Linux – Use a linux (Ubuntu) live cd to read a hardware RAID array

I went through much pain with this, and the bottom line is that although the controller supports array expansion, Dell have disabled this in their Array Manager and they will not support it. If you replace the Dell driver with the LSI one (I think the controller is an LSI, though I wouldn't swear that it isn't an Adaptec) and use the LSI management software then you might be able to do it. However I would find this a scary business!

My solution was simply to create a new logical disk in the free space. This is completely safe and needs no reboots, though obviously it's clunkier having separate disks. If you really, really want a single partition then you'll have to backup then delete and recreate the array. Note that if your server has the Dell utility partition on it you need to be careful with partition imaging tools as you need to recreate the Dell utility partition or your server won't boot. I speak from (bitter) experience.

JR

moving drives between PERCs is easy: 1. make sure the config on the destination controller is cleared 2. power dest. host down, insert the drive 3. power on, go into PERC bios, and find the option to import "foreign config"

If a foreign config isn't detected, simply create a new raid-0 on the drive, and make sure you do not allow the new array to initialise (that will wipe it). With no initialization, you'll get a new raid-0 with all you data in it.