitioning is as stupid as underpartitioning. These days I configure
all systems with a 20GB OS partition and one additional DATA partition,
using the rest of the space on the drive(s). I _only_ use additional
partitions if they are physically seperate drives.

"Dave" <news@iworm.nospam.co.uk> wrote in message
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Kevin Weilbacher [SBS-MVP · Guest

Dave, keep in mind that although SBS 2000 only allows Exchange to grow
to16gb, Exchange 2003 now supports a max of 75gb.

In either case, you need at least twice the space of your Exchange store in
order to do an offline repair or defrag. I agree with SG's comment about
over-partitioning disk drives. He recommends two partitions; I differ
slightly -- I go with 3: O/S, Exchange, Data.

Good luck
--
Kevin Weilbacher [SBS-MVP]
"The days pass by so quickly now, the nights are seldom long"

"Dave" <news@iworm.nospam.co.uk> wrote in message
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Pat Horridge · Guest

Well I must really over partition:
I have O/S, Exchange, SQL, users, and company data. I then have a number of
separate partitons used for shared storage by different departments.
It all comes off one hugh RAID 5 array and I hold back some space on that
array for Extending and partitions that need to grow.
(apart from the O/S of course)
This is the second installation for the company and I learned a lot during
the first installation and years of use later.
I like things compartmentalised that way as it prevents a rouge miss use of
space crippling another area.
Also in terms of backup and restore I can be more flexible with my options.

"Kevin Weilbacher [SBS-MVP]" <kweilbacMVP@gte.net> wrote in message
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