Extending a RAID 5 array

[breddo]

I’ve currently got a sharepsace with 4 1TB drives in a raid 5 array. I’d like to get some more space and was hoping that I’d be able to get 4 2TB drives and add them one at a time to non-desctrucively expand the array.

 Is this possible or should I start looking for a way to back up all my data?

Thanks

[GuiGuy]

Can’t  be done. The sum of the array would also be the number of drives (n) multipied by the size of the SMALLEST drive in the array (s),  So if you’re array had 2 X 1T and 2 X 2T drives, to all effects it will be just 4 x 1T.

I’m not sure what happens when you progressively replace and rebuild the array by replacing  & rebuilding one 2T drive at a time until all were replaced.

But in any case, given the snail like performance of the WDSharespace, I suspect life is too short to be wasting it this way.

By the way, my understanding from a number of disaffected posts on the web is that it isn’t possible to rebuild RAID5 arrays on the Sharespace because the OS is striped across the array, But I could be wrong, I often am.