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Extending a RAID 5 array

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

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.

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